Wearing braces is just not as easy as the teenagers make it look. I've seen so many teens and tween wearing braces and they seem unaffected by it all. Fakers!
I keep getting food mashed up in my braces and it's very difficult to get out. Then it feels like my mouth is all stuffed with mush, because it is. Very icky and uncomfortable. I have been brushing after eating and getting all of the extra bits of food out of the fence. But I also try to unwedge the bigger bits with my tongue.
I was eating rice or something, don't remember now, and I had a big hunk of it stuck on my upper molar. I just reached over with the tip of my tongue to dislodge my meal and I stabbed my tongue with the sharp hook on the metal bracket! OUCH! Really, I stabbed my tongue. It hurt so much!
There are hooks on the metal ring that hooks the wire onto that last molar tooth way in the back and that's what I jabbed my tongue on. So, I now have this tremendous puncture wound on the tip of my tongue.
And it freaking hurts! Why won't it heal up? I dunno, maybe because I'm always smothering it with food and things (brownies) that are not conducive to healing. In the meantime, I am suffering from a wounded tongue and my speech has completely gone south. I need speech therapy.
I can no longer say anything with an S in it. My poor little tongue owie and my braces are just too much for trying to say things like "Sally found seashells by the seashore" and "Stop slapping your sister". My lips have to wrap around all this extra hardware when I speak making me sound goofy and now with a stabbed tongue it's even worse.
I sound funny and my tongue hurts. I also have a bit of brownie stuck in my braces, but I'm just going to enjoy the chocolate taste all day.
Showing posts with label dentist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dentist. Show all posts
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
All Fenced in
I got the brackets glued on two weeks prior to getting the wires. Felt like I had a mouthful of cactus, but I guess my cheeks got used to the abrasive feel of the brackets. They also stuck little rubber "spacers" between my molars at that time. I really didn't like the feel of constantly having something stuck between my teeth, but it is what it is.
This trip to the dentist, oh, I suppose I should call him the Orthodontist, but whatever... anyway, this trip I was to get the spacers out and wires put on. Sounded easy enough. I am slowly realizing that nothing is ever easy at the dentist office. The dental assistant, real job title unknown to me so I made that one up for her, yanked out my rubber spacers. Oh joy. She used this fishhook on a stick as her spacer removal tool. My teeth are very tight together and the spacers didn't ever get any wiggle room, so pulling them out was no easy task. She pulled with all her might and her fishhook on a stick slipped sending the sharp instrument up into the roof of my mouth. I was stabbed!! Stabbed at the dentist office! It freaking hurt like crazy! I flinched and winced and hopped right up out of the chair and said "Oh My God! I'm bleeding and everything!" She looked at me like I was over reacting and then told me the spacers didn't move my teeth very much. Yeah, I understand that.
After she got the rest of the spacers out, without stabbing me, she put metal rings on my back molars. Wow, that was not pleasant at all! I'm not sure what she had to do to get them on, but it felt horrible! She used some sort of pinching tool and she pinched the inside of my cheek in her tool. Seriously? Is this her first day? I'm being abused here! Plus the rings were painful and felt just awful. She told me I would get used to it. I was ready to just call it quits right then and there, so she did some more adjusting and it felt a lot better.
I asked her how long she'd been doing this. She said since 1991. Well, if this is 20 yrs of experience, I'm sure glad I waited and wasn't her first patient. Can you imagine?
The orthodonist came over and gave the nod of approval for her work. Apparently, he didn't notice the gaping stab wound on the roof of my mouth. Ok, now I am ready for wires. At this point, I decide to just be a pest and request unscented gloves for the rest of my work. I was tired of holding back my gag reflex with those disgusting scented gloves right under my nose. I've suffered enough. They had to go hunting for some unscented gloves but it was worth it.
Clumsy experienced assistant lady is ready to continue her work. First, she yanks off a ring. I bolted up, "what are you doing? He said they were ok!" She says she has to put the glue on. Are you freaking kidding me? I said "so you have to do this twice? Really? Twice?" She again gives me this "you are over reacting" look, but dang, I was just mad. So, we start all over again, this time with uber disgusting glue. Once the glue set she says she has to chip off the overflow of glue and that it will wear off over time. Ewww! Honestly, I no longer know why I'm doing this!
