Oo-ooh! Dentist!

LOL .. ok, Weezins .. my jaws are killing me .. yet, AGAIN!!

- Magpye

Yuck, Weezins, I think your dentist (and some of the others here) was a sadist!
Years ago when I had my front teeth capped, I'm sure the dentist gave me a Quaalude. Now, for lengthy crown work (removing them is tedious), my dentist gives me Valium. There's really no reason dental work should be painful. There are just bad dentists.

I've had really good luck as an adult. For many years, our local dentist here in Seward did my dental work. It has been years since I've been to the office, and he retired last year. I guess I'll have to get a new dentist.

This Thursday I go back in for my crown. I must admit that the tooth isn't hurting anymore now that I got that cracked filling taken out.

That's good news. Tooth pain is such a trial. Once the crown goes on, you should be able to forget about that tooth.

"Mom had dentures, too, but hers never fit well, so they lived an aquatic life in a glass of water in the medicine cabinet"

oh, I laughed so hard at that :D Thank you!

Got the crown put on tonight. This was one of the less comfortable dental visits I've had in my life. The assistant pulled the temporary filling out, which wasn't comfortable, then went in with one of those sharp little dental picks to try to scrape the rest of the cement off my poor, sensitive nub of a tooth.

It hurt! Between my incoherent garblings, and the fact that I'd white knuckle grabbed the arm rests, she realized that I needed novacaine.

With the novacaine it wasn't bad. It's a little tender still, and I bit down on a fish bone with that tooth, and that wasn't a good idea. But all in all, it's a pretty good tooth.

I go back to the dentist Saturday after next, this time for routine exam and cleaning.

I really wanted to spend my money on new things for my house: landscaping, furniture, garden statues, bookcases, PLANTS. But no. I'm spending my money on moving expenses, veterinary bills, exterminator fees, dental bills.

Ah, such is life. At least I'm not toofless.

Yes, investing in your mouth isn't a bad move, at all. Unlike children, as adults, our teeth need much less servicing if we do maintenance. The crowns will give a strong chewing surface for many years to come. I'm surprised they didn't offer you some novocane before cleaning around your crown. I think that numbing us up takes minutes they don't want to spend sometimes. If the schedule is full, they try to cut corners. My dentist here in Seward was very conscious of his patients' pain and always took the extra time to make sure we weren't uncomfortable. Of course, we are a small community.

I tried with all of my heart to ignore this thread.. I really did. I'm not afraid of needles.... I have my tongue pierced, 5 tattoos, and a couple other piercings that have since grown closed. About 8 years ago, I broke a tooth, and had no insurance. We went to a dental school where the students did the work. Well, the day we went, they didn't have time to fix the broken tooth, so the dental student shot me up with enough Novocaine that I was numb for 24 hours. I also threw up the entire time. Now, every time I have to get Novocaine, I get very nauseous and shaky.

When I was a kid, I spent 7 years in braces, a head gear and retainers. 4 kids later, there isn't a tooth in my head that isn't broken or at least filled. My mom's teeth did the same exact thing. I have put off going to the dentist, because I am really tired of having them filled, just to rot out around the filling (there is no enamel left on my teeth). I have been literally waiting until they were "too bad to fix" so I could get them all pulled and a plate made. Since all of them have been filled, most of the nerves are dead, so even broken, they don't hurt. I don't smile much.... but I figured it would all be worth it in the end. Well, a couple nights ago, I bit down on a piece of cauliflower, (raw) and I had probably the worst pain of my entire life. It was like someone stuck a red hot ice pick into my gum and up into my head. I have been eating Advil, and hoping it would get better. I was wrong. I have an appointment at 3:30 today, it is abscessed :(( So I'll get pain pills (oh please give me pain pills) and an antibiotic. The dentist caters to cowards too, so it shouldn't be so bad. I'm really hoping to talk him into pulling at least all the top ones. I only have 8 left on top anyway :( The bottom ones I'm willing to keep if they are filled properly.

