I Told You So….

Posted byFractured Faith BlogPosted inA Fractured FaithTags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Don’t you hate it when people say that? They always look unspeakably smug and the urge to scream in their faces is almost irresistible. We don’t like being told we are wrong, even more so admitting that we were. Pride is a bitter pill to swallow, even when it has been sugar coated and gift wrapped in the most palatable of packages. We gag, we choke, we resist the urge to swallow. Being told we are wrong is just wrong.

A few months back I had a horrific experience at the dentists which involved insufficient anaesthetic, followed by a world of white hot pain. The butcher….I mean dental surgeon eventually took pity on me and called it a day. She made another appointment for me, stating that my only options were root canal surgery or having the tooth removed. Neither appealed particularly to me at the time.

I told her I’d think about it and then come back with a decision. She said that was fine but sooner, rather than later, because the cavity was deep and was only going to get deeper. She ominously warned that the pain would be on a whole new level unless swift action was taken. I nodded in agreement, before fleeing the surgery, vowing never to darken its door again.

For three months all was well. Bar the odd niggle, there was no pain. I mean, what did she know about teeth? I laughed in the face of the countless certificates on the wall and numerous letters after her name. For I was doing just fine, living in a toothache free world. Granted, I dared not drink or eat on that side of my mouth but ’twas a small price to pay for escaping a return to her chamber of unspeakable horrors.

Until this week that was. The pain has returned, subtle at first but increasing by the day, spreading from the tooth, along my jawline and into my neck. Ibuprofen has become my best friend and I am perfecting a new technique of running with my mouth closed and breathing through my nose, in order to avoid cold air hitting the offending area. It’s quite the sight, I can assure you.

I know that I’m only delaying the inevitable. The day is fast approaching when I will have to skulk back to the surgery, with my tail tucked between my legs. I am already imagining the disappointed expression on my dentists face as I explain, between sobs, that she was right all along, the pain is too much and I need ALL THE DRUGS! She will tut, smile wanly and reply “Mr Black. I was afraid this would happen. I don’t want to say I told you so but….”

I will rise above this verbal barb, and respond in a mature, adult manner. By falling to my knees, grabbing her pristine scrubs and screaming “JUST GET IT OUT OF MY MOUTHHHHHH!!!” I’ve thought about it for a while and regard this as the only reasonable course of action. I’m sure dental surgeons see this sort of behaviour all the time. She won’t even bat an eyelid and remember, doctor-patient confidentiality is an unbreakable bond of trust.

Expect further tooth updates to follow. Let’s face it, it beats me droning on about marathons and writing novels. But whatever I post in the future don’t reply “I told you so.” For those are even more painful than the little enamel elf currently tap dancing along my back right molar. I wish he would go back to Tooth FairyLand or wherever he normally hangs out. I don’t even need a pound coin under my pillow. Just go!

Care to share your favourite ‘I told you so’ moments?

What’s the worst toothache memory?

Published by Fractured Faith Blog

We are Stephen and Fionnuala and this is our story. We live in Northern Ireland, have been married for 17 years and have three kids - Adam, Hannah and Rebecca. We hope that our story will inspire and encourage others. We have walked a rocky road yet here we are today, together and stronger than ever. We are far from perfect and our faith has been battered and bruised. But an untested faith is a pointless faith. Just as a fractured faith is better than none at all. We hope you enjoy the blog.

56 thoughts on “I Told You So….”

  4. Oh, the humanity…my poor friend. I have suffered from every dental catastrophe you could possibly name. I don’t have my back teeth, and I was finally pushed to my knees in despair when I prayed to God that I NEVER ever experience even a small cavity. Prayers and plus: MAKE THEM GIVE YOU THE GAS…YOU’LL THANK ME. After that you won’t CARE what or whom is in your mouth. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. Hey, having had two root canals, I can assure you the pain you’re experiencing now is much worse than that surgery. For one, the drugs are better😏 and it’s over before you know it.

    Take that “I told you so” on the jaw, I mean chin, and save yourself from more suffering.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. My childhood dentist never numbed me enough, and in those days it was the gas mask rather than injections. Long story short I punched him, he removed me off his books. My teen years were spent visiting the RVH School of dentistry until I found my current dentist. Even now at 39, my top three fears are Freddie Kruger, the dentist and wasps.

