A few weeks ago, I drove from Scottsdale to Pinnacle in Casa Grande for help from Dr. Schuh, who…read morerecently opened Pinnacle. He is a trained and certified endontist, which means he has years of additional schooling to specialize in surgical procedures, like root canals. A friend had recommended him, and he got me in at once.
I had a broken rear molar. I had been 'self-treating' it; i.e. neglecting it, for over a year. It broke last year, a few weeks after my first cleaning in years. Over the last year, I had done everything I could to keep it flossed and clean, but in the last few months, I had begun to experience pain. I had no idea how bad it would ultimately get. The first thing I noticed was pain in my tooth when drinking a cold drink. Everything got worse and worse after that. By the time I finally convinced myself to get help, the pain was so bad that it would wake me multiple times every night. I was miserable and exhausted. I was becoming short with my girlfriend. And I was really beginning to fall behind in my work.
Thankfully, notwithstanding my foolishly waiting to get help for so long, Dr. Schuh and his assistant Sharon saved the tooth! They gave me my first root canal, and I honestly felt no pain the entire time! The closest thing to pain was a brief spicy/tingling sensation, after one of the local anesthetic shots. Minutes later, I suddenly felt euphoric. The pain in my tooth was gone! I think I had forgotten what it feels like to not be in pain :(
The whole experience was so relieving and pleasant. Dr. Schuh and Sharon were friendly and relaxed, yet meticulous and precise at every step, from imaging, to measure my teeth, including the size and location of my roots, to administering the local anesthetics, through the removal, sterilization, and filling procedures.
They communicated so well, and practiced "measure twice, cut once," at every step. They mentioned they had worked together since Dr. Schuh first started practicing, 13 years ago, and it really showed in how they got so much done with nothing feeling rushed. I suspect that the new facility and equipment helped in this regard as well. For example, their imaging machine was comfortable, and did my whole mouth in one go. In contrast, imaging was seriously uncomfortable, and took at least 20 minutes at my cleaning last year, with me having to repeatedly hold still, in multiple uncomfortable positions, with huge slabs in my mouth.
Ultimately, thanks to Dr. Schuh and Sharon, I went from having two weeks of pain, and worrying that my life was about to fall apart from sleep deprivation, to feeling "real" again in a little over two hours. They were so caring, friendly, and skilled.
If you are facing a scary procedure like a potential root canal, you should go see Dr. Schuh (even if, like me, you have to drive from Scottsdale!) Dr. Schuh can literally save your tooth with no pain. Every day I spent with the pain getting worse and worse was just foolish, as the pain means you are in danger of losing the tooth, and having to deal with the expense and complications that come from that (e.g. implants). There is no chance I would ever use anyone else if this happens again. Seriously. Go see Dr. Schuh at Pinnacle in Casa Grande and get out of the hurt box, and back to your life!
