There was a recent thread, Who Wants a Root Canal? that I did not check into, because I didn’t, at the time, know that I was soon to be a fellow traveler.
Well, I did that journey today and, really, compared to my last one 35 years ago, it was a cake walk. I have a feeling there’s more in the future, but I will say that dentistry is worlds above what it was when I was growing up (this from someone who has not seen a dentist in 11 years). No pain to speak of during the procedure and now only a mild headache that I associate with holding the mouth open for an hour and a half. I advised my friends and my boss in advance that I would be having chicken soup and Crown Royal for dinner tonight, so I think everything’s OK.
I remember seeing that thread, wincing, and moving on…hurriedly!! I’m grateful that you’re not having any other side effects. Keeping your mouth open for that long is my biggest pain too, though I had a wonderful assistant to the dentist, who would rub my jaw, still, it’s awful.
Eleven years??? Whoa, your luck must be running strong, wanna try for the lottery now???
Never had a tooth pulled but coddled the Ex through the surgery where they peel back the gums and scrape down to the bone. You don’t wanna know about torn stitches, hemorraging and blasting him back to the doc’s office during a sleet storm…the cop was very understanding about that stop sign.
True fact: your root canal will keep you alive. I don’t understand people who let their teeth rot.
Baked potato and jello are other soft foods you can eat after having your teeth worked on. After I had all 4 of my wisdom teeth taken out, I swore I never wanted to eat those ever again.
BTW, I can relate about the dentist. I haven’t been in around 7-8 years. The last time I had my teeth cleaned, I had gone around the same length of time. I sat in the chair and tech worked on me for about a half a minute and then said I was done. I guess I’m just lucky. Of course it helps that I border on compulsive about cleaning my teeth.
I just had my first dentist appointment since I left home and my mom stopped scheduling them for me. So, it’s been at least five years and I have my first cavity! :o
Actually I have two cavities and a chipped tooth. (Chomped down on a toothpick hiding in a sandwich) Gonna cost me $140. I’m not really scared of the dentist. Never have been. But, I’d kinda like to know what to expect. (For example, I always thought having a cavity poked with that metal poker they use would be excruciating, but instead was more like pressing on a sore muscle.)
Also, they are trying to talk me into “bleaching” my teeth with one of those take home tray type set-ups. I’m only considering it because I’m getting married this summer and it might be nice for the wedding. Anyone have any comments on bleaching?
I don’t know if I trust my dentist to do only what’s useful, since she moaned about not catching my wisdom teeth in time to pull them. “Well, you have plenty of room for them and they’re not infected-- how do you keep them so clean?-- I guess there’s no need to have them removed. ::whistful sigh::”
Mirth- ”Also, they are trying to talk me into “bleaching” my teeth with one of those take home tray type set-ups.”
I’m no dentist, but my friend who happens to be a dentist advised against using the home whitening kit. According to him, the kits are much more harmful on your teeth than the method dentist’s use. Basically, he went into a spiel on how the at home kits eat away at the enamel on your teeth. They may look good initially, but down the road they will be more damaged than before.
He told me to have a dentist do the whitening. It cost more but the chemicals and training they have make it much safer for your teeth. I only mention that he’s a friend because it leads me to believe he’s not trying to pull on over on me.
I haven’t been to a dentist in at least three years, and I know I really should go because I have one really bad tooth that desperately needs a root canal. However, my oldest child is going to the dentist this Saturday for the first of four root canals, and he also needs a couple of tooth extractions and braces. As it is probably going to take me five years to pay off the dentist just for his dental work, I don’t anticipate being able to see a dentist myself for quite some time.
Thanks Cnote. I don’t think I want to pay to have the enamel stripped from my teeth. Nice of my dentists to not mention this side effect. Grr. Oh well, I couldn’t have afforded it anyway.
Shadow- that sucks. When my dentist told me it was going to be $140 I was just thinking how lucky I am to be able to fork over that much money. It’s sad when you have insurance and can still barely afford (or in your case you can’t afford) to look after your health. Not only is it sad, its damned irritating.
I have dental insurance and I still can’t afford to pay for it. If the kid had just needed regular fillings, the insurance would have covered it 100%. But he needs root canals, which are only 50% covered. Braces aren’t covered at all by the insurance, which really sucks because they are so damn expensive. I guess I should consider myself lucky, at least I have the insurance.
I HATE going to the dentist. I have a really nice dentist, but I have this horror of people sticking sharp things in my mouth. The only time I didn’t mind going was when a big chunk broke off of one of my wisdom teeth, and while the tooth didn’t hurt, the edge was rubbing on the inside of my mouth and it hurt like HELL. So when that dentist (this was a few years ago) said, “I’m going to pull it,” I figured it couldn’t be worse than the pain I was already in.
I have had a chipped front tooth for several years; I had it fixed once but what they fixed it with fell out. I haven’t bothered asking about getting it fixed again.
All I ask from a dentist is a: to be nice to be when I’m being irrationally fearful and b: to pass the nitrous!