    I have learnt you need to tell the dentist you can feel the pain and be firm when they tell you you can’t. My Dentist has the patience of a saint but I still view him as Satan! But he now bumps me with extra numby stuff. Headphones with loud music is my distraction and then the pain and tooth is sorted. With shaky legs on the drive back home and nails indented in the back of my hands I survive the visit. You will too and then you can run and breathe through your mouth again 🙂

    Like

    Reply

      1. Yeah, my dentist was an Irish man, he sang everything to me. Don’t think it was as soothing as he thought it was! But, can’t fault the RVH. They eventually got me to a normal dentist when I couldn’t even sit still in their chair

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  8. Ha! This is a great post. I can identify. One of my worst, “I told you so” moments was when I had my wisdom teeth removed. I had a far too optimistic (read “delusional”) idea of how fast I would heal and the timeframe in which I should be able to eat normal foods. Boy, did I learn my lesson.

    Like

    Reply

  9. Ah dentists! Not sure how it is over there, but in America they are VERY expensive, unless you are in the elite class with insurance that actually pays for it, not just gives you a meager discount on the astronomical price. I am terrified of them. You have my utmost sympathy. A friend told me that on the advice of a friend she put oil of oregano on her toothache and it killed the pain instantly, but she still needed the dental work. Good luck!!!

    Like

    Reply

  10. Worst dental experience has to be my 4 extractions in one go for my braces to be fitted! I had plenty of anethestic thankfully but apart from looking like my face had swollen and fallen on one side and dribbling all the way home the not being able to eat or drink for about half a day and the constant worry of getting something in ‘the gap’ were just as fun too! I hope you get all sorted soon, even if it is with your tail between your legs 😊

    Like

    Reply

  11. I love this post it made me laugh, but on a very serious note. Go back. Go back now. I once had a tooth that needed root canal and got infected, I was legit banging my head against the wall to distract from the pain. I got driven to an emergency Dentist sobbing like a child. I honestly thought my head would explode.

    Go. Please.

    Like

    Reply

  12. Did I ever tell you about my dentist when I was a naïve, innocent 6 year old boy way back in 1953? I knew he skimped on the Novocain and he had another office where he performed witchcraft and pulled horses’ teeth. With that torture chamber tool inserted in my mouth to keep it wide open, he would brace himself with his feet propped against the dental chair and pull, yank, pull and yank some more. We were both perspiring, I was crying my eyes out when he proudly showed the tooth to my mother who smilingly failed to protect me from his evil practice. Mother regained my trust but I hated that man forever.

    Like

    Reply

  13. God bless you and this post too! it was a joy to read, although I do not joy in your pain! Saying prayers for speedy recovery! have a blessed day friend!

    Like

    Reply

  16. “the butcher” 😂 I feel your pain. I’ve had worked done on me and I even disliked the numbing process. I still have one more to go. Not looking forward too it. Hang in there buddy, it’ll all be over soon. I’m praying for you 🙏🏼🙏🏼

    Like

    Reply

  17. I enjoy your blog immensely and never feel you “drone on and on”, I do hope you get that little tormentor dealt with very soon. And I totally agree that “I told you so” is the worst!

    Like

    Reply

  18. Ugh, root canals. I have this one tooth and it had a small crack in it. I needed a crown. I got the crown on and it hurt like you know what. Everyone kept telling me that was normal because of the nerves. So I decided to wait and wait and wait. The tooth is still annoying me 1.5 years later. It’s not constant or even sharp or hard to live with, but i have to chew on the other side of my mouth at times. Plus I clench my teeth so that makes it worse. Yep, I need a root canal. I have put it off too long. But, now we have a host of medical bills from my daughter breaking her tibia, so now I feel like I can’t get it done so I’m putting it off again until January. I’m not looking forward to it either, but has to be better than only being able to use one side of my mouth. I feel your pain!

    Like

    Reply

  21. I feel your pain!
    By the by, if it’s on the bottom, you may have nerve branching problems different than others and need shots directly around the tooth. I went to a fancier oral surgeon and was told that fun fact.

    Like

    Reply

  22. Been there, hated it. Had a cracked front tooth from a botched filling and a growing abscess. They talked me into a full root canal with crown. I wanted to pull it, but it’s the first thing people see they said, blah blah blah. I went through with it and regretted every step of the way. BUT it was bad because I waited so long. Dentists are awful but we make their job worse by delaying I think, lol. Next time they say I need one, I will pull it. Extractions are intimidating but only a momentary discomfort and then nothing more. Something they don’t tell you is root canals can fail or need to be redone eventually. Not to frighten you, of course. You got this! You can do it!

    Like

    Reply

  25. I am actually in the position where I need dentures. Of course, I can’t afford them right now and the thought of having my teeth all pulled scares the living daylights out of me. But one day soon I WILL be getting them. *sigh* I hate it.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this: