#@%&*!

Have I ever introduced you guys to #19? #19, world. World, #19, a.k.a. my lower left 1st molar. My relationship with this tooth has been a long and rocky one, but I can finally part with it when it will be extracted on Thursday. It's had 2 (failed) root canals and a crown that's fallen off three times. It's infected all the way around the root, and the gum line above is swollen. There's some good news!  The nerve is dead thanks to the unsteady hands of the dentist who performed the first root canal - which, by the way, was done unanesthetized - so the pain that should have reduced me to a quivering heap is just an occasional dull throb. I also have a handful of chipped, cracked and missing fillings because the dentist who did the second root canal used cheap fillings in the other teeth, and I also have some unexplained gum recession and 3 cavities. Knowing that #19 isn't going to go quietly the dentist armed me with a full bottle of antibiotics and prescription hydrocodone. Hydrocodone makes me act brave. And slur.

Y'know wha', #19? Bring it.