The tooth that is hurting is the canine on the upper right, and it literally hurts clear up into my sinuses. I can't touch my nose, it hurts so bad. I'm all swollen and lopsided looking! S wish me luck.... pray I don't throw up on the poor dentist, and really pray that he will put me out of my misery and pull the top ones for me.

Hugs and pain free days to all
Janis

Oh, Janis, I feel for you. The front teeth are always the most sensitive. That is why the use more Novocaine to numb that area. Usually, I encourage people to keep their teeth as long as possible, since dentures are a hastle, but a mouth full of bad teeth is not only a ticket to constant pain, but infections that close to your brain is just not good.

My DH had his top teeth and most of his bottom molars pulled several years ago, and he has dentures. Of course, he seldom wears them, but he's hot a full beard and mustache, so it's hard to notice they are missing unless he has a good belly laugh going. I'm sure he would have preferred to keep his teeth, but most were broken, some missing, etc., and now he isn't suffering all the time with tooth pain.

Well, I made it through sort of.... he pulled the tooth, even with the swelling and yuck. No antibiotic, no pain pills. It hurt really bad when the novacaine first wore off, but its tolerable now. I go back Sept 8 for X Rays and a cleaning. We'll decide then what to do with the rest of them. He said that I have a couple that definately need to come out, and there is a dentist that will take my insurance to make dentures for me. I'm gonna let this guy I saw today to the extractions, then just go to the other for the dentures. I haven't heard really good things about the other guy as a dentist. As for the dentures.. well, I'd rather have bad fitting ones than no teeth LOL

So. I'm off to get some more advil
Hugs to all
Janis

I'd definitely shop around for a good denture maker. My DH chose his dentist because he let his patients smoke in the waiting room! His dentures are in their little denture coffin in the bathroom. I should write R.I.P. on them, considering he hasn't worn them for at least a year!

Advil? Oh, Woofens, you should have begged for codeine. A month ago, when I had that gum infection that felt like it was going to kill me, I was on codeine pretty steadily. Really nice stuff, codeine. Makes all that nasty pain go away. Okay, yes, they take some brain cells with them for a while, but it's worth it.

When it comes to pain, gum and tooth pain is really up there near the top of the list.

I am determined, though, that I will keep all of my teeth till I die. Well, not counting the wisdom teeth, although at my age I think they're probably in there for good (3 out of 4). Considering that, at the age of 52, this is only my second crown, I think my teeth are doing pretty well.

I had to wonder what people did before modern dentistry. In those medievaloid movies, everyone not only has teeth, but nice straight, white teeth as well. I am absolutely sure that was not the case.

There are always implants as an alternative to dentures, although I understand they're much pricier.

Well, there is 1 dentist that will take my insurance for the dentures. My insurance used to be really good, now it pretty much sucks :(

I'm still really swollen today, worse than yesterday, but I'm not worried yet. Since the tooth was broken off, there wasn't much to get ahold of, and my gum got torn up pretty bad.

I miss my white straight full smile :( I used to get so many compliments on my smile, I really miss that. Smiling with your mouth shut isn't easy LOL

Actually it hurts today, but not nearly as bad as before they pulled it. I just wanna sleep, and DH has to try to get a vehicle running. He totaled his little Samuri last week, and we're down to one car again. He is getting the parts we hope will fix the Oldsmobile. All his truck needs is a windshield, but its too hard on gas for him to drive back and forth to work.

Its always something isn't it??

Janis

It's always ashame when a person feels self-conscious smiling! Goodness knows, we all could use more smiles. I've noticed that people with bad teeth or missing teeth usually place their hand over their mouth when they laugh. People with poor fitting dentures do the same. Nobody should feel they have to do that.

I'm sure your mouth feels pretty wounded right now, and there is such a thing as 'ghost pains' from an extracted tooth. That should go away soon. It's ironic that physicians often have to inflict more wounds and pain to heal us, isn't it!

I know what you mean about old vehicles. We have never owned a new car. As a matter of fact, I've never had a new car in the 59 years of my life! I was 43 before I owned a brand new mattress. I'm a real second-hand rose...or maybe a third hand tulip! Of course, I've always appreciated salvaging. I'd rather garage sale for a day than go to Disneyland!

