“Yeah, it could kill you.”

Words you never want to hear from your dentist.

I went to a new dentist yesterday and after looking at my x-rays he asked if I'd been experiencing any discomfort.  He asked again after I answered "no", sounding like a parent asking "are you sure there's not something you want to tell me?"

Apparently I have an infection eating away at my jaw (I'll spare you any more details), it's been there for some time and they need to do a root canal to get at it.

Still skeptical, I asked if I really needed the procedure if I hadn't noticed any irritation in the ivories or misery in the mouth.  "Do I need to have this done, even if..."

Yeah, it could kill you.

 

I go in next month.