I’ve got a toothache, and it must be at least 25 years since I last felt any toothy-type pain at all (and that was when I had my braces installed and tightened every month). I’d forgotten what it was like.
And it’s not nice. It fucking hurts and my whole face is aching and giving me the shits. And I feel remorseful now that I didn’t give those who have complained to me about similar afflictions due sympathy.
It seems that a visit to the dentist is my first port of call in the morning, and I hate dentists almost as much as I hate this pain in my lower head. Which is probably why I have a toothache, because I try to avoid the dentist as much as possible. Yeah, yeah, I know…every six months is recommended, but I’ve never considered dentistry as something you would willingly submit to without EXTREME reason. Alas, it seems I have one now.
And not only are they going to poke and prod my oh-so-sensitive mouth, they’re gonna lecture me about how I should have more regular visits. And they’re going to do it while my mouth is full of cotton wool and/or probey things, so I won’t be able to give 'em a litany of excuses (like I do with the doc when my pap smear is somewhat overdue). God I hate dentists, and I hate my molar even more.
It’s not a pain that’s easy to describe, or pleasant to remember. There are few pains you can experience that are as unpleasant.
Last year I broke a tooth on – get this – salad. It hurt like a motherfucker. I’ve avoided dentists so far, having lack of insurance as my biggest excuse. Fortunately, there is no more pain, as the starches that got caught in the gap have turned to sugars, and eaten away at not only the tooth but the nerve. I’ll give them another few seconds before they start eating away at my brain and making me type like a breic keikdbd woinvnvorvonv sbgairu493ty8vn9p
Ugh, a year or so ago I went and got a filling fixed. The pain was unbearable, and after walking around for months in a grimace, I broke down and went to my dentist. I think the temporary filling is starting to go, because I ate a Kit Kat bar yesterday and well, you know the rest.
Oh boy, I had a filling going bad on a molar once. It became temperature sensitive. I like the dentist and go irregularly (read when insured). Anyway we talked about the molar from time to time. He would say “Well, let me know when it gets bad enough to fix.”
It got to the point where I had to drink with a straw and had trouble eating a meal- the combination of, say, cold tea and hot spaghetti made meal eating a challenge.
Then it began to hurt. Badly.
I made an appointment to have it fixed. On the day of the appointment, I made the mistake of drinking some cold water with no straw. OMG, the pain was intense. I fell to the floor and started writhing and …taking my clothes off. My normal person side was saying “Hey, why are you taking your clothes off? That doesn’t have anything to do with your tooth.” But my crazed side was saying “Do something. Anything. Make the pain go away!!!”
I got a fabulous new tooth (I’m not sure what it is called. A crown? A cap?) I love the fake tooth. I paid extra for a white one even tho’ it’s a molar. Teeth are important. Teeth are you friends. Go to the dentist. It is so worth it.
But I still like to drink everthing, even hot coffee, with a straw.
I take the kids regularly, too, even uninsured. It costs $200.00 to $300.00 a visit, but I take them even if I don’t take myself.
About 10 years ago, I had 2 wisdom teeth cut out, and the dentist used novocaine. My codeine prescription wasn’t called in until after the procedure, and I had to wait about 45 minutes at the pharmacy.
It’s not fun to be drooling blood, sweating ice water and shaking because your novocaine has worn off and you haven’t gotten your meds yet. I don’t recommend it.
I, on the other hand, would give anything to be able to visit my dentist. Unfortunately, I have no insurance.
It sucks-I need two root canals, a bridge, caps, fillings, you name it.
The one tooth, I think, is going to be beyond root canaling-because it’s just crumbling.
(However, lest you think I look like one of those peasants from the Dark Ages, I don’t have bad breath or hideous looking teeth-they’re a bit big, but they’re clean and I keep mints and gum around. It’s just molars, mostly. And they hurt and I have trouble chewing. )
On a Saturday.
The dentist office was closed.
I had to work that day.
Before going into to work I debated whether or not to even go. If I stayed home I wouldn’t feel any better, and at work (fast food at the time) I would be busy and my mind would be off of the toothache somewhat. My dad, who’s a pharmacist, gave me some Darvacet (sp?) tablets to take with me. They helped to make the pain at least tolerable. The side of my mouth was swollen and I was getting some strange looks from the people who came to the drive-thru window. At 5:00 my shift ended and I went home. Meanwhile, my mom had called the dentist at home (my parents know him well enough to do this) and arranged to have me meet him at his office. I don’t remember what caused the pain, but he shot me up with some novocaine, did his work and the pain was gone. As much as I dislike going to the dentist, I was sure glad I didn’t have to wait out the weekend and deal with the excruciating pain until the following Monday.
kambuckta, I sympathize - I too just felt the pangs of a new cavity - I HATE that feeling! Not only is the pain bad, but the realization that I have a cavity and have to go to the dentist and get it filled sucks just as much. About the dentist every six months, from the time I was 11 till when I was about 14 I didn’t go to the dentist once, and when I finally went again, I didn’t have a single cavity AND the dentist told me my teeth were cleaner than hers. Obviously it’s best to go every six months, but you can get by without.
I don’t know where you’re posting from, but I hear more and more commercials for really cheap dental insurance. I need to look into it myself, because it sounds like comparable coverage to what I have now, for less money.
The commercials usually boast monthly rates of $10-20 for an individual.
Between toothaches and natural childbirth I’d choose the childbirth - it hurts less. I often wonder if it’s because of the proximity of your teeth to the brain.
To all of you with current dental “siuations” you have my deep and heartfelt sympathies.
Eep! How horrible! I’ve had a couple cavities the last few years, but I go to the dentist roughly twice a year, so they were caught before I felt a thing. Only thing is that I have this deep fear of drilling; I’m convinced that the novacaine is gonna wear off just BAM right in the middle of drilling (even though I know that’s impossible).
The worst pain I remember was the day I got my braces. The tooth on the right side of my right front tooth (got that? heh), was literally sideways before braces. I think they had the braces a bit too tight at first, because in about 3 hours the tooth was twisted to almost being straight. :eek: Oh.my.GOD, I remember trying to keep my jaws clenched tightly because that made it hurt a tiny bit less, and being curled up on my bed with tears streaming down my face. It didn’t stop for hours.
Jeez. Double impacted wisdom extraction under local. Arch bar removal (owing to quadruple mandibular fracture) without anesthetic. Triple screw removal from tibial repair under local. Pain is relative.
Quit being whiny boys and get a grip. Focus, and be a better person.
Quite a few friends who had braces were always cutting their mouths on them. Once I was in a car with my friend and her younger sister got her lip caught in her braces-we were trying to comfort her while she fixed it.
Another friend had blood stains on her patio in the back from where she fell and cut her lip on her braces.
