Out, out, dammed tooth!

Ouch!!!!!

from JoeUser Forums

I had my tooth yanked this afternoon.  I got an Xray done and talked to the dentist, and we decided that the best plan of action for me would be to get a partial denture for my bottom teeth made.  We're going to take a full mouth Xray the next time I go in, and then we're going to yank any teeth that we think are suspicious and then make the partial.  A month or 6 weeks from now, I should have some nice bottom teeth! 

He was really cool; he understood my need to make sure that I can manage the cost of the kid's retainers and braces, and said that if I wanted to, I could get rid of the partial and get implants once my babies are all done with their dental care.

So, after we decided that we would pull the offending molar out, he numbed me up and went to work.

As usual, nothing went according to plan.  He tugged and tugged, but it wouldn't budge.  He separated the gum tissue from the tooth and tugged some more, but the damn thing still stayed put.

He had to break out the scalpel and the bone saw.  He incised into my gum, exposing the tooth roots, and then he sawed away the bone surrounding the roots.  A few more tugs, and the bastard thing finally came out. 

I had to have a surgical extraction.  Great.  Now my insurance will cover even less of the cost.

But, it's out.  The jaw bone and tissue will heal, and then I'll be able to get some nice new teeth to chew with.  We also have a plan to deal with my upper teeth - the front ones have root canals in them and are discoloring and getting loose, so we've talked about getting a partial for them sometime in the not too distant future. Apparently, if I had been raised in the US, I probably wouldn't be having to have all this stuff done.  I have years of crappy NHS dental care to thank for all this.  Fucking socialized medicine....it's a good theory, but in practice it sucks ass.  I sometimes want to send all the eejits who want the US to have a medical system like the UK to England and make them deal with the NHS waiting lists and shoddy, ineffective care.

I'm going to make some scrambled eggs and lay on the couch now.  Have my jaw messed with has made me woozy.....

3,095 views 10 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top

OOOOOOOOOhoooooooooooh you poor babe!  this old hen knows exactly what you went through!! 

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((dharma))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

you're going to look beautiful with a new partial,  and hey my dentist from the U of M is headed to the UK to live after he vacations in his native land of Greece this summer.  He's already graduated,  and is completing his 1st year of residency here and is excellent!  Wouldn't that be crackers?  great if we ended up having the same dentist??

I go back Tuesday for the bite wing?  on the lower partial and another ajustment of the upper denture.

God you went through hell with your extraction!!  what a beast it was! 

"the front ones have root canals in them and are discoloring and getting loose" 

that sounds like it was part of what was going on with my upper teeth.  Lots of root canals and failed restorations,  plus one sticking out further than the rest!  Then too I wonder how much the medicine we've taken affects our teeth???  I know the Methotrexate for the RA affects my hair and gastro stuff.

Gosh I yak a lot!  Hope you feel better in a few days dharma!  guess it's soup, scrambled eggs, and mashed food for awhile for you too   hang in there like the tuff kitten ya are.

Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
Dharma

Sorry to hear that you had to have the surgical extraction, yeoch. I have been there with USN dentist and I know how bad it hurts they did 2 at once. Gave me some tylenol with codine which I took just before laying in my then girlfriends lap. I promptly passed out. She was awesome and held me there until I woke up but, the pain and swelling was horrible!

Hope you heal swiftly...
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Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top

this old hen knows exactly what you went through!!

I know, and I was thinking about you as I was laying in the chair getting tugged and sawed on! 

Lots of root canals and failed restorations, plus one sticking out further than the rest! Then too I wonder how much the medicine we've taken affects our teeth???

My root canals were done in the UK, and they were done badly. One of the front ones is getting discolored and the one next to it is chipped, so I'm a little conscious about my smile and how it looks.  I'd rather have dentures than the smile I have right now, and it looks like this dentist is really willing and happy to help me get the smile I want! 

 

OOh, he called me last night on his way home from the office, Trudy!  He said he wanted to make sure I was doing ok...how nice was that?!  I'm very, very impressed with him.  He even said that he could fix Jake's smashed front teeth with some tooth colored fillings.  Jake's VERY happy about that - our old dentist told him that he'd have to live with that crooked smile until he was 18 and was old enough to get crowns. 

Sorry to hear that you had to have the surgical extraction, yeoch

You know, the pain this morning is actually LESS than the pain I was having with the toothache I had yesterday morning, before I got it pulled out.  That should give you some idea of how bad that toothache was!

 

Get em all yanked and get dentures. You'll never regret it.

Oh, and the best thing for raw gum tissue is applesauce and iced tea. The pectin and tannins are very soothing...i lived on these two items for a good week or so after I got my dentures!

I'm thinking that I'm not going to regret it either.  Like I said, we're doing a complete set of X-rays before we make the partial so we can see if there are any other teeth that need taken out - and I have a feeling that there are going to be a few - so we can make dentures that are going to be satisfactory for a good few years.  I've always felt that dentures have a kind of stigma to them, but to be honest I'd rather have dentures, be able to chew properly and have a nice smile than keep teeth that are going to decay because of the meds I'm on.  It doesn't matter how much I brush and floss, thanks to my genetic makeup and the medications I'm going to have cavities.

