Getting Dental Work Sucks

[Scroby 0]

Just like the title says, getting dental work sucks and I need to get a lot of it. My teeth are in bad shape...not in horrible shape, but bad shape. I never had dental as a kid and I really haven't been to the dentist all that much since I got out of high school. I've gone..I think 3 times altogether, so when I recently got dental, I decided to really go to the dentist and take care of my teeth. About two weeks ago, I went in and got a x-ray and my teeth clean and after we figured out what we needed to be done, I decided to go ahead and just start getting things taken care of, and that started today.

 

Today marked the 1st of what will be many on-going dental visits. Today I got a deep cleaning on the bottom row of my teeth and a tooth pulled. The deep cleaning wasn't bad, it was quick and was pretty much painless but the tooth that got pulled. Yeah, wasn't fun. The dentist pulled it out without a problem but he had to numb the hell out of my mouth before he could pull it. He told me that the tooth left a pretty big hole in my mouth so he had to put a stich in it to try and cover it up....and it didn't help very much.

 

Right now, my mouth is a bit sore and I really can't (don't) eat solid food for another hour or so. I got Vicodin and have to take some anti-biotics along with using a speical kind of mouth wash to help heal my new gap. Luckily the new gap is in the back of my mouth so no one can notice it when I smile. I go back next week to have the stich removed and I think he's going to do a deep cleaning on the top row of my teeth.

 

But yeah, needing to get so much dental work done, sucks balls. Anyone else kinda in the position I am in?

 

Here's what I'm getting done before July

-Stich removed/Deep Cleaning

-Root Canal

-Bridge to replace gap in the back of my mouth

 

After July

-Fillings, many a fillings

[CanadianChris 0]

I was, and I'm finally getting to the end of all these procedures. When I was 20, I had to make an emergency visit to the dentist to have a molar removed due to an infected nerve -- believe me, there is no pain quite like that.

 

Three years later, I finally got dental insurance through my new job (never had it as a kid), and since then, I've had another molar removed, as well as two wisdom teeth, and about 7 or 8 fillings (one of which replaced another that had fallen out, thanks to shoddy work by my previous dentist -- nothing like walking around for three weeks with a hole in your mouth, waiting to have it filled). In August, I'm having two more fillings, and that's it for now. With my last round of fillings, I wasn't able to be frozen enough to not feel anything, and I could actually feel my tooth being drilled open. Not pleasant AT ALL.

 

One of the wisdom teeth was just removed last Wednesday. Some advice: Never schedule a dental procedure right before a major holiday.

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

I had my wisdom teeth yanked a couple years ago. The top ones. It took about a quart of stuff to numb me up, and I was already high when I went in. One of them was a typical gigantic molar, but the other was a fucked up deformed fang-looking thing. It wasn't decayed, just..weird looking. Sharp and cylindrical. The dentist even remarked "Well that's kind of strange. Oh well. It's out now."

[Scroby 0]

Luckily the only thing wrong with my molars are just some small cavities, which will be filled later down the road. My wisdom teeth, umm, sorta broke away by decaying. I still have a some of those teeth still in my gums, but those are going to have to come out later down the road as well. The dentist really didn't make a big deal out of it and just said the parts of the wisdom teeth that didn't come out, I need to have removed.

[The Niggardly King 0]

No cavities, just a few jack up looking tooths.

[randomguy 0]

I have to get a couple of wisdom teeth pulled next month. Other than that I'm in good shape.

 

I had 4 teeth pulled when I was younger and that really sucked.

[randomguy 0]

And now my wisdom teeth are out.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I went years without dental work before a tooth shattered and I finally had to go back. It's been beneficial as my teeth are in much better shape. Oddly I don't mind dental work much anymore, even novocaine. The only thing that bugs me is post-procedure numbness.

[spman 0]

Getting my bottom Wisdom Teeth removed was one of the most painful experiences I can remember. They knocked me out for the procedure, but afterwards it bled and hurt for at least 2 days, and I couldn't eat anything but tomato soup. Definitely avoid doing that if it's not absolutely necessary. Otherwise I just get constant cavities due to the endless amounts of soda I drink. I refuse the Novocaine though, I had that fucking needle. Just drill the tooth and get it over with.

[randomguy 0]

My bleeding has already basically stopped after 8 hours or so.

[theintensifier 0]

I've been lucky and never had a cavity, ever. My parents were always harping to me to brush my teeth three times a day, I'd maybe do it once, or twice tops. Toothpaste used to make me sick to my stomach all the time, and I hated brushing my teeth because of it.

 

One day at boot camp my Senior Drill Instructor called me to the duty hut and told me my wisdom teeth were getting pulled if I liked it or not. It didn't hurt at all, because they numbed it so much. But, it did hurt the next day when one of my DI's woke me up by grabbing my mouth and making me yell. Dry socket. Good times.

[Scroby 0]

So I went back last Thursday to get the top row deep cleaned and the stich removed, but they only removed the stich. I guess I need to wait a couple of weeks for the gum to heal since I got the tooth removed. I'm going back next week to get the top row done, then in June I'm getting a root canal...woot fun times.

 

They talked to me about doing the invisaline stuff, and I'm not to sure about it. My bottom row are kinda slanted but not to badly. Its not like I can't fit a piece of floss inbetween them and the top row are just fine. So after I get all the work done, I think I may just skip that. Having the invisaline and needing to wear a retainer at night might get pretty stranious..plus I already know that when I'm out for a night, I'll forget about the retainer.

[Scroby 0]

On Friday, I went in for my first (and hopefully last) root canal. I was completely expecting to be in pain because everytime you mention "root canal" to someone, they always tell you that it was one of the most painful experiances you'll ever have and I guess they were wrong. I really felt no pain during the whole thing. The only pain I really felt was the strain on my jaw for having to keep my mouth open for nearly two hours.

 

Though the dentist didn't finish the root canal, he told me that apprently my gum was really irritated so he couldn't finish by putting the filling stuff in, but I think it's because he had two patiants waiting and he wanted to get to them so he could get the hell out of there. So now I have to go back in on Friday so the dentist can put the rest of the filling it...Then I have to be kinda careful for the next 6 months so he can cap it off in Jan.. My dental insurance max'ed out, so I can't really get any more expensive work done until 2008. Meaning for the next 6 months, my root canal will be 75% done, and I have to really careful not to fracture the filling he's putting in on Friday.

 

I really wish Friday would come around at the moment as my tooth really hurts when I put any type of pressure on it. I have some Vicodin but I really, really hate taking vicodin when the pain isn't as servere. It's a small pain, but it's a small constent pain I'm having and when I put a bit of pressure on that tooth, that small constent pain become a quick large sharp pain. Yeah, Friday really needs to hurry up.

[Fökai 0]

Yeah, unless I'm impervious to pain, the root canal I had last summer was a piece of cake. I put that that procedure off for so long because of the horror stories everyone would hear. The only thing that truly freaked me out was the feeling of a needle actually going through the bottom of my jaw to numb that area.

 

The worst pain I've ever felt in my life was the sleepless night before I finally caved to go to the dentist. The inside of one of my teeth had rotted to the nerve (yet the outside remained pretty immaculate), and I don't wish that shit on ANYONE.