When I got out on my own, after the divorce, I eventually was able to get a futon frame with drawers underneath and a new futon. But even before I was done paying for it, I lost it and almost everything else in an apartment fire.

After that, I slept on a sleeping bag, and when I moved to Colorado I bought a used futon and frame, and I've been sleeping on it ever since.

Now that I have a house, I want to get new furniture--NICE furniture--including a new bed and mattress. I could have afforded it, too, if it weren't for these dental bills....

Well, there is some really great looking second hand furniture out there, if you live in an area with enough folks moving in and out to keep up a supply! The mattress & box springs we have right now are second hand and came with the original paperwork. The people bought it, but didn't like it, so it was moved to their spare room. The original cost was around $2,800, and we purchased the set for $450. I was thrilled, and it is a wonderful bed.

As discouraging as it is to suffer in a dental chair and pay dearly for the experience, in the long run, it is a good investment. Either you get to keep your teeth longer, or you get them out of your head, and the tooth pain with them. I, too, wish it didn't cost so much to wear out! If we were old used cars, someone would place a limit on the amount they'd pay to fix us before they'd tow us away, but you can't do that with people, and since I'd probably be towed away, I'm glad for that!

First it was the lower left quadrant, which turned out to be a gum infection. Then it was a cracked filling, and I needed to get a crown.

You'd think I'd be done with the dentist, right?

Hah!

Now the original spot is causing me misery again. At first I thought maybe I was just a little too vigilent in flossing, but that can't be it, not as much as this thing hurts.

I'm back on codeine again. Will this never end?

AND -- I found a very live spider in my linen cabinet today.

And I was just beginning to relax!

Can I just crawl under a rock now, please?

Oh, dear! Hydrangea, aren't you the one who had the hordes of spiders and you're arachnophobic? Talk about adding insult to injury! Get thee back to a dentist quickly and end your misery.

I'm just amazed at how many people have had lousy dentists who don't give novocaine! I think that's awful. My husband once went to what I call a "dental mill" and didn't get sufficient pain killer. He went there only once and now goes to my very wonderful, painless dentist.

Weezin, don't get towed away! You're so funny....

Yep, I'm the arachnophobe. The exterminator came in Saturday, August 5, and since then the only bugs I saw were dead ones, which was just fine with me. This latest was a tiny spider, so I wonder if he just hatched. But why wouldn't the spray kill the egg he was in?

The exterminator did say that, since this was a slow-acting, more bio-friendly type spray, that I might see spiders for up to a month.

You know, it's odd. I'm not as afraid of spiders when I encounter them in the garden, as long as they're not big and I'm reasonably sure they're just a garden spider.

I have an appointment with the dentist this next Saturday for a regular checkup, and you bet I'm going to be asking about this pain then. I'm worried that I'm going to have to get a wisdom tooth extracted or a root canal in a molar or something. And paying for that crown maxed me out.

The new crown, btw, is doing just fine. So at least there's that.

Back in the good ol' days when I had insurance, I used to laugh because my dentist always seemed to work on the wrong tooth first. Now-a-days, each mistake will cost me money I cannot afford to spend. I know what you are talking about, Hydrangea.

Don't worry, Bivbiv, I working on making myself indispensable so I'm always worth a little shop time. Hope it works!

Why can a dentist charge for his mistakes? My dentist is looking better all the time! I'll have to tell him about the things I've heard here. I wish all of you had someone so good. I'd been going to a periodontist under whose care I got worse. Then I went to my present dentist, and he got my gums in such good shape that I dropped the periodontist and never went back to him.

Dentists take xrays, but, when you have several teeth that need work, it is probably hard to tell which one is the culprit of the moment. I think the xrays reveal a dark spot that indicates that is the problem tooth. In some cases, the diagnosis is wrong. It isn't a matter of working on a healthy tooth, but rather a question of determining which one needs work first. When one is not insured, it's really important to get the most critical work done first, since the patient may need to save back for the next visit. Even a simple filling can be $250-$300 here, and root canals with crowns are probably between $1,200 to $2000 these days.

