Today I went home sick with a temperature of 100.0*F. Why am I running such a temperature?
Why, because I have a toothache.
I've had this tooth pain for about a month now... ever since the last time I let the dentist into my mouth, and now we seem to have reached the "please just go ahead and kill" me constant pain part. It used to mostly just be temperature sensitive, but the pain from my oatmeal this morning never went away.
So, clearly, I have an infection and need dental attention.
Naturally, I've used every penny of the $1500 of annual dental insurance that my workplace pays for. I've also already spent many hundreds of dollars of my own money on my mouth this year, and earlier this week my dentist's office called to let me know it seems I owe them a little bit more.
I need a root canal. Of this I am certain. Having had two of those in the last 12 months, I know how much they cost. And then I have to add on the cost of the x-rays and exam and the mental anguish and basically I'm left wondering "Am I in eight hundred dollars' worth of pain plus suffering?"
I know I can't let it go. I'll get an absess and then very bad things will happen to my mouth. I know...
Just for kicks on the way home from work, I turned the thermometer on, holding it above the passenger seat of the car. It got to 111*F and then seemed to max out, displaying only "Hi".
