Revenge of Tooth 19

This is the third in an ongoing series of ridiculousness that goes back more than five years.  You can read parts one and two as well. When we last left our heroine, she was recovering from gum surgery and waiting for a new permanent crown on tooth 19.  At that point, I already knew I wouldn't be returning to CHARLES PIKE IN OAKLAND, FL (hello, Googlers), having been disappointed with all of his work on both me and Scott except for my wisdom tooth extractions.  So I paid what I had to to get the crown completed, and crossed my fingers that I wouldn't need any further dental work before the new calendar year when I could find a new dentist.

A few weeks ago, I noticed a little bit of the familiar "old man denture smell" coming from that side of my mouth, but it never once occurred to me that the cause was the same ol' tooth.  Today, I was given a bag of Swedish Fish and grabbed a few after finishing my lunch.  I bit down on one on the left side of my mouth, and when my mouth opened I felt the crown lift right out of my mouth.

umm...yeah...

For those of you doing the mental math, that's less than eleven months.

My "permanent crown," after two dentists, an endodontist, and a periodontist, lasted less than eleven months.

I called the new dentist and they were able to squeeze me in this afternoon.  And then I started reading up on my dental benefits.  I knew that they wouldn't pay anything else for the crown for that tooth for 5 years, and I sure as heck knew I wouldn't be returning to CHARLES PIKE IN OAKLAND, FL even though the crown was still under some sort of warranty there.  By the time I got to the dentist, I had pretty much decided that if this was going to be anything more than a simple re-cementing that I was going to have the tooth removed and would get an implant (for which insurance would pay 50%).

Thank goodness the tooth stump was not cracked or decayed, and the dentist was able to re-cement the existing crown back into place (with something a little stronger than Elmer's... I asked!).  My mouth is still a little sore, having been poked and prodded and scraped, but not even enough to warrant taking any ibuprofen.

To be continued...?

The Never-Ending Tooth Problem

I've got what can best be described as a "problem tooth."  The first problem with this tooth was back in January 2007.  That's when my dentist saw a small cavity.  According to this blog post from March of that year, the small cavity wasn't filled in time (through no fault of my own) and needed a root canal, which took 2 appointments to complete and then got infected.  Ironically, at that time I was referring to this as the never ending cavity.  If only I had known...

Right after the crown was put on, I was convinced there was a problem. I kept cutting my tongue on a sharp spot on the inside, but the dentist poked, x-rayed, and otherwise inspected and said there was no problem with the crown.

Fast-forward to August of 2010.  The crown on the problem tooth had cracked and was starting to crumble away. I returned to the dentist, and he decided to have a new lab-made crown made.  He put a temporary seal on top of the tooth, and sent me on my way.  I was supposed to return the following Monday to have the new crown put on, and took the day off to accomplish this.  They called me Monday morning to cancel because the lab hadn't returned the new crown.  The woman who called me was rude, didn't apologize, and didn't call back to reschedule once the crown came in.  When I e-mailed and brought the terrible customer service to the attention of the dentist, he e-mailed me back and basically said "don't come back."

So I didn't.

And unfortunately I waited until early this year to finally make an appointment with another dentist.  And then it took until April for the new crown to be made and cemented into place.  It hurt the day he put it in.  When the assistant dry-fitted the crown, it felt like it was too big.  The dentist just jammed it in and said it was fine.  It felt like the crown had little barbs on the bottom that were digging into my gums.

It was sensitive, but I sort of shrugged and figured it was all part of the healing process.  Then I started to notice that occasionally when I bit down on that side that there was some sort of "old man denture breath" liquid squeezing out.  After the first two wisdom teeth were removed (on the opposite side of my mouth), that tooth got super sensitive.  My dentist took a look and said "crown looks good," but perhaps there was a secondary infection under the tooth that would require an endodontist to re-drill the tooth.  When he suggested we wait a few weeks, I was happy to oblige.

When I had the other two wisdom teeth removed, I mentioned that the tooth was no better.  He said maybe it's just crowded in my (small) mouth and that removing the wisdom teeth would help.  It didn't.  So finally I got a referral to an endodontist.

Two weeks ago I went to the endo, who took a look at the x-ray and said the root canal was beautiful and that the problem was with the crown.  After talking to me, and sensing my displeasure at the idea of being sent back to my dentist, he recommended a course of treatment that would rely solely on a periodontist.  (at this point I encourage you to look into the term "tooth lengthening" or "crown lengthening," but not to click on wikipedia)  I got a call from the endo's office on my way home, and she said that my regular dentist said he could do that procedure in office.  Yeah.  Right.

I got a referral to the periodontist for this morning, and went for a combo consultation & treatment appointment