My last crown was $980.00. Before that, I had four replaced. My husband had dental work last year, too. I never counted it up (didn't want to scare myself), but I think between us we had about $10,000 in dental bills...with no insurance. Fun, huh?

I don't have dental insurance, either, although my dentist's office does take my dental discount plan. My crown only cost $550, and I got to spread out the payments. But now I'm maxed out! Worst case scenario--I need a root canal and a crown for this one troublesome tooth. That would cost at least $1000, and I just don't have that. I just bought a house, after all. That's where all my money went.

But this pain is getting worse and worse rapidly. I'm sitting here with a throbbing, painful jaw, and I do not have enough codeine to make it to my appointment on Saturday.

Oh, good grief! I feel so bad for you!!
Can't you call your dentist for an emergency visit? You need to get rid of the pain, and you need to be taken care of in case of infection. I don't think any dentist would ask you to wait until Sat. in your condition. Please call ASAP.

I can't afford to take any more time off of work. If I don't work, I don't get paid, and I have all these dental visits I have to pay for.

But, my dear, you NEED to get some relief and some attention to your problem. How can you work in this condition?

I'm sure your employer would rather have you in good "working condition" instead of the way you are now, right? And as far as payment goes, I'm sure you can arrange something with the dentist. Take care of yourself, please!

I'd go sit in his waiting room and moan until he calls you in.

I called the dentist today, and they called in another prescription of codeine and antibiotics. It should start getting better. Then on Saturday I'll definitely have them check it out again.

I don't know why I'm suddenly having trouble with my teeth. I always prided myself on having strong, healthy teeth. They weren't pretty, but they were tough.

I haven't been at my best all this year. In January I started the house buying process, which was highly stressful. Then I was trying to move with almost no help except lazy movers who treated me like garbage. Then my teeth started acting up. And all through this I've been struggling under this weight of fatigue and exhaustion.

Once you get your teeth all healthy, is there something nice you could do for yourself to get rid of the fatigue? Something relaxing to look forward to on weekends perhaps?

I don't know if I could afford it after the dental bills, but a massage and a facial sounds lovely.

Save your money for a spa day then. Or live dangerously (just once) with your credit card. I think you deserve it!

I don't have a credit card. Haven't been able to get one in the past several years, although now that I'm a homeowner it might be easier.

If I had a credit card, I'd "blow" the money on dental work and landscaping, and furniture if there's any left over. I've never owned a couch, or a new set of dishes, or a lot of things that other people take for granted.

I don't advocate anyone's going into credit card debt; but if I were you, I'd try again to get one. Wisely used, it could be a good thing to have..especially in your present dental emergency.


This message was edited Aug 15, 2006 11:15 PM

So how are you doing?

Just came back from the dentist. They took x-rays. The sore tooth that they thought was a gum infection? Turns out that there was a cavity UNDER the last filling I got last November. So now the cavity has gotten into the root, and the nerve.

Root canal, and yet another crown. It'll set me back over $1300. That's not counting what I still owe from the crown I got last week, or the prescriptions, or any of the other exams or x-rays.

No wonder it hurts!

Every time I think I may have some money saved up for landscaping or furniture, something like this happens. I'm thankful that I will be able to get the work done, but it's aggravating.

To top it off, while I was lying back in the dentist's chair with my mouth open and the dentist poking around, a bug was crawling across the ceiling above me.

The next Saturday appointment I could get was September 30. So I just have to deal with it until then.

Oh, I'm so sorry, WH! I really wish you could get this taken care of sooner. Someone who posted earlier had a good idea: Sit in the dentist's office and moan until they let you in!

In the meantime, I'd check out the credit card; since your credit was good enough to purchase a house, I don't know why you wouldn't be able to get a card.

Good luck.

I actually got a credit card offer in the mail yesterday from Washington Mutual. I'll go for it. All they can do is turn me down. I've heard that it dings your credit if you put in a lot of requests for credit, but I've already got the house, so that's kind of moot right now.

I chose a Saturday appointment because I get docked if I take time off work. I'm a contractor, so I don't get paid time off. My boss has mentioned a few times that she'd like to get her contractors hired full time, so it's not impossible.