Finally, time for the wires. She gets them on without too much trouble but I was pretty concerned when she stuck wire cutters in my mouth. After the wires were anchored down she added little rubber bands to each bracket and tied the teeth to the wire. She couldn't engage every tooth because they are just too crooked. I asked her if it will be this uncomfortable for the duration or just a few days. She says to get used to it, that's just how it will feel until we are done and I get them off in 2 yrs. I will always feel like my face is being pulled off. Great. I'm just gonna cry now.
Then she adds that I will only be able to eat soft food, and I won't be able to bite with my front teeth. This is normal and I'll get used to it. I am now screaming inside and fighting the urge to say really bad words out loud. The orthodontist never did come and check the glue and wire job so I hope it is done correctly. My teeth ached like crazy for three days and now they are just fine. I'm biting and chewing with care, but I'm doing it. It's really not bad. My fishhook wound is healed now too, and my pinched cheek. I'm hoping for a different assistant next time.
Just think, in two years my teeth will line up like chicklet soldiers!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Got a New Grin
I got braces!
It wasn't easy, but I got all the brackets glued on and separators stuffed between my molars. I get the wires on in 2 weeks. Feels So weird! I hope I get used to the feeling soon, because it's bizarre.
Getting the separators in was not easy, my teeth are so tight together. There was some blood involved when the guy rammed the floss down between my molars, then he commented on how tight my teeth are. Super crowded. Then he threaded the little rubber things in and got them shoved between the teeth. Not exactly the most fun ever, but no shots involved, so it was fine.
The brackets attached to each tooth look like they were glued on willy-nilly, but in the end they will be all lined up. Crazy crooked! It feels like I have a cactus glued to each tooth. And I just discovered that eating is a whole new adventure with all of these prickly plastic doohickeys in my mouth.
The thing that bugged me the most was the dentist's bubble gum scented gloves. OMG so gross! I was holding back my gag reflex and he kept asking me if it hurt, um no, you just freaking stink! Really bad! So, when he was all done and I got the vice taken off my mouth that was holding it open I told him I wasn't a fan of the bubble gum scented gloves. Next time I'll have to remember to ask for unscented. Who knew! Oh, and the vice or whatever it is called, geez, can it spread my lips out any farther? Holy crap! Can't believe they didn't split apart. Ay Ay Ay!
When they originally gave me my options for the style of braces I could get, my choices were metal or clear plastic. They showed me pictures and I decided on the clear. They are far from invisible, but they aren't as eye-catching as the shiny metal. I thought it was more "grown-up" to get the clear braces. So, as the guy is gluing on the last of the clear plastic brackets he casually mentions that they have a tendency to stain. Wait, stain? Ewww. Yeah, they will absorb the colors of foods, especially coffee and soda. I should quit drinking soda for sure and coffee.
Quit drinking coffee? Um, metal braces please!!! Oh boy. Are stained braces all that bad? I did quit drinking pop 5 years ago though, so at least I have that part of the battle won already.
When he was all done with me, I got to rinse my mouth out, goodbye glue and glove taste! And I was given a cleaning kit of floss and toothbrushes and wax and all sorts of fun things. Then he handed me some literature that said to quit drinking soda and candy and have my parents make an emergency appointment for me, even if it's during school hours, if I break my wires or brackets loose. Heh, I'm just a kid again!
I was done in 2 hours, and at least an hour of that was just waiting.
Keith went too, but he was mostly getting stuff done on the general side and I was only on the orthodontic side of the place, so I didn't see much of him. He was in ortho when I was and I heard the dentist telling him that braces might not be a good idea because of his bite, he has a skeletal problem that would require surgery involving the breaking of the jaw. Leaving his teeth as is would be better since the teeth are compensating for the misaligned jaw. Hmmmm. He's rethinking the whole braces thing which means I'm in this alone now. Dang it. But really, if it was me I'd opt out without even thinking about it. No freaking way would I do this if it involved that kind of reconstruction of the jaw. After his consultation, he was sent over to the dental side and the dentists worked on him for 5 hours. He was prepped for 4 crowns! Cripes! Poor guy.
We both go back in two weeks, but it won't be a date this time. I'm going on Wednesday to get the separators removed and the wires put in place, and he is going on Thursday to remove the temporary crowns and put on the permanent crowns.
In the meantime, I'm trying to figure out how to eat and smile with all these gizmos on my teeth.
It wasn't easy, but I got all the brackets glued on and separators stuffed between my molars. I get the wires on in 2 weeks. Feels So weird! I hope I get used to the feeling soon, because it's bizarre.
