Gatlinburg TN
I had been dreading today. I have a terrible fear of dentists. In my younger days, I’d go years between checkups. But, in the last five or six years, I’ve been going regularly. I’ve had some problems with gum disease, but was sure I’d gotten it under control before we left Pittsburgh. This blog is going to be a bit graphic, but even if you’re afraid of dentists, too, please read on. Hopefully, my experiences will give you courage to keep your mouth healthy.
Kelly did a great job of distracting me, starting yesterday. She kept me engaged in other things and somehow managed just the right blend of talking and not talking about it.
Today, the dentist planned to take full x-rays of my mouth and then discuss the results with me. This did not go well. Me, the stoic German girl, cried. And got really pissed off.
Let’s start with the cavities. I have four. One comprises about 25% of a molar. It takes at least a year for a cavity to get that big. That means my former dentist either missed the side of a barn door or mislead me. On all those trips to deal with gums, asking about cavities at every checkup, I was told my mouth was fine. Oh, yeah. This is fine.
Now let’s talk about gums. Mine are in bad shape. There are two teeth he may not be able to save. Again, I thought I was in maintenance mode – no idea things were this bad. Actually, I thought my gums were better than they’d ever been.
Today, I got what they call a “deep cleaning” on the right side of my mouth. First, the hygienist injected pain killers. In Tennessee dental hygienists are certified to give both local and nerve block injections. She did a good job – didn’t hurt a bit and she nailed it on the first try. (Kelly says I’m a freak of nature because it’s so hard for dentists to get my teeth numb. These guys, armed with that information, have nailed it consistently.) Then she took those sharp little instruments and chipped away. After that the real fun started. She used a tiny tool that sent out a very powerful jet of water to clean some more, deep under the gum line. This part was not comfortable, but it never really hurt. She stopped often to suck up spit and let me catch my breath. The water part took a long time. Then, she packed antibiotic powder into each tooth, again below the gum line.
They gave me a special rinse to use at home to help keep the bacteria down. I was advised to not floss on the treated side for ten days. They told me to not chew on that side either, but since I’m not supposed to chew on the temporary crown – which is on the other side – I expressed some confusion. The final advice: chew on the treated side, but don’t eat anything that could get stuck.
Kelly also has some gum disease. One tooth was pretty bad. She got the same treatment, but on just that one tooth. She had two places on her upper jaw where food was getting stuck and evading flossing. The dentist recommended she have two fillings inserted in those spots, essentially blocking the space so that food could no longer get stuck. She had that done today.
We looked pretty funny, each of us drooling out of opposite sides of our mouths. We kept laughing at each other. After the shots wore off, we could feel the treated teeth throbbing. She was able to eat supper, but I was so sore I couldn’t eat at all.
I had been dreading today. I have a terrible fear of dentists. In my younger days, I’d go years between checkups. But, in the last five or six years, I’ve been going regularly. I’ve had some problems with gum disease, but was sure I’d gotten it under control before we left Pittsburgh. This blog is going to be a bit graphic, but even if you’re afraid of dentists, too, please read on. Hopefully, my experiences will give you courage to keep your mouth healthy.
Kelly did a great job of distracting me, starting yesterday. She kept me engaged in other things and somehow managed just the right blend of talking and not talking about it.
Today, the dentist planned to take full x-rays of my mouth and then discuss the results with me. This did not go well. Me, the stoic German girl, cried. And got really pissed off.
Let’s start with the cavities. I have four. One comprises about 25% of a molar. It takes at least a year for a cavity to get that big. That means my former dentist either missed the side of a barn door or mislead me. On all those trips to deal with gums, asking about cavities at every checkup, I was told my mouth was fine. Oh, yeah. This is fine.
Now let’s talk about gums. Mine are in bad shape. There are two teeth he may not be able to save. Again, I thought I was in maintenance mode – no idea things were this bad. Actually, I thought my gums were better than they’d ever been.
Today, I got what they call a “deep cleaning” on the right side of my mouth. First, the hygienist injected pain killers. In Tennessee dental hygienists are certified to give both local and nerve block injections. She did a good job – didn’t hurt a bit and she nailed it on the first try. (Kelly says I’m a freak of nature because it’s so hard for dentists to get my teeth numb. These guys, armed with that information, have nailed it consistently.) Then she took those sharp little instruments and chipped away. After that the real fun started. She used a tiny tool that sent out a very powerful jet of water to clean some more, deep under the gum line. This part was not comfortable, but it never really hurt. She stopped often to suck up spit and let me catch my breath. The water part took a long time. Then, she packed antibiotic powder into each tooth, again below the gum line.
They gave me a special rinse to use at home to help keep the bacteria down. I was advised to not floss on the treated side for ten days. They told me to not chew on that side either, but since I’m not supposed to chew on the temporary crown – which is on the other side – I expressed some confusion. The final advice: chew on the treated side, but don’t eat anything that could get stuck.
Kelly also has some gum disease. One tooth was pretty bad. She got the same treatment, but on just that one tooth. She had two places on her upper jaw where food was getting stuck and evading flossing. The dentist recommended she have two fillings inserted in those spots, essentially blocking the space so that food could no longer get stuck. She had that done today.
We looked pretty funny, each of us drooling out of opposite sides of our mouths. We kept laughing at each other. After the shots wore off, we could feel the treated teeth throbbing. She was able to eat supper, but I was so sore I couldn’t eat at all.
No comments:
Post a Comment
We welcome your comments, but they will be reviewed, and possibly rejected, prior to being posted to the site.