This afternoon while I was eating a sandwich. This is quite possibly one of the worst thing that could happen. They can save the tooth- it is just going to screw up my life in any number of ways.
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I missed one of the three allowable absenses in class-my first section- putting me closer to failure and seriously taking down brownie points with my TA.
I go to the dentist. I am scared to death of dentists. I spend close to two hour in near tears while a grown man sticks his fingers in my mouth.
I get to have a root canal! Dentist claims it won’t hurt because the nerve is dead- yeah right!
I have to go back, over time, and let them fix the myriad of other problems that my teeth surely have.
I will end up paying over $1,000 for the whole ordeal. I have no money. I have no money. I have no money. I have no money. I have no money. I have no money. I have no money.
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I have no money. I recently learned my class schedule won’t allow me to continue on with my job unless I learn to only have to sleep for five hours a night. I am going to have to pay around $700.00 in general expenses for my classes (film classes) and I can barely barely do that. I’ve already shaken my mom down for cash and she has been so generous, and I don’t think that she can help me out any more without going hungry herself. I have no more money. I can’t pay for this. I will, because the other option is to loose the tooth, but I don’t know how I am going to pay for this- any of this. I can’t do it! And I am so scared about what my life is going to be like after I stop being able to ask my mom to bail me out when I can’t pay for my life and the student loans come due. I HAVE NO MONEY!
I’m deathly afraid of dentists too. I’ve been avoiding going to see one for a year now. And just tonight I’ve been thinking that I need to get in and see one cause my teeth have been aching… I’d rather have my appendix taken out.
first off, when your student loans come due… usually payments are pretty low per month to start with, and hopefully you’ll have a job.
As far as your tooth goes, a friend of mine fainted and knocked one of hers out… he had the whole root canal thing, and filling the empty hole with calcium hydroxide to force the gums to build a protective layer to keep further infections from screwing up the rest of your teeth… as much as the thought of pain may freak you out, this is a good thing. Have it done.
I am assuming that you still have some medical insurance since it seems that you are a full-time student - see if it will cover this, since it falls under emergency care. The medical plan will usually cover this, not the dental. I can check with my friend tomorrow morning if you’d like.
If you don’t have insurance: why? I understand the “no money” bit, but insurance, no matter how convoluted the system may be, is well worth having.
see, even sven, live by Blackclaw’s example… as in **don’t[/] do what he’s done… get your tooth fixed ASAP. They say good dental hygeine can increase your odds of longevity. I guess then that Blackclaw is doomed…
See this is why you shouldn’t post for sympathy in the pit. You run the risk of your would be sympathizers going after each other.
MFS, a known rodent molestor, is just upset cause I made fun of his obviously shroom induced first thread here in the pit. Apparently a reference I made to a duck wearing a rain coat further upset him. I’m not sure why. Perhaps he was once flashed by a water-fowl and liked it.
sven, if it helps you any, I had a root canal done (abcess, due to previous trauma). The worst thing about it was the shot of novacaine. Really, it didn’t hurt at all.
It’s been over 10 years, and I haven’t had any problems with it since.
Just adding my $0.02 in complete agreement with Beelzebubba on this. When I had my root canal, it was an absolute relief, I do not recall any pain at all, except the novocaine shot.
Of course, I had been dealing with an infected nerve in my tooth for the two weeks prior. The dentist probably could’ve cut it out with a dull jigsaw and I would have been just as happy.
I have had a tooth missing for 4 years now with very little ill effects. The dentist wanted to do a root canal, crown -the whole show - it was going to cost $3,000 or so. (Dentist had a boat payment due???)
I just said no. I have to be a little more diligent in tooth brushing and once or twice I have had some pain in 4 years, but nothing serious.
As a former dental assistant, let me urge you to get it done. $1000 for the root canal and the resulting crown is actually sounding pretty right on. Some dentists will let you make payments. Talk with your doc on this. Also, if you’re really nervous, talk to him about Nitrous Oxide. The gas can really help you relax. Take in a pair of headphones and a Walkman and turn on some mellow, relaxing music to help drown out the other sounds.
Plus, and let me say this as strongly as I can, do everything you can to keep your own teeth! Don’t have them removed! Nothing you can ever replace them with (a bridge, etc) will ever be as good as what God gave you.