Getting the separators in was not easy, my teeth are so tight together. There was some blood involved when the guy rammed the floss down between my molars, then he commented on how tight my teeth are. Super crowded. Then he threaded the little rubber things in and got them shoved between the teeth. Not exactly the most fun ever, but no shots involved, so it was fine.
The brackets attached to each tooth look like they were glued on willy-nilly, but in the end they will be all lined up. Crazy crooked! It feels like I have a cactus glued to each tooth. And I just discovered that eating is a whole new adventure with all of these prickly plastic doohickeys in my mouth.
The thing that bugged me the most was the dentist's bubble gum scented gloves. OMG so gross! I was holding back my gag reflex and he kept asking me if it hurt, um no, you just freaking stink! Really bad! So, when he was all done and I got the vice taken off my mouth that was holding it open I told him I wasn't a fan of the bubble gum scented gloves. Next time I'll have to remember to ask for unscented. Who knew! Oh, and the vice or whatever it is called, geez, can it spread my lips out any farther? Holy crap! Can't believe they didn't split apart. Ay Ay Ay!
When they originally gave me my options for the style of braces I could get, my choices were metal or clear plastic. They showed me pictures and I decided on the clear. They are far from invisible, but they aren't as eye-catching as the shiny metal. I thought it was more "grown-up" to get the clear braces. So, as the guy is gluing on the last of the clear plastic brackets he casually mentions that they have a tendency to stain. Wait, stain? Ewww. Yeah, they will absorb the colors of foods, especially coffee and soda. I should quit drinking soda for sure and coffee.
Quit drinking coffee? Um, metal braces please!!! Oh boy. Are stained braces all that bad? I did quit drinking pop 5 years ago though, so at least I have that part of the battle won already.
When he was all done with me, I got to rinse my mouth out, goodbye glue and glove taste! And I was given a cleaning kit of floss and toothbrushes and wax and all sorts of fun things. Then he handed me some literature that said to quit drinking soda and candy and have my parents make an emergency appointment for me, even if it's during school hours, if I break my wires or brackets loose. Heh, I'm just a kid again!
I was done in 2 hours, and at least an hour of that was just waiting.
Keith went too, but he was mostly getting stuff done on the general side and I was only on the orthodontic side of the place, so I didn't see much of him. He was in ortho when I was and I heard the dentist telling him that braces might not be a good idea because of his bite, he has a skeletal problem that would require surgery involving the breaking of the jaw. Leaving his teeth as is would be better since the teeth are compensating for the misaligned jaw. Hmmmm. He's rethinking the whole braces thing which means I'm in this alone now. Dang it. But really, if it was me I'd opt out without even thinking about it. No freaking way would I do this if it involved that kind of reconstruction of the jaw. After his consultation, he was sent over to the dental side and the dentists worked on him for 5 hours. He was prepped for 4 crowns! Cripes! Poor guy.
We both go back in two weeks, but it won't be a date this time. I'm going on Wednesday to get the separators removed and the wires put in place, and he is going on Thursday to remove the temporary crowns and put on the permanent crowns.
In the meantime, I'm trying to figure out how to eat and smile with all these gizmos on my teeth.
Friday, September 10, 2010
How to Have the Quickest Dentist Appointment Ever
It's easy. Take along a two-yr old. (she's 23 mths and 2 weeks to be specific, but the attitude is totally two!)
A week ago, I had my worst dentist appointment. Got it done. The left side of my mouth got a deep cleaning, 4 cavities filled and a wisdom tooth extracted. No fun. I'll blog about it later and backdate it so that it all fits in the stream nicely - yes, someday when I have time. Anyway, I had a big gaping hole in my mouth from the tooth being pulled. Yesterday, I went in for a follow-up to see if I was healing ok. Which we all know is code for "so we can charge your insurance again".
I knew it would just be a quick check so I took Libby with me. She'll be fine..... Why do I think crazy thoughts like that? When will I ever learn?
She was fine in the waiting area. We waited for 20 minutes. She sat at a cute little children's table in some small little pint sized chairs. She just loved the chairs! She sat in every one of them and decided the green chair was the best. On the table was on of those beads on wires things. Happy little girl content in a little green chair playing with beads. And then they called my name.
I plucked my happy toddler out of the little green chair that was just her size and it was like I turned on the sirens. Let the wailing begin! She was screaming "Chair". I asked "Can I bring the little chair back with me?" The mean lab coat man said "No". Ok, then. Remember you said that.
