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Article: The Dreaded Root Canal; All I Wanted Was for the Pain to End - But the Price Was Steep
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- February 5, 1991
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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It all came back to me the moment I walked in the emergency
clinic door. The Muzak. The back copies of Sports Illustrated.
The distant sounds of drilling.
The anticipated pain.
The money.
I suddenly realized, with nauseating clarity, why I'd avoided
the dentist for so long.
Now it was too late. The feeling that had begun two days
earlier as a dull throbbing in my right lower jaw, the pain I'd
deluded myself into believing was a harmless shift of my wisdom
teeth, was now so severe I could barely focus enough to drive.
I thumbed through the Yellow Pages and found the 24-hour
emergency dental clinic nearest my house. I made an appointment.
The pain blinded me to everything, including ...