The Rest of the Story
Sep. 22nd, 2006 04:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kittytechNo, I'm not talking about Paul Harvey, I'm talking about the entry that I didn't post last night. It's probably just as well that I didn't though because now there's more to it. So, let's get started.
Yesterday I did a computer delivery. Things didn't go all that well; (maybe I'll write more on that in a protected entry), but I was really frustrated by the time I got home. I had less than an hour to find something to eat before leaving again to teach my class. I grabbed a chicken pot pie, (fortunately microwaveable), and set the timer. I was doing some stuff at my desk waiting for it to finish.
While eating this very soft food, I started to notice some gritty stuff. I figured that it was maybe just a bad piece of chicken or something so I ignored it. A couple of bites later though, I felt more grit. I personally don't like grit in my food, so I started trying to figure out what it was. Turns out that it was part of a 20-year-old filling that decided to start breaking down. I lost a little of it a couple of years ago, but I really didn't think much of it and so never got it taken care of. This one though was different. I went and did my class but the sharp edge of the tooth was cutting into my lip, and I was bleeding a little. Since it was the last class we were reviewing things, and we let out a little early. I had asked Jim to start looking into places where I could go to get the tooth looked at, so when I got home he told me that he hadn't really had all that much luck.
I ended up calling 1-800-Dentist and they gave me the name and number of a dentist in my area who had Friday hours. I was told that they'd call me this morning and hopefully get me in today. So, this morning, at a little after 8:00 the phone rang, and it was the dentist's office receptionist.
I went in at 10:00 AM this morning. Prior to leaving though, I was sitting at my computer writing an email. We had some rain, but it wasn't bad. Right in the middle of the email message though, everything went dead, and I heard a really big bang outside the window. We've had power outages here before, but they normally last only a couple of seconds, When, after about a minute or two, the power hadn't returned, I called the electric company. I think it was out for a total of about 3 hours, which knocked out the computers, the Cable, and my business phone, all because of a blown transformer. So, I guess I picked a good time to go to the dentist because I couldn't have gotten any work done anyway. SMILE!
Anyway, the dentist. I'm not big on them when my teeth aren't bothering me, but when I'm having a problem it's even worse. Last night Jim picked up ice cream for me because we figured that it would be good since it was so soft. Unfortunately, it was so cold that it actually really hurt my tooth so that didn't work. I made myself some mashed potatoes and those ended up tasting really good.
So anyway, I was really impressed with this place from the beginning. As much as I hate having to have someone fill out my paperwork for me, the lady that helpped me was wonderful. she didn't get flustered or anything, and she tried to do it in a way that would protect my privacy. I also was given two financing options that I could apply for. Considering that I have no dental insurance, I was very happy to know of other options. So they started with an X-Ray of the tooth, and several minutes later I was taken back to see the dentist. She told me that from looking at the picture I might have two options. One was to rebuild the tooth and the other was to pull it. She said she wouldn't know anything for sure until she got into my mouth to look. She took a look and said that I had two strikes against me. First, believe it or not, this tooth was my one remaining baby tooth. There was nothing under it to push it out so I never actually lost it. Second, the filling was pretty deep and she felt that it would be better to just pull it and be done even though they don't like to extract unless it's absolutely necessary.
This left me with three options for treatment after the extraction. First, I could do nothing, and leave the hole in my mouth forever. To me this is not an option to even consider because I don't have a lot of teeth on that side of my mouth to begin with since I never grew all of them. Second, I could have them put in a bridge. This involves breaking down the teeth on either side of the hole in order to attach a tooth in it's place and have it attached on either side, and she said that those teeth were good and she really didn't want to break down two good teeth. So, my third option, and the one I'm most seriously considering, is an implant. By the time the bridge would be done it would only cost me $500 more for the implant, and the implant is permanent. It would involve surgery, but it's an in-office procedure so it's not like I'd have to go to the hospital or anything.
So, they started the tooth extraction. She numbed me about 4 times with a needle. The interesting thing about that is that to me, a needle in my mouth is nowhere near as uncomfortable as a needle in other places. Don't ask me why. Yes, it was a bit uncomfortable, but it could have been worse. I started sounding to myself like I'd had too much to drink, but it was kind of funny.
So, she started working on the tooth. Because this was a baby tooth, she had some problems grabbing it because she didn't have a lot of smaller tools. Add to this the fact that, despite possible evidence that says differently, I really do have a small mouth. She eventually did get it, but it came with an additional prize. The tooth in front of it broke. There was still a small part of the root left, and they did another X-Ray to see if it would be a problem or not. Apparently it's not, but she said that if it became a problem they'd fix it. Once the tooth was out she had to concentrate on the new problem. The tooth is fine otherwise, so the put a temporary cap on it. I have to go back next Wednesday morning so that the tooth can be rebuilt in preparation for a crown. I'm so excited! SMILE!
By the time I got home, the power had been restored and the numbness was beginning to wear off just a bit. As it continued to wear off my jaw started to get a bit stiff. I figured that it would be a good idea to relax for the rest of the day, which is what I'm doing now. I've been pretty much avoiding the phone because I like to have the phone on my left side, and it's a little uncomfortable at the moment. I'm taking pills for the pain. To be honest though, at this precise second I'm not really hurting all that bad. I'm a little uncomfortable, but it's nowhere as bad as it could be.
So, that's the end of my interesting week. Fun, huh? I'm eating soft foods, and chewing as much as possible on the other side of my mouth, but I'm hoping that it won't be too long before things get back to normal.