I went back carrying my squirming screaming kid and was shown to a dental chair. I tried to sit in it, but Libby just bucked and screamed and she got away from me. She went screaming and running through the big room of stalls with me chasing her. I caught her and held on tight, got in the dentist's chair and I heard them say, "let's just do this one quick" and Poof the dentist and his entourage surrounded me.
The dentist took a quick peek with his little mirror on a stick and said I was healing nicely. Then he said very loudly so I could actually hear him over her high pitched screams, "she reminds me of my 2 yr old little girl". Haha. Then he yells, "Did you know you have a huge canker sore right next to where we extracted the tooth?". No, I did not. He said it isn't in the tooth hole, it's next to it. He says very loudly it looks sore but it'll heal. Ugh, no wonder I'm in this much pain. Canker sores hurt like crazy all by themselves! Libby is still screaming and kicking in my arms. Ok, you can go he says.
That took all of a couple of minutes, just like I thought it would. And, I got to be seen right away and didn't have to wait my turn. Haha!
I shift Libby around and get a better grip on her flailing little body and reposition her so that I don't get smacked on my sore side of my face and walked out.
I really wish this was on video. Really! As I walked down the short hallway to the reception area and the waiting room, it was like I pushed the pause button on everyone. Nobody moved. The now full waiting room was fill of faces with jaws dropped, all of them staring with big fearful eyes. Even the reception area froze solid with fear.
I could read their minds. "What did they do to that child back there?" I said to the nearest receptionist as I passed by, "She just wanted to take the little chair back with us". Hahahaha!
A week ago, I had my worst dentist appointment. Got it done. The left side of my mouth got a deep cleaning, 4 cavities filled and a wisdom tooth extracted. No fun. I'll blog about it later and backdate it so that it all fits in the stream nicely - yes, someday when I have time. Anyway, I had a big gaping hole in my mouth from the tooth being pulled. Yesterday, I went in for a follow-up to see if I was healing ok. Which we all know is code for "so we can charge your insurance again".
I knew it would just be a quick check so I took Libby with me. She'll be fine..... Why do I think crazy thoughts like that? When will I ever learn?
She was fine in the waiting area. We waited for 20 minutes. She sat at a cute little children's table in some small little pint sized chairs. She just loved the chairs! She sat in every one of them and decided the green chair was the best. On the table was on of those beads on wires things. Happy little girl content in a little green chair playing with beads. And then they called my name.
I plucked my happy toddler out of the little green chair that was just her size and it was like I turned on the sirens. Let the wailing begin! She was screaming "Chair". I asked "Can I bring the little chair back with me?" The mean lab coat man said "No". Ok, then. Remember you said that.
I went back carrying my squirming screaming kid and was shown to a dental chair. I tried to sit in it, but Libby just bucked and screamed and she got away from me. She went screaming and running through the big room of stalls with me chasing her. I caught her and held on tight, got in the dentist's chair and I heard them say, "let's just do this one quick" and Poof the dentist and his entourage surrounded me.
The dentist took a quick peek with his little mirror on a stick and said I was healing nicely. Then he said very loudly so I could actually hear him over her high pitched screams, "she reminds me of my 2 yr old little girl". Haha. Then he yells, "Did you know you have a huge canker sore right next to where we extracted the tooth?". No, I did not. He said it isn't in the tooth hole, it's next to it. He says very loudly it looks sore but it'll heal. Ugh, no wonder I'm in this much pain. Canker sores hurt like crazy all by themselves! Libby is still screaming and kicking in my arms. Ok, you can go he says.
That took all of a couple of minutes, just like I thought it would. And, I got to be seen right away and didn't have to wait my turn. Haha!
I shift Libby around and get a better grip on her flailing little body and reposition her so that I don't get smacked on my sore side of my face and walked out.
I really wish this was on video. Really! As I walked down the short hallway to the reception area and the waiting room, it was like I pushed the pause button on everyone. Nobody moved. The now full waiting room was fill of faces with jaws dropped, all of them staring with big fearful eyes. Even the reception area froze solid with fear.
I could read their minds. "What did they do to that child back there?" I said to the nearest receptionist as I passed by, "She just wanted to take the little chair back with us". Hahahaha!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Venturing out on a Dental Adventure
That's right, I said "Dental Adventure". Sure wish I would have said "Disneyland Adventure" or anything more fun than a dental adventure, but it's time for me to face the fact that I do own teeth and they need occasional care. I'm bucking up, putting on my brave face and going to the dentist.
