by Dallas Spires

Created on: December 01, 2009

My teeth hurt from the day they started coming in until the day I had them pulled and replaced with dentures. I certainly experienced my share of toothaches, from losing my enamel as a young child to fighting countless infections in my late teens and early twenties. My teeth interfered with work, school, and every other aspect of my life. But I never knew how much a single tooth could hurt until Mexico.

Before our marriage, my wife and I went to the Mayan Riviera with her family for a cousin's wedding. I had been experiencing periodic pains in my mouth for a few days prior to the trip, but I didn't say anything. Again, pain in my mouth wasn't all that unusual. I figured that, like most toothaches, this one would pass in a day or so. I didn't realize, however, that what was causing the pain was an abscess.

Flying with an abscess is no vacation. The changing air pressure tortured me. I sat by the window so I could check out the view - flying over the ocean is awesome because it's blue below and above, and the clouds are somewhere in between - but my tooth had other plans for me. I spent much of the flight doubled over in pain. It felt as if someone was trying to squeeze my brain out through the tooth next to my right canine.

Upon landing, the pressure in my face let up. By then, I was worn out from the stress of the pain. But we were in Cancun; there was no time to suffer. It was time to grin and bear it, and to enjoy every minute of it. I figured the worst was over anyway.

The pain plagued me off and on throughout the trip. The family stayed in two or three of the palace resorts about an hour outside of Cancun. The resorts were all-inclusive, and we did as much as we could to enjoy ourselves. Still, there were many times when we had to cut things short so I could retreat to our room.

While the pain during the day took me back to the room for an hour or two at a time, the pain at night was utterly debilitating. I don't remember sleeping during the trip, spending my nights in so much pain I think it frightened my fiancee. When we discovered we could purchase medicine over the counter in Mexico that wasn't available without a prescription back in the states, we called the dentists in the family. After consulting them, we hit the gift shop of all places for antibiotics and pain medication.

My suffering was over! The pain would be gone, and I could enjoy the last couple of days of the trip. The pain killers helped, but only a little, and only at first. An abscess

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