Eight months and three days after first being told that it was a likelihood, my root canal experience finally ended today when I got my permanent crown. It was kind of anticlimactic, as I spent all of 35 minutes in the chair while the new crown was adjusted to match my bite.

Not that I don't appreciate the smoothness of things. Early in the visit the dentist noted that in case the crown slipped (it being slick from saliva and such) I should endeavor not to swallow it. That idea hadn't occurred to me prior to that; I couldn't get it out of my head for several minutes afterward.

So while I can look back on this process and relax, there is an ugly reality on the horizon: I may begin the whole process again next month when I go to get a couple of fillings on the other side of my lower jaw. Oddly enough, the likely candidate tooth is the same one (on the other side) as the first. I'd chalk it up to nature's love of symmetry if it weren't for all the sugar and lack of regular check-ups.