I took the girls to a babysitter and headed over to the torture chamber. After twirling around and around the strip mall where I thought the dentist's office was, I tried another one, and another.... found it! Got to my appointment 20 minutes late. They said that was ok, just sign in.
I actually had two appointments, one at 10:30 for an orthodontic consultation and the next appointment at 11:30 for something I wasn't clear about on the dental side.
I didn't wait long, and then they called me back to the Orthodontic room. Lots of chairs all in one room, kind of weird, but whatever. The dentist came over and looked at my teeth, had me bite, open, bite, open... and then he made some notes and dished out the news. Bad news: My teeth are crooked. That was hardly news to me!
Then I went to the office to discuss the cost and payment plan for orthodontic work. If I get braces to correct my bite and straighten 'em up it will cost $3800. I about crapped!!! That is $1200 LESS than what it cost to put Katie in braces when she was 13 yrs old. Why is everything (except salaries) so much more expensive in South Dakota than it is in California? My insurance, which I was told is amazing coverage, will toss in $1500 leaving me with the balance. She thinks I'm having sticker shock, and I am but not like she thinks so I just keep that little tidbit to myself for now. So, the question is... Do I want clear (nearly clear) or metal with colorful rubber bands? Hmmmm... Colorful would be fun. Clear might be more mature. I have to think about that.
Time to go to the dental side of the office. I had to go back to the waiting room and sign in again, then right back down the hall to the room across the hall from where I just came from. I guess the jog up and down the hallway was good for me even though I thought it was kind of silly.
I sat in a little tiny room with an xray machine and got a ton of "bitewing" xrays done. Those are brutal. I think I have bruises inside my mouth from biting on the stiff square things. Why do they make them square? The corners just dig in and it hurts to get those xrays! I might be a wimp.
When that was done, I was escorted to another big room full of chairs but this time they each had a little wall divider between them. Well, that'll save the others from hearing me scream. The lady offered me a magazine because I would be waiting a while for the dentist. I had a book, so I opened that. I read one page and here comes the troops. Ugh. It's time. I screamed in my mind.
Had to give myself a quick little pep talk as the monsters, er, dentist people, came toward me. Be brave, Mary, be brave. You can do this, or, at least pretend you can. Buck up, Mary. Ugh, they were upon me.
An office lady, a hygienist (I think?) and the dentist. Office lady explains that she will be taking notes for billing purposes, hygenist sits behind me and says absolutely nothing, dentist says "Open wide". ugh. Right away, I'm impressed that the chair has a dip in it for my pony tail. The dentist pokes and prods and blows air on my teeth. Ouch. Ouch. Wince. ouch. This seems to take forever. He looks at my xrays. Apparently, I have hundreds of teeth, like a shark. I resist the temptation to bite him.
Exam done. Tiime for the bad news. I don't even pretend that I am expecting good news. My teeth hurt.
The guy says "For someone who hasn't had a cleaning or exam in ten years you have very good teeth" I say in my defense, "It might have been 9 yrs ago and I did try to go 5 yrs ago but I panicked and they asked me to leave before anything got done". Great, now he knows I'm a freak as well as negligent. I should know better, people who work in dental offices go to the dentist every day, no way would they understand how ten years can just "slip by" between visits. I decide to shut up and listen.
The guy says "You only have 6 cavities!" Only? Ugh. No wonder my teeth hurt. He says "They are all small and you don't need any root canals or crowns". Oh goodie. "And you only need one extraction". Wh-wh-what?
He reminds me that I have one lower wisdom tooth already extracted, leaving the upper one without a mate. It is descending and part of the root is exposed. He says it will be an easy yank. Yank? Oh geez. I told him how the lower extraction went and really, I don't care to relive that experience. So, if there is any chance that I need the other two wisdom teeth out, I want to do it as an oral surgery and not have to experience any of the extraction. Getting that one out was like pulling a car out of my mouth. My teeth are huge and well anchored. He says this one is big, true, but it is not well anchored. The other two are just fine and removing them will not benefit me any as they will not give me more room for my overcrowding issue and they do not have cavities. Amazing because I can't get a toothbrush way back in there.
So, he says, you need a cleaning and fill the cavities and extract the one tooth. He just needs a minute and he'll get right to it.
