Holistic Root Canal
World’s best dentist, Dr. Steve Baird chatting it up with Ashlyn while prepping for her crown.
This is part two of a three part series. See the previous post for part one.
This was a horrible, no good, very bad day.
Hope (my second oldest daughter) and I took Ashlyn to Dr. Lee’s office in Coppell. I’d called the day before to find out the Covid-19 policies, and unlike our area, they were steep. Texas had already removed the mask mandate, we’d already had Covid (so we have antibodies), and we don’t believe masks are helpful, especially they way they’re being worn (and touched, and shoved in a pocket, then worn again, washed three days later, rinse and repeat). Ashlyn took a very strong stand on the lack of common sense regarding Covid-19 protection policies and only wore a mask 2-3 times in the last 15-18 months. Dr. Lee’s receptionist said I could go in to pay but not stay in the office during the procedure. Ashlyn didn’t particularly need me but sitting in the car for 2 hours on a warm day was not exactly fun-and since it was very nearly impossible for me to get/spread Covid, it was just a ridiculous situation. So Hope & I planned to hang out in the car. So be it. Ashlyn was requested to wear a mask into the office. This was not going to go well. She cried angry tears all the way to Coppell.
About five miles from the office, my car started to run very rough. I absolutely hate car trouble as it makes my anxiety shoot through the roof. Here we are over an hour from home and the most mechanical one of us was about to undergo a root canal. Hope and I are not the most handy duo when it comes to car issues but we’d have to figure it out while Ashlyn was in the office.
But first, I had to walk Ashlyn in. She wore a mask but tears were filling the brims of her eyes. The receptionist made us go wash our hands (after filling out paperwork, seems a little out of order), took our temps, ushered us around the office in the most cautious way to avoid getting close to any staff members. We were seated in a the treatment room and Dr Lee gave Ashlyn permission to remove her mask. I think they may have let me stay but I had Hope outside dealing with the car and I needed to go help. Ashlyn was fine, dental wise, and told me it was fine to go.
I called Shane and we brainstormed. Well, he brainstormed while I held back my desire to beg him to just leave work and drive to Coppell to rescue us. To be fair, he would’ve been willing, but we tried some other things first. Hope and I walked two blocks to a convenience store for some oil, which helped but did not resolve the situation. Shane thinks we’d run the gas in my tank so low the day or two before (which was true, we only had about 2 miles left when pulling into QT-Ash was driving, don’t judge me) that debris in the tank caused some trouble. I honestly don’t know now what the issue turned out to be, but we made it home fine and Shane repaired it the next weekend.
Meanwhile, Ashlyn and Dr. Lee are having a hard time inside. About two hours after I’d left her, I was asked to come back into the treatment room to hear the after care instructions. Dr. Lee greeted me with, “She is okay, she is a real trooper, but both of us had a hard time for a while.” Ashlyn later explained that they indeed had to put anesthetic directly on the nerve-three times. While he had the tooth opened up, she was in so much pain she cried. She is a touch cookie-she works on a farm/ranch for crying out loud. We never knew she had ear infections as a child until she (temporarily) lost her hearing. She does not complain about pain until she’s a 7 on the pain scale and she doesn't get dramatic in front of people. So she’s crying in pain, Dr. Lee is trying to get her numb and it just wasn’t taking. It finally did though-it just took a lot of time and work…and tears, maybe from Dr. Lee too! Dr. Lee was wonderful with her, very patient with the situation and we highly recommend him.
However, Ashlyn says she’ll never have a root canal again. She reported this to her regular dentist and he said the problem wasn’t her body’s tendency to resist anesthetic as much as it was that tooth being so infected it was “hot.” Interestingly, in true Ashlyn fashion, she did not present with the normal pain a hot tooth would show. By the time she had pain indicating a problem was even present, it was beyond what anesthesia could conquer well. I don’t know that she took this to heart because she still calls that the most traumatic experience of her life-which it was, but now we know why.
As we checked out, the receptionist asked Ashlyn if it was as bad as she’d anticipated. Ashlyn said, “I wasn’t upset about the procedure when I walked in, I was upset about the mask.” That woman’s eyes were like saucers. Ashlyn continued, “I have stood up for medical freedom and stood on the outside of normal for a year, and today I had to go against my strongly held convictions or not receive a procedure I had to have.” There’s a very different covid culture in the city than out here in the country, so I think this woman must have been shocked to hear this. She listened though and was not rude in response.
Because of a lack of communication on our providers’ parts and my lack of experience with root canals, I did not know that the crown was not part of the root canal procedure (or cost! wowzers!). We learned that as we were leaving Dr Lee’s office. He said, “You’ll follow up next week for your crown with Dr. Thomas.” We had no follow up appointment as no one had told us we’d need one. We made some calls and they couldn’t get her in for several weeks. While waiting, Ashlyn researched crown material and knew she did not want any metal parts or any fluoride treated products in her mouth. We called her regular dentist and Dr. Thomas for information on materials they use and a price comparison (again, she was paying out of pocket for all of this until Fall 2021 when her dental coverage resets). Her mainstream dentist was able to do the crown without metal and fluoride and for a lower price than Dr. Thomas. It was set for a few weeks later.
Our dentist makes it his life mission to help patients feel comfortable at the dentist. He’s happily accommodated my autistic 14 year old by telling her she could bring a blanket, stuffed animals, AirPods, even a pet (I did NOT tell her that part!) if it made her feel better. Her favorite hygienist, who doesn’t even work there anymore, came in to sit with her. They’re precious. He was just as precious to Ashlyn when it came to an additional cavity that was found in the April checkup and her crown. He’s become her friend-a lifelong friend, I’m sure. He has said he hopes Dr. Thomas is correct about the tie causing problems, but he’s just not 100% sure. This office is familiar with ties, as they release babies often, but I’m learning there is such depth to the tie release world that most providers (including me) know nothing about.
Ashlyn is ready to see if the tie is the root issue as well but there’s still work to be done first. Dr. Thomas won’t release a tie until the patient (adults anyway, not sure about children) see a speech-language pathologist to prepare the mouth for the release. She requires that the SLP give the green light before she’ll even make the appointment. The SLP’s office is nearly an hour away. Would she be worth it?
…to be continued…