Canals...

...are usually one of the first things that come to mind when one thinks of Amsterdam. For my first few days here canals were the only thing on my mind, but unfortunately they were of the root variety. I awoke early Saturday morning to intense pain in a tooth I've had problems with over the past year. The filling has fallen out multiple times and I've been reluctant to have the same dentist fix it again. So when the filling fell out a couple weeks ago, I put off having it fixed until I could find a new dentist.

Murphy's law struck and I found myself in the chair at my old dentist having a partial root canal the morning I was supposed to leave for Amsterdam. I hopped from the chair at 9am with a temporary filling, a promise the infection was taken care of and a reassurance that I didn't need any special painkillers or antibiotics. I cruised home, grabbed Becky and the kids and headed to the airport.

The novicaine was wearing off right about the time we took off and I was managing the pain with Advil just fine. As the evening progressed the pain grew worse. I kept myself occupied by watching the inflight movies (The Simpsons and Evan Almighty) and reading a couple magazines I bought at the airport. Once the stewardess found out about my situation she was an absolute lifesaver and kept me in a steady supply of ice. The flight from Portland to Frankfurt was a bit uncomfortable, I didn't sleep much, but it was still somewhat enjoyable and uneventful.

We arrived in Frankfurt and I was still fairly comfortable and managing the pain. The connecting flight to Amsterdam is where things went south. The smaller plane pressurized quicker than the larger plane and ascended quicker. By the time we were descending into Amsterdam I thought my head was going to explode the pain was so bad.

Once the plane depressurized I was able to manage the pain, but it would still come in waves. There were a few times Monday and Tuesday that I almost vomitted it was so bad. Then Tuesday evening we were at dinner and I got a small piece of food in the offending tooth. I used some floss to pull it out and a piece of my temporary filling came with it. INSTANT RELIEF! My dentist is soooo fired when I get back.

I still have some pain, and the infection is still there. All in all it is very manageable now. I've heard antiobiotics are available OTC here, so I'll check that out this afternoon while we're out and about.