I have to see the dentist in the morning. 😦 I have a filling that has been chipping out bit by bit. I saw the dentist last week and he said he didn’t think there was enough of the tooth left to do a root canal and crown, plus the x-ray showed what appeared to be a crack between the tooth and root. So he recommended extracting it and getting fitted for a bridge. That’s tomorrow (Wednesday) morning. I’d appreciate your prayers that it all goes well but especially that I won’t be anxious, because that then leads to other problems that cause more anxiety.

Update to add: I survived. 🙂 It’s not something I’d want to do often…or ever again…but the Lord greatly helped. Thinking through hymns like “Day By Day” and  “I Could Not Do Without Thee” (there was one other one — may have been “All Your Anxieties” — but I couldn’t remember all the words at the time) helped during all the drilling. The anxiety wasn’t completely absent, but it was much less than it has been for more minor procedures. I’d been listening to parts of Jim Berg’s Quieting A Noisy Soul the last couple of mornings, one and a half of the three sessions dealing with anxiety. I was reminded that thoughts contribute to emotions, so I tried, by God’s grace, to nip the “What ifs” in the bud by reminding myself that God was in control.

I hope this doesn’t sound silly to apply all these spiritual lessons to a dental procedure. It’s hard to know how much to share and yet be discreet, but I know it helps me when people share struggles they have that I also experience, so let’s just say, to put it delicately, that for some reason over the last several years when I get nervous or anxious, my insides liquefy and I have a hard time getting out of the bathroom (this makes traveling a nightmare). Plus for this procedure I was supposed to take antibiotics which can intensify that kind of problem. Plus I have a heart rhythm problem called supraventricular tachycardia which usually requires a trip to the ER and an iv dose of adenosine (nasty stuff — fast-acting, but make you feel like you’ve been kicked in the chest) to resolve. It doesn’t happen often — less than once a year — but I’d really like to avoid it, and I never know what will set it off. Plus there are all the usual dental fears — what if the numbing medication doesn’t work when they get in there, etc. So — I had a lot of what ifs to quiet. But God did give grace.

I’m still pretty numbed up (which is kind of nice, actually. This thing has been very uncomfortable. That’s one thought that kept me going, that after today I’d never have any more trouble with that tooth!) I imagine it will hurt some after the numbness wears off.

I have a temporary bridge. They make a cap for the teeth on either side of the removed one and  a “filler tooth” in the middle, so the bridge fits over the missing space plus the other two teeth. They took impressions and will have the finished one ready in a couple of weeks, after this heals.

Thanks to those who prayed! I really appreciate it!!