WPCNR White Plains Health Herald. By John F. Bailey. July 7, 2003: The pain was very subtle on Friday afternoon at poolside on Long Island's Gold Coast. Just a slight throbbing in my left lower molars. I thought it was perhaps just a piece of food lodged in my teeth. It was not a piece of food causing my steadily increasing pain. It was as it turned, a root canal infection on a holiday weekend.

Fortunately for yours truly, there was Advanced Endodontics of Westchester at 222 (for tooth) Westchester Avenue, and Dr. Kara Diamond, who came to the rescue of this mouthy scribe. A terrific emergency dental service for those whose mouths have suddenly gone wrong (politicians take note!).

By nightfall on Friday, I had dislodged a piece of food with some floss, took some aspirin and went to bed, figuring the source of the irritation was removed. Not the case. By 2 A.M. the pain was so irritating that I could not sleep. I took more tylenol. No relief. I would fall asleep, and within 10 minutes I'd be up again with the steady irritating pain in my left lower gum. The only relief was ice water sloshed on the offending molar every 15 minutes, then by 5 A.M., I was sloshing it on every 5 minutes. The pain threshold was steadily worsening.

A Sleepless Night.

Ice water was the only relief, and I knew something was seriously wrong with my mouth. The only question was what? Mouth cancer? An abcess? And it had come out of nowhere.

At 8:30 A.M. Saturday morning, I called my dentist emergency number, and fortunately the call got through to him. He suggested trying hot coffee on the tooth as a test, and when I reported the tooth area hurt more, he said it appeared I might have a "dead tooth." He said he could not handle the work needed because it involved a root canal procedure. He referred me to Advanced Endodontics of Westchester on Westchester Avenue. Their receptionist scheduled me in for 12:20 PM Saturday morning. They did not take insurance. But they did take credit cards.

As the morning wore on, with me sloshing ice water on the tooth area, the relief the icy water gave my tooth did not last as long. I mean, I tell you folks, when you have an infected tooth, the dull irritating pain does not let you concentrate on anything. Fortunately, this did not happen to me on any number of  the softball tournaments I usually am on weekends, as I was last weekend. What do you do in Providence, Rhode Island, when you get a toothache? Suffer.

Early to a Dentist Appointment for the First Time Ever.

Counting the minutes until 12:15, I finally pulled out of my driveway at quarter to twelve and arrived at 222 Westchester Avenue at noon. I had to fill out forms, as usual. The receptionist noted that my water I had brought with me was getting warm and got me some more ice water. By 12:45, I was ushered in, and we started with X-rays to see what was causing my problem.

I gagged on the sheer size of the X-ray slide holder that was being wedged into my mouth (the only truly unpleasant experience of the treatment), but the side molar X-rays did not reveal the problem. Then Dr. Diamond came in to review the X-rays on the state-of-the-art computer X-ray machine. Dr. D could not find the exact cause of the pain and asked for another view to be taken using older X-ray slide technology. Meanwhile, of course, I could not lubricate my mouth with icewater. But  considering Dr. Diamond was a very attractive dentist, I just hung tough like in the movies. After two more X-Rays, she noted that the root of the tooth had begun to decay from infection, and the infection had also spread to the gum.

I asked how this could have happened. She noted that it was possible a crack had occurred at the base of the tooth, or that the large filling that had recently been refilled was perhaps too close to the root and the decay might have seeped into the root. But it had happened.

They Do Not Wheel Me In.

One of the assistants said they would move me into another theatre of operations which was cooler. Foolishly, I asked if they wante me to walk over there. They said yes. (I mean this is the closest I have ever come to a medical emergency in my life, and hey, they wheel you in on "ER," right?) Anyway, I was able to motivate myself under my own power, over to the next office. I do not know what possessed me to think I'd be wheeled in.

Dr. Diamond explained that she was first going to numb up the gum and the tooth and that would take about 15 minutes to take effect. As the novacaine took hold, the pain of the gum ceased. I found myself dozing off since I had not had much sleep. Hopefully I did not snore.

The Procedure

Dr. D first isolated offending molar with one of those operating aprons, put dark glasses on my eyes, then proceded to drill out the filling to get down to the roots. Though I felt absolutely no pain, it is very disconcerting listening to the grindout of your filling. Meanwhile Dr. Diamond's assistant was sucking out the remnants of the filling flying out from the high speed drill with one tube, and another tube was removing my saliva. I have been told by my present dentist that I salivate a lot. ( I guess it is my reporter's blood.)

So I'm flat on my back while Dr. D. is drilling out my tooth, and my main concentration is not to gag with all this activity going on in my mouth.

Removing the Nerves.

Now the procedure got interesting. Dr. Diamond called for several little doohickeys which I assumed were tools for removing the actual nerves from the tooth roots. This was a little delicate and I felt a dull pain the first time which I signalled by a macho grunt. Dr. D. took up her syringe and added a little more novacaine. And the procedure continued. The actual nerves are about the size of a human hair, Dr. Diamond had explained before the procedure. (Dr. Diamond had covered her luminous brown eyes with  microscopic lenses for the procedure.)

After removing the nerves a process that took about 10 minutes, a yellow medication was flooded into the roots where the nerves had been. The medication, the doctor had explained, was to kill off any remaining infection within the root canals.

Then a new temporary filling was put in place. The whole process took about 1 hour and 30 minutes I believe. And I did not gag once. I was then sent home with some Advil for the pain. I was also on antibiotics prescribed by my dentist.

Not the Only Sufferer

I was not the only victim of root canal pain Saturday. A couple walked in with the wife obviously in excruciating pain. Apparently her own dentist had been working on her tooth that morning. She was there for emergency treatment.

Advanced Endodontics of Westchester was there when I needed them Saturday, and they are a good resource to keep in mind for dental emergencies. You may not be lucky enough to get Dr. Kara Diamond, whose crisp professionalism and obvious concern about the pain of her patients was gratifying and, well, yes, comforting, but you will be taken out of your misery, quickly and professionally.

They can be reached at (914) 946-2218, and you can learn more about them on their website at www.westchesterendo.com.

Not so fast...Come Back in Two Weeks.

However root canal is a two-part procedure. I have to come back within two weeks to have the temporary filling removed, and replaced with a permanent one.

The cost for the procedure $1,200 and they will supply you with insurance paperwork, however you must pay them first and then have the insurance company reimburse you.

Thank you, Dr. Diamond!