Now? OMG!!!
But first, they want more xrays. Ugh. Nooooo. I am taken to another xray room with a different machine. This one is for the orthodontist. And I just had to stand there and a big machine whirled all around my head. It was painless and easy. They did a panoramic xray. Very cool! Oy, very crooked. You can really see it in the xray. Wowza.
After this, they take me to the orthodontic side again and take pictures with a little camera of my teeth. Nice. I have always wanted close up digital photos of my teeth. Love the flash going off an inch from my eyeball.
Now that I'm blind... they want to clean my teeth and fill my cavities. Wait, wait, I'm not ready for that. I need to know what time it is and go get my kids from the sitter sometime before the day is over. So they say I should come back this evening or tomorrow or Saturday or next week.... I say "two weeks". I think they were afraid I'd never come back. So, I explain, I'm busy. I have a daughter starting preschool next week and another daughter having a baby on Sunday if not before, and I have to arrange babysitting for my toddler... my turn to see them with the shock look on their faces! ha!
So, I am getting the left side cleaned and filled in 2 weeks and then the other side probably a week later. After the health issues are fixed, I get the braces put on.
Before I am let go, they want to make impressions of my teeth. It'll just take a minute. Ugh, Ok, fine. one more thing and then I'm out. I had been there almost 3 hrs and quite frankly, I was just done.
This guy fills up a tooth shaped tray with foam which had a strong bubble gum smell, ewwww, and shoved it in my mouth. Gag! I might die!!! He babbles on and on about how his buddies and him would practice this on each other at dental school. Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up! He takes it out, whew! Noooo, gotta do the top teeth now. We repeat the torture and as he's choking me to death and I'm resisting the urge to puke all over the place, he continues to tell me all about how him and his buddies would make the mix too thin and then it would run down their throat and they'd puke on each other... seriously, dude, shut the hell up.
Finally, that was done and I was set free. I had bits of bubble gum foam all over my face and I fled like the place was on fire.
Got in my van and I didn't even care that I left my water bottle right in sun and toxic plastic chemicals probably leeched into the water, I just drank up that hot water and it never tasted so good! Blech, the dentist goo was gross! It was after 1pm and I'm sure Libby needed to get home for a good nap by now.
My big crooked divit filled teeth hurt.
I took the girls to a babysitter and headed over to the torture chamber. After twirling around and around the strip mall where I thought the dentist's office was, I tried another one, and another.... found it! Got to my appointment 20 minutes late. They said that was ok, just sign in.
I actually had two appointments, one at 10:30 for an orthodontic consultation and the next appointment at 11:30 for something I wasn't clear about on the dental side.
I didn't wait long, and then they called me back to the Orthodontic room. Lots of chairs all in one room, kind of weird, but whatever. The dentist came over and looked at my teeth, had me bite, open, bite, open... and then he made some notes and dished out the news. Bad news: My teeth are crooked. That was hardly news to me!
Then I went to the office to discuss the cost and payment plan for orthodontic work. If I get braces to correct my bite and straighten 'em up it will cost $3800. I about crapped!!! That is $1200 LESS than what it cost to put Katie in braces when she was 13 yrs old. Why is everything (except salaries) so much more expensive in South Dakota than it is in California? My insurance, which I was told is amazing coverage, will toss in $1500 leaving me with the balance. She thinks I'm having sticker shock, and I am but not like she thinks so I just keep that little tidbit to myself for now. So, the question is... Do I want clear (nearly clear) or metal with colorful rubber bands? Hmmmm... Colorful would be fun. Clear might be more mature. I have to think about that.
Time to go to the dental side of the office. I had to go back to the waiting room and sign in again, then right back down the hall to the room across the hall from where I just came from. I guess the jog up and down the hallway was good for me even though I thought it was kind of silly.
I sat in a little tiny room with an xray machine and got a ton of "bitewing" xrays done. Those are brutal. I think I have bruises inside my mouth from biting on the stiff square things. Why do they make them square? The corners just dig in and it hurts to get those xrays! I might be a wimp.
When that was done, I was escorted to another big room full of chairs but this time they each had a little wall divider between them. Well, that'll save the others from hearing me scream. The lady offered me a magazine because I would be waiting a while for the dentist. I had a book, so I opened that. I read one page and here comes the troops. Ugh. It's time. I screamed in my mind.
