Desensitization

BEEN putting off my dental appointments for quite some time, and it turned out to be a very high (and painful) price to pay. I guess it comes with the hectic schedule on weekdays and not wanting to “disturb” my sweet weekends at home.

So there I was with my dentist, due (overdue!) for a root canal treatment which puts some considerable dent on the budget, but inevitable if this molar wants to be saved. I thought it would be a walk in the park – I was smug and all – since I have been through three spontaneous normal deliveries (sans epidural) and a grand finale CS section with my youngest child. Little did I know it would entail not only time and cost, but also chronic pain.

As I sat there during my first session of root canal treatment, I suddenly had an opportunity to think about a lot of things – not exactly matters of public interest or national security – but about the treatment itself, given that I was beginning to get bored and I could still feel some degree of pain despite the anesthesia earlier administered. I think my dentist figured out I might have some level of tolerance (immunity?) to anesthesia because I was still feeling the nerve and it was hurting really bad, when it should have been already numb because of the anesthesia. But, when she asked me if she could administer more, I refused: I was more afraid of a higher dose of anesthesia than the pain itself so I carried on.

During a root canal treatment, the dead (or dying) tissues inside the tooth and gums are removed by continuous poking with really thin needle-like instruments. My apologies, I am describing it from experience so I did not exactly go into the technicalities of researching what they’re called. But for something so thin and tiny they are mighty powerful in causing pain. I felt each jab up to nerves almost to my head, and I felt my entire body shuddering from the pain. Then (call me weird and strange), I slowly felt the relief of not feeling anything as the treatment progressed. It was like challenging yourself to the most painful level up to the point of numbness.

I suddenly started to wonder whether in the future, given the advancement and radical technology in the field of science and medicine, something akin to a root canal treatment may be developed to desensitize people against sorrows. Something to be done so the heart will not be subject to negativity or ill feelings, and to activate only happy emotions.

Would you undergo that kind of “treatment”, if given the chance? (serendipity.couch@gmail.com)