Well, I'm going to go for now and relax for a while before trying to find something else to eat. Later, everyone.
Yesterday I did a computer delivery. Things didn't go all that well; (maybe I'll write more on that in a protected entry), but I was really frustrated by the time I got home. I had less than an hour to find something to eat before leaving again to teach my class. I grabbed a chicken pot pie, (fortunately microwaveable), and set the timer. I was doing some stuff at my desk waiting for it to finish.
While eating this very soft food, I started to notice some gritty stuff. I figured that it was maybe just a bad piece of chicken or something so I ignored it. A couple of bites later though, I felt more grit. I personally don't like grit in my food, so I started trying to figure out what it was. Turns out that it was part of a 20-year-old filling that decided to start breaking down. I lost a little of it a couple of years ago, but I really didn't think much of it and so never got it taken care of. This one though was different. I went and did my class but the sharp edge of the tooth was cutting into my lip, and I was bleeding a little. Since it was the last class we were reviewing things, and we let out a little early. I had asked Jim to start looking into places where I could go to get the tooth looked at, so when I got home he told me that he hadn't really had all that much luck.
I ended up calling 1-800-Dentist and they gave me the name and number of a dentist in my area who had Friday hours. I was told that they'd call me this morning and hopefully get me in today. So, this morning, at a little after 8:00 the phone rang, and it was the dentist's office receptionist.
I went in at 10:00 AM this morning. Prior to leaving though, I was sitting at my computer writing an email. We had some rain, but it wasn't bad. Right in the middle of the email message though, everything went dead, and I heard a really big bang outside the window. We've had power outages here before, but they normally last only a couple of seconds, When, after about a minute or two, the power hadn't returned, I called the electric company. I think it was out for a total of about 3 hours, which knocked out the computers, the Cable, and my business phone, all because of a blown transformer. So, I guess I picked a good time to go to the dentist because I couldn't have gotten any work done anyway. SMILE!
Anyway, the dentist. I'm not big on them when my teeth aren't bothering me, but when I'm having a problem it's even worse. Last night Jim picked up ice cream for me because we figured that it would be good since it was so soft. Unfortunately, it was so cold that it actually really hurt my tooth so that didn't work. I made myself some mashed potatoes and those ended up tasting really good.
So anyway, I was really impressed with this place from the beginning. As much as I hate having to have someone fill out my paperwork for me, the lady that helpped me was wonderful. she didn't get flustered or anything, and she tried to do it in a way that would protect my privacy. I also was given two financing options that I could apply for. Considering that I have no dental insurance, I was very happy to know of other options. So they started with an X-Ray of the tooth, and several minutes later I was taken back to see the dentist. She told me that from looking at the picture I might have two options. One was to rebuild the tooth and the other was to pull it. She said she wouldn't know anything for sure until she got into my mouth to look. She took a look and said that I had two strikes against me. First, believe it or not, this tooth was my one remaining baby tooth. There was nothing under it to push it out so I never actually lost it. Second, the filling was pretty deep and she felt that it would be better to just pull it and be done even though they don't like to extract unless it's absolutely necessary.
This left me with three options for treatment after the extraction. First, I could do nothing, and leave the hole in my mouth forever. To me this is not an option to even consider because I don't have a lot of teeth on that side of my mouth to begin with since I never grew all of them. Second, I could have them put in a bridge. This involves breaking down the teeth on either side of the hole in order to attach a tooth in it's place and have it attached on either side, and she said that those teeth were good and she really didn't want to break down two good teeth. So, my third option, and the one I'm most seriously considering, is an implant. By the time the bridge would be done it would only cost me $500 more for the implant, and the implant is permanent. It would involve surgery, but it's an in-office procedure so it's not like I'd have to go to the hospital or anything.
So, they started the tooth extraction. She numbed me about 4 times with a needle. The interesting thing about that is that to me, a needle in my mouth is nowhere near as uncomfortable as a needle in other places. Don't ask me why. Yes, it was a bit uncomfortable, but it could have been worse. I started sounding to myself like I'd had too much to drink, but it was kind of funny.
So, she started working on the tooth. Because this was a baby tooth, she had some problems grabbing it because she didn't have a lot of smaller tools. Add to this the fact that, despite possible evidence that says differently, I really do have a small mouth. She eventually did get it, but it came with an additional prize. The tooth in front of it broke. There was still a small part of the root left, and they did another X-Ray to see if it would be a problem or not. Apparently it's not, but she said that if it became a problem they'd fix it. Once the tooth was out she had to concentrate on the new problem. The tooth is fine otherwise, so the put a temporary cap on it. I have to go back next Wednesday morning so that the tooth can be rebuilt in preparation for a crown. I'm so excited! SMILE!
By the time I got home, the power had been restored and the numbness was beginning to wear off just a bit. As it continued to wear off my jaw started to get a bit stiff. I figured that it would be a good idea to relax for the rest of the day, which is what I'm doing now. I've been pretty much avoiding the phone because I like to have the phone on my left side, and it's a little uncomfortable at the moment. I'm taking pills for the pain. To be honest though, at this precise second I'm not really hurting all that bad. I'm a little uncomfortable, but it's nowhere as bad as it could be.
So, that's the end of my interesting week. Fun, huh? I'm eating soft foods, and chewing as much as possible on the other side of my mouth, but I'm hoping that it won't be too long before things get back to normal.
Well, I'm going to go for now and relax for a while before trying to find something else to eat. Later, everyone.