Thanks for the tip about the applesauce; I knew that tea was good because of the tannins, but I didn't know about the pectin!

Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
"Have my jaw messed with has made me woozy....."

Just hearing about it made me woozy! You poor thing! I will have to tell Alex about what you went through to make him feel better about his tooth being yanked.

Hope you heal quickly. Anything in your mouth seems waaaay bigger. You poor thing.
Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
I will have to tell Alex about what you went through to make him feel better about his tooth being yanked


Yes, please do! I know that it's rotten for a kid to have to go through an extraction; it was slightly scary for me so I can imagine how scary it must be for a little guy.

I'm actually pretty good this morning. Not much pain, and I was able to eat some more scrambled eggs.
Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top
it was slightly scary for me so I can imagine how scary it must be for a little guy.


He freaked out but I am sure it was from fear rather than pain. They gave him orange "flavored" gas, swabbed him so numb he didn't even realize they gave him 3 shots of novacaine but when the yanking started he freaked. I have been in similar situations as he and am sure it was the fear of what he might be about to feel rather than what he was feeling.

He is supposed to get a tiny filling on another tooth next time and I assured him it would be far easier he just has to control himself when he hears the drill. I think fillings sound and smell far worse than how they feel (unless they don't numb you which the dentist did to me once).

Alex was eating and feeling better about a half hour after getting his tooth yanked. The side of his face was still numb and he looked pretty pathetic but he was very pleased that the pain was gone. Yours is much more extreme of course. I'm glad you aren't feeling much pain. It sure sounds like you should!
Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top

He freaked out but I am sure it was from fear rather than pain. They gave him orange "flavored" gas, swabbed him so numb he didn't even realize they gave him 3 shots of novacaine but when the yanking started he freaked.

I almost did too. Dr Martin was very gentle, but I was still kind of scared.  I had a number of bad experiences with dentists when i was a child, and consequently I really, really really don't like them and avoid going unless I have to.  So, along with my predisposition to decay I also have what's verging on a phobia, which is why my teeth are the way they are. 

I think fillings sound and smell far worse than how they feel (unless they don't numb you which the dentist did to me once).

Me too.  It was a National Health Service dentist in the UK, and he said that he didn't believe in giving local anasthetics to children.  So, every filling I had to have done was painful. I also had impacted wisdom teeth removed when I was 17, without the benefit of IV sedation or even any pain meds afterwards.  They just shot me up with novacaine, sliced open my gums and yanked my teeth out, then sent me home without a prescription for anything at all.  The dentist that did the surgery splintered my jaw on one side, and I ended up with a piece of bone surfacing under my tongue a couple of years later.  I really wish my mother had spoken up and told the dentist that he either gave me a local when he filled my teeth or we would go else where - I know that's what I'd do for my kids.

  

Alex was eating and feeling better about a half hour after getting his tooth yanked. The side of his face was still numb and he looked pretty pathetic but he was very pleased that the pain was gone. Yours is much more extreme of course. I'm glad you aren't feeling much pain. It sure sounds like you should!

Surprisingly, this isn't that painful.  The toothache was much, much worse than the pain after having it yanked is.  I was expecting to be on pain meds today, but I haven't needed to take any.  I'm eating more solid stuff today - I had scrambled eggs and coffee for breakfast, a banana for a snack and I'm having a grilled ham and swiss sandwich for lunch (cut into little pieces so I can eat it).

I know that there's another tooth I need to have yanked out in order to have a partial made.  If it's as easy as this one yesterday was I'm going to be a VERY happy camper!

Reply #8 from JoeUser Forums Top
I'm glad to hear that you are already feeling better. Hope your healing continues quickly!
Reply #9 from JoeUser Forums Top
Well there I was, trotting along down the path of every day life and pausing occasionally to hug the dogs and kiss the butterflies when I thought, "how is that wonderful lady from Joeuser who was the inspiration for Waddle-Doo all that time ago?" And so I decided to find out, and hunted down this heap of metal. I waved my wand over it and up came your latest blog. As I read, a cloud drifted over and read over my shoulder, and soon was sobbing huge raindrops on my shoulder. She and I had never talked much, her being a cloud and all, but I have the feeling that this will be the start of a very beautiful friendship.

To summarize, I'm terribly sorry that your life is complicated by irritating mental crap right now. I know how frustrating that can be, but I can hardly imagine how one would get by when the extra responsibility of being a good mom was added. I'm also grateful to you for inspiring the creation of a new friend. She's pretty shy, but hopefully some day I'll get her to try out a blog. Meanwhile, you have my assurance that she'll be reading your stuff regularly.

May peace be thine,

Dan
Reply #10 from JoeUser Forums Top
ouchies!!!! and aWWWWWWWWWW..... you used my paraphrase.

you owe me 1 cent american. heh heh heh