My age is beginning to show, I have hair growing where it shouldn’t, hair falling out where it should still be growing …and various bits of me don’t quite work as they used to… (enough said)…and I also have bad teeth. I’ve always had problems with my gnashers since being a child – ‘soft teeth’ the dentist called them – a genetic issue that my wonderful brother* just never had.

(NB* Dave my brother is ‘perfect’ in every way – Dave never does anything wrong  – Dave is slim, Dave is strong, Dave does as his wife tells him, Dave drives sensible cars, Dave goes dancing, Dave makes me slightly nauseous …)

So in the last few weeks I have had a tooth break on one side of my mouth and a throbbing tooth ache on the other side of my mouth. This means I cannot actually eat without major pain – note – my wife thinks this is a good thing as I may actually lose some weight ….

The tooth on the left has been re-built but the tooth on the right needs a…. ‘root canal’…

I’ve had one of these before …and this is not something to be undertaken lightly.

Think about a house drill going through a cavity wall …and you won’t be far off my dentists version of …’this may sting a little…’

This did get me to thinking about Japanese Knotweed – when removing knotweed by excavation, we are talking major ‘root canal’ work for your land.

You have to dig deep and you have to dig wide – nothing can be left behind …and it’s going to be painful on your pocket.

I think it’s a good analogy and might be a good way of explains the issue to clients.

A bit of namby pamby tickling about on the surface might seem like an answer to your problem …but really you need the deep excavation that only root canal work will encompass…

So next time you think about Japanese knotweed – think about ‘root canal’ ….it might just prepare you for the pain.

Mike C