I am fairly brave and have a pretty high pain tolerance, but I have a major chink in my armor (besides my kids)....the dentist.  I am very, very afraid of the dentist.  The dentist and the movie "It"--scariest things out there.  I get the gas for cleanings.  Not kidding.

I'm not sure if my fear started when my childhood dentist snipped my frenulum (the piece of skin under your front lip) to get my front teeth to grow together (pretty sure this is something witch doctors do) or when he pulled 7 of my baby teeth so that he could put braces in my tiny mouth in 5th grade!!!, or the time that another dentist hit a nerve while drilling and I literally levitated from the chair 2 feet.

Anyway, I'm scared.  Which is why it's unfortunate that I experienced a minor toothache, that led me to the dentist, and an x-ray, and a diagnosis of "ROOT CANAL".  I might have cried.  In the office.  Like a 5 year old. Then I swiftly walked to the car, so I could call my husband and cry like a baby.

Because he's my hero, he went by my dental office and paid-off arranged the dentist (who is a very good friend) to see me on Friday so 1) I could get it over with, and 2) I wouldn't embarrass myself in an office full of regular non-scaredy-cats.  The only problem was that there would be no office staff, so Paul would have to be the assistant, and hand him the tools.:).

I survived it and learned a few things.

1.  "sedatives" work.
2.  their effects are not immediate and might leave one still nervous in the chair and yet like a tranquilized  zoo animal after the fact.
3.  2 is enough.
4.  an unskilled assistant might suck up your uvula with the hose intended to suck up sawed-up tooth and spit...and it feels like your brain is coming out the bottom.
5.  there is a place you can go and be put completely asleep for dental procedures--it's called the hospital and I'm going to look into it.  I'm pretty sure my dentist will be relieved:)