Dental Woes
I hate going to the dentist and pretty much wait until there is an emergency before going. The emergency finally happened; a filling broke while flossing my teeth.
Not wanting to risk waiting until I had one of my rare days off, I made an appointment in the morning before work. That meant getting up early and losing precious sleep. Have I ever mentioned how much I love to sleep, how I'm so good at it and need it so badly to function? As much as I love sleep, losing a tooth scares me more.
I hoped that I could just get my tooth drilled and replaced with a new filling, but nothing is ever that easy. My appointment was with a triage dentist. He looked at my teeth and my new set of 18 x-rays and discussed his plans for me. The broken filling needed to be replaced with a crown, another tooth needed some work to correct a "food trap" problem and there were two other fillings that were showing their age and would eventually need replacing. I had to come back tomorrow to start the work. That meant even more lost sleep.
Fast forward to the next day and the marvels of modern pain-free dentistry. Yeah, right, people who say that also believe in the tooth fairy. I'm not sure if it's me or the dentist, but novocaine only works up to a point on me. Once a tooth is drilled past that point, I'm in pain, bad pain. Each time I go to the dentist just reinforces my fear of dentists. It was horrible, but now I have a temporary crown. In about a month, the permanent crown will be put in.
Once they're done with my teeth, I'm not going to return until another filling breaks. So, how do you feel about your dentist?
Written by Melissa on 7:00 PM
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Melissa blogging from sunny Santa Clarita, Southern California, United States.
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7 Comments:
I H.A.T.E. them!!!!!!!!!.... I only go for what I have to...to keep my teeth and keep them looking okay.... I cry whilst I am sitting in the chair... I kid you not. I am a big cry baby.
I have a great dentist. I have been going since before I can remember. Because of gum problems I have to go every 4 months instead of every 6 for teeth cleaning. I have not had a cavity in about 5 years. I bought a Phillips Sonicare electric toothbrush and it is the best investment I ever made. I highly recommend it.
I go every 6 months, because it hurts too much if I wait longer. My dentist is awesome. Before I found him, I rarely went.
I have been to the dentist twice in 30 years and i have no fillings.....my teeth are literally perfect BUT i fear dentists so badly. When i was young, my mother had me go every 6 months religously, on one occasion i had to have one of my baby teeth extracted, the dentist gave me a needle and i escaped out of the chair and ran down the road LOL!
Bastard scarred me for life, thankgod i have never had a problem or i'd be in real trouble!
My dentist is excellent and I've been going to him for over 20 years now. He was the first medical professional I'd ever gone to that was my age. Up until that point they were always older. Seemed odd at the time. Have had a couple of crowns done. No cavities for a long long time, just occassional replacement of old childhood fillings.
I always request "extra heavy" on the novocaine. I don't mind the pain from the shot, as I know it's coming. It's the sudden surprise pain from the drill I don't like.
Happy New Year. Here's hoping 2007 is a good one.
Madwag, I understand. I don't cry, but stoically go in like I'm about to be executed.
Irene, I like my electric toothbrush too. Too bad it can't replace dental appointments.
Lisa, I have to go where my insurance sends me. It's a dental mill.
Michelle, that's incredible. I'm not sure I know any people with un-drilled teeth. You're so lucky.
Alan, I no longer ger cavities either, it's just a matter of replacing old fillings. One-third of my teeth are crowns. I always ask that they be generous with the novocaine. I don't mind the shot, it just doesn't always work.
I have a great dentist. I felt a tiny bit of discomfort today during prep work for a crown and he stopped, gave me additional Novocaine, and waited to see if my mouth was numb enough. It wasn't the most pleasant experience in the world but the trick is to find a dentist who listens to you and is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure you aren't being tortured.
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