franklanguage (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
franklanguage) wrote2008-09-08 10:50 pm
franklanguage) wrote2008-09-08 10:50 pm
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Dodged a bullet...
Well, I cracked a molar over the weekend; it was a wisdom tooth, and I made an emergency appointment at my dental clinic. The dentist said it would have to be root-canaled, and I figured that for a wisdom tooth, it might as well be extracted. "It isn't a necessary tooth, is it?" I asked.
"Well, no," said the dentist.
"It won't affect my bite, will it?" I asked.
"No."
"Well, pull it out, then," I said.
"You're not in any pain, so you can sleep on it," she said.
Having just spent a few months of evening appointments, and nearly $2000 on my root canal a few months ago, I wasn't eager to repeat the experience. "No really; that's my final answer," I said. "Pull it out."
(Is anyone else reminded of the Hamburger Helper "Helping Hand" commercials from the 70s and 80s?)
"Okay," she said, and got me the consent form. She shot me up with Lidocaine® and I felt no pain; there was just pressure, as she'd told me there would be. I even took a few photos, "For my blog," I explained.
That's an awful-looking tooth! I can't tell you how glad I am to have that thing out of my mouth—and to have avoided wasting all that money on a totally non-essential procedure. (England, here I come!) A few hours later, there's a dull ache, as one might expect when you get a tooth ripped out of your mouth, but I've taken a couple of Tylenol and had some coconut-milk ice cream. All I have to do right now is allow a clot to form in the socket so I avoid "dry socket," which is a horribly painful experience.
"Well, no," said the dentist.
"It won't affect my bite, will it?" I asked.
"No."
"Well, pull it out, then," I said.
"You're not in any pain, so you can sleep on it," she said.
Having just spent a few months of evening appointments, and nearly $2000 on my root canal a few months ago, I wasn't eager to repeat the experience. "No really; that's my final answer," I said. "Pull it out."
(Is anyone else reminded of the Hamburger Helper "Helping Hand" commercials from the 70s and 80s?)
"Okay," she said, and got me the consent form. She shot me up with Lidocaine® and I felt no pain; there was just pressure, as she'd told me there would be. I even took a few photos, "For my blog," I explained.
That's an awful-looking tooth! I can't tell you how glad I am to have that thing out of my mouth—and to have avoided wasting all that money on a totally non-essential procedure. (England, here I come!) A few hours later, there's a dull ache, as one might expect when you get a tooth ripped out of your mouth, but I've taken a couple of Tylenol and had some coconut-milk ice cream. All I have to do right now is allow a clot to form in the socket so I avoid "dry socket," which is a horribly painful experience.
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I didn't keep it...
My mom has a lot of gold in her mouth, and she claims she's written a provision in her will that when she dies, I get all her dental gold. Then I hope she's getting cremated, so I can have her ashes made into a LifeGem; that'll be a hell of a conversation piece! ("See this ring? That's my mom!")
Re: I didn't keep it...
(Follow-up: I never got dry socket, but the damn space in my gums hasn't fully healed yet, dammit.)