my next dental appointment

The middle-aged secretary at the dentist's office (who also seems to double as a medical assistant) saw me come in on Tuesday and made all the sad cooing noises I've come to expect from ladies who've heard about my heart attack, most likely from my boss (who knew I'd been to the dentist). I told her about the string that I'd spat out while brushing my teeth, and we agreed my next appointment should be next week: Tuesday at 3:30 p.m., i.e., during work hours. There's little left for me to do for the current project (which was also true before I entered the hospital this time around), so I'm feeling no stress about the appointment time. 

I do wonder, though, whether the dentist will break off any more teeth instead of doing a clean operation (with the wisdom tooth, he pulled it mostly out but left one root in my jaw, apparently; he also took out what looked to be a goodly chunk of my upper jaw). I'm supposed to get fillings and a root canal; I kind of hope the upper-right molar with the stinky cavity in the side gets the filling while the two lower molars, one on each side of my lower jaw (and neither one a wisdom tooth), get the root canals. It's my understanding that root canals have come a long way since decades ago and are no longer painful. 

Well, I guess we'll see. The wisdom-tooth extraction wasn't too bad; there was some pressure, and a bit of an ache afterward, but no real pain-pain. So: fingers and tentacles crossed for the next few appointments. I'll keep you updated and will pray I don't die in the chair.

ADDENDUM: an awkwardly smiling guy stepped into my team's little office on Monday; I was told that he's the guy who accompanied me in the ambulance to the hospital. I felt bad for not remembering him at all; the utter lack of recognition in my eyes was probably very disappointing to him. I'm still not even sure I caught his name, and while it sounded as though he normally works in the NHR office (an HR office in a totally different building), he might also work just down the hall from me. I never see most of the staffers in the office where I work; we all have different hours and move about at different rhythms. I'll talk to my boss again and see about getting this dude some kind of gift for accompanying me.