\u201cNo doubt about it, the nerve is infected,\u201d my dentist said, peering at my problem tooth. \u201cI have to do a root canal.\u201d I had known that was a possibility when I came in for my appointment this morning, but I\u2019d been hoping all I needed was a deep filling. Now negative thoughts raced through my head. How much would this end up costing? How many more visits till a permanent crown was in place? How badly would it hurt?<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m giving you more anesthetic,\u201d Dr. Gonzalez said. \u201cThis might sting a little. Don\u2019t forget to breathe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Breathe,<\/em> I told myself, trying not to flinch as the needle went in. And stop with the negativity. Start thinking positive.<\/em><\/p>\n I know when you\u2019re feeling down, counting your blessings really lifts your mood. That\u2019s what I was going to try here. While Dr. Gonzalez went to work on my tooth, I put my mind to work on the pluses of this particular dental procedure. (Hey, it helps to be specific in your prayers so why not in counting your blessings?)<\/p>\n One, this root canal will probably save my tooth.<\/p>\n Two, my dentist is really good about explaining what he\u2019s doing as he goes along, which makes everything much less scary.<\/p>\n Three, I put aside enough in my flexible spending account to cover what insurance doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Four, I get to hear what\u2019s happening with the U.S. Open in real time. (Dr. Gonzalez is a golf fanatic and has his TV tuned to the tournament coverage.)<\/p>\n Five, this doesn\u2019t hurt! I feel some pressure but no pain.<\/p>\n By the time Dr. Gonzalez set his instruments down, I was actually in a good mood. And it got even brighter when he said, \u201cNo eating until the numbness is completely gone. If you really have to have something soon, get a milkshake.\u201d<\/p>\n Doctor\u2019s orders to have a milkshake? Now that\u2019s one blessing I didn\u2019t count on!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cNo doubt about it, the nerve is infected,\u201d my dentist said, peering at my problem tooth. \u201cI have to do a root canal.\u201d I had known that was a possibility when I came in for my appointment this morning, but I\u2019d been hoping all I needed was a deep filling. Now negative thoughts raced through […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[339],"tags":[62,27],"ppma_author":[494],"class_list":["post-21767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-positive-thinking","tag-blessings","tag-positive-thinking"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n