Sure, just missing one would probably not be too bad, but where do you stop the next time this happens? Pretty soon, you’re left with 3 molars and couple up front. It’s a slippery slope.
Hang in - things are usually never as bad as they look like they’ll be. Good luck.
Here I am, trying to give some help to someone who has suffered dental trauma, and you accuse me of molesting rodents. You, senior Blackclaw, have some serious issues.
Hey, if it’s any consolation, I just found out I need to have all my wisdom teeth out (like, NOW), plus I might need a root canal and I definately need a crown. (all, like NOW). AND I maxed out my dental insurance for the year and have a $600 tab with my very kind dentist already.
I had an emergency root canal in feburary (cause of my maxing out my insurance BTW). I have to tell you truthfully that it was very, very painful. I wept through the entire procedure, and on the drive home, and for 2 hours afterwards. My nerve was not only dead but septic and causing me extreme pain the day before. I truly wanted to die. (during the root canal, rather than removing the nerves which are apaprently normally hairlike threads, they drained the nerve, which was foul-smelling slush by that time).
I am extremely difficult at dentists, also, which I why I tell you this story. Everyone was telling me it would be no big deal but it was a big deal – probably because I get so upset about the dentist. But also, not knowing how painful it would be (having been told it was no big deal) I did not ask for a sufficent level of anesthesia to begin with. So, the procedure hurt A LOT, needlessly.
I would highly suggest asking your dentist or endodontist for some valium or other anti-axiety drug before the procedure begins. Let them know about your level of dentist anxiety and they will try to help you out. if your dentist does not take your concerns seriously find one who will!!! Also, make it clear that you would like the procedure completed in one visit if dentally possible. (sometimes it is done in 2 visits)
Also, while my dentist allows me to make payments, the endodontist demanded payment up front (I had to use a credit card).
Do you consider a root canal and probably a crown as keeping your own tooth? Isn’t the tooth (or what’s left of it) completely dead after the root canal?
I agree that you should try to keep your own teeth, but I don’t know if a root canal and crown can be considered keeping your own teeth.
Do you think that not having the root canal causes other teeth to fall out?
My friend who had a tooth fall out said that the repair work did not go on her dental insurance, but went on her medical insurance, which allowed it to be paid almost 100% by the insurance, as opposed to the only ~75-80% that dental would have covered.
Such traumatic tooth repair is considered emergency work, so it fell outside the scope of dental insurance, so medical picks it up instead.
I highly recommend you look into this. Could save you lots of money and future headaches.
omigod, MFS, you’re a lifesaver! I’m on the phone with my medical insurance right now and since wisdom teeth are “oral surgery” its looking optimistic! Maybe they’ll cover part!!
<sings the “i love the SDMB” song>
Get it done, it ain’t that bad. Of course, this is coming from someone who LOVES to get root canals. Right now I have crowns on all 28 teeth, after many, many dental visits (or “Maxillofacillary Specialist” visits). It sucks ass, but once you get it all done it’s well worth it. Just remember to take care of them chompers or you’ll wind up like me: at 21 I’ve got crowns, by 31 I’ll prolly need dentures
[sub]oh yeah, and the crowns cost me about 26,000, that’s a nice new car, a few years of school, and quite a few other things.[/sub]
This is really good advice. It helps a great deal to take your mind off what’s happening. I’ve actually started to doze off slightly during some dental work, and I hate dental visits.
I’ve had a root canal, and it wasn’t that bad. The worst part was the very end, when the dentist was polishing the new replacement tooth. He had a “dremel tool” device with a very coarse blade that vibrated my entire head (or so it seemed). This didn’t hurt the tooth so much as my entire head. The endless polishing like this to get the new tooth perfectly smooth was the only unpleasant part, after the first shot.
Well, after a night of tossing and turning and worrying about money, I made the appointment. I’m not worried about the pain, too much. He said he can give me some muscle relaxent to help with the nervousness and I’ll bring along a CD player. I’m still worried about the cash, but I don’t really have any other option so I guess I will learn to deal. My insurance will pay 80% after a two hundred and fifty dollar deductable, but with two procedures (the root canal and the crown) that is going to still add up to quite a bit.
sigh
Lesson learned. Never put things off that can get worse with time. This tooth has had problems for years, and with a little more dilligence I could have stopped it before it got this bad.