Had to give myself a quick little pep talk as the monsters, er, dentist people, came toward me. Be brave, Mary, be brave. You can do this, or, at least pretend you can. Buck up, Mary. Ugh, they were upon me.
An office lady, a hygienist (I think?) and the dentist. Office lady explains that she will be taking notes for billing purposes, hygenist sits behind me and says absolutely nothing, dentist says "Open wide". ugh. Right away, I'm impressed that the chair has a dip in it for my pony tail. The dentist pokes and prods and blows air on my teeth. Ouch. Ouch. Wince. ouch. This seems to take forever. He looks at my xrays. Apparently, I have hundreds of teeth, like a shark. I resist the temptation to bite him.
My teeth
Exam done. Tiime for the bad news. I don't even pretend that I am expecting good news. My teeth hurt.
The guy says "For someone who hasn't had a cleaning or exam in ten years you have very good teeth" I say in my defense, "It might have been 9 yrs ago and I did try to go 5 yrs ago but I panicked and they asked me to leave before anything got done". Great, now he knows I'm a freak as well as negligent. I should know better, people who work in dental offices go to the dentist every day, no way would they understand how ten years can just "slip by" between visits. I decide to shut up and listen.
The guy says "You only have 6 cavities!" Only? Ugh. No wonder my teeth hurt. He says "They are all small and you don't need any root canals or crowns". Oh goodie. "And you only need one extraction". Wh-wh-what?
He reminds me that I have one lower wisdom tooth already extracted, leaving the upper one without a mate. It is descending and part of the root is exposed. He says it will be an easy yank. Yank? Oh geez. I told him how the lower extraction went and really, I don't care to relive that experience. So, if there is any chance that I need the other two wisdom teeth out, I want to do it as an oral surgery and not have to experience any of the extraction. Getting that one out was like pulling a car out of my mouth. My teeth are huge and well anchored. He says this one is big, true, but it is not well anchored. The other two are just fine and removing them will not benefit me any as they will not give me more room for my overcrowding issue and they do not have cavities. Amazing because I can't get a toothbrush way back in there.
So, he says, you need a cleaning and fill the cavities and extract the one tooth. He just needs a minute and he'll get right to it.
Now? OMG!!!
But first, they want more xrays. Ugh. Nooooo. I am taken to another xray room with a different machine. This one is for the orthodontist. And I just had to stand there and a big machine whirled all around my head. It was painless and easy. They did a panoramic xray. Very cool! Oy, very crooked. You can really see it in the xray. Wowza.
After this, they take me to the orthodontic side again and take pictures with a little camera of my teeth. Nice. I have always wanted close up digital photos of my teeth. Love the flash going off an inch from my eyeball.
Now that I'm blind... they want to clean my teeth and fill my cavities. Wait, wait, I'm not ready for that. I need to know what time it is and go get my kids from the sitter sometime before the day is over. So they say I should come back this evening or tomorrow or Saturday or next week.... I say "two weeks". I think they were afraid I'd never come back. So, I explain, I'm busy. I have a daughter starting preschool next week and another daughter having a baby on Sunday if not before, and I have to arrange babysitting for my toddler... my turn to see them with the shock look on their faces! ha!
So, I am getting the left side cleaned and filled in 2 weeks and then the other side probably a week later. After the health issues are fixed, I get the braces put on.
Before I am let go, they want to make impressions of my teeth. It'll just take a minute. Ugh, Ok, fine. one more thing and then I'm out. I had been there almost 3 hrs and quite frankly, I was just done.
This guy fills up a tooth shaped tray with foam which had a strong bubble gum smell, ewwww, and shoved it in my mouth. Gag! I might die!!! He babbles on and on about how his buddies and him would practice this on each other at dental school. Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up! He takes it out, whew! Noooo, gotta do the top teeth now. We repeat the torture and as he's choking me to death and I'm resisting the urge to puke all over the place, he continues to tell me all about how him and his buddies would make the mix too thin and then it would run down their throat and they'd puke on each other... seriously, dude, shut the hell up.
Finally, that was done and I was set free. I had bits of bubble gum foam all over my face and I fled like the place was on fire.
Got in my van and I didn't even care that I left my water bottle right in sun and toxic plastic chemicals probably leeched into the water, I just drank up that hot water and it never tasted so good! Blech, the dentist goo was gross! It was after 1pm and I'm sure Libby needed to get home for a good nap by now.
My big crooked divit filled teeth hurt.
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