Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
The wreckage of my mouth
So here’s the death toll thus far. I’ve had five fillings and one root canal/crown. I still need another crown but we’re leaving that to 2012 because I’ve exceeded my benefits for the year. And no telling what he wants to do to my left lower quadrant; perhaps that’s a project for 2013.
After I finish doing my teeth, the cool tatt is absolutely next.
Of all the various discomforts of dental work, the least of it is the needle. Yeah, I know some people hate the local injection, but I’m a surgeon. The local injection is our friend. And I need plenty of him, heaven knows; I’m one of these people who gets numb only after the third injection.
Next in line of things I hate the most would be the pain of the drilling. Honestly, it’s more the anticipation of pain than the pain itself that bugs me. If I could be certain that the low level pain I experience is the limit of it, I would gladly forgo that third injection. But I’m not a trusting sort, and I keep expecting the nerve to wrap itself around the drill and send my brain into the stratosphere.
Worse than the injection and the pain of the drilling is that awful itchy feeling I experience when the lidocaine starts to wear off. I have to show enormous restraint to avoid tearing the flesh off my face.
And worst of all is the TMJ because, unlike everything else, it lingers for days.
All that’s left for 2011 is the placement of the permanent crown. And he’s not even charging me for it. Because he already has.
Do you suppose he has to numb me to remove the temporary crown and place the permanent? I hope not.
D.
Removing the temporary crown was the easiest part of the whole thing. 🙂
Aside from the infection I got from my root canal, the worst pain was the bone deep cold in my jaw from all the air he had to blow on the area to get it dry enough to set properly. Hurt for hours. 🙁
(and yes, I do know if was from the internal tissue getting too cold. It was exactly like the pain I get from refrigerated saline IVs.)
For me, I’d rather deal with the pain than the awful lingering cruddiness that the lidocaine leaves. So when I have my temps out, I ask that they don’t numb me. Generally they have to do a bit of drilling, a little touch up, a little buffing and fitting and they don’t want people whining, so they numb them. But it’s really not that bad, more discomfort than actual pain.
I let them numb me for fillings, though, although I ask for ‘the minimum’, and I let them go to town if they’re doing a root canal.
I’m a total wimp when it comes to dental work. I’d rather be frozen to the eyeballs than feel it when he hits a nerve. If they gave me the option, I’d even be frozen for the ‘jabbing my gums with metal spikes’ part of the cleaning session.
Taking the temp off is painless, though – it just feels weird as they’re pulling it off.
I went to the same dentist to get three fillings, admittedly much less painful than a root canal, but I thought that he did a good job with minimal discomfort. God knows I have trust issues like everyone else, but he seemed very competent and thoughtful about minimizing any pain. I still felt some anxiety, but whenever I started tensing up, I tried going into “zen mode” and concentrated on relaxing my muscles. I’ve been through various medical procedures and I’ve always found that if I don’t trust the doctor/dentist, I will have much more pain and stress, both during and after.
Yes, you will have to be “frozen” to remove the temporary crown…the better he stuck it on, the longer it takes to come off, but it’s not too bad. . I’m also one of those people who needs to make sure the numbing is good enough though I’ve never been shot more than once. The drilling, keeping my mouth open for that long during a crown procedure, it all blows. I’d rather have a pap smear. My dentist is very good though…yeah, even the one in Vegas was pretty darn good.
Call me crazy but I had all my old mercury fillings removed and replaced with crowns a few years ago. I had an appointment with a wonderful dentist every two weeks for several months, with a short break somewhere in the middle, until all was pearly white again. My jaws got sore. I had no dental insurance, but it was worth every penny. I would do it again. My teeth now look and feel wonderful. I love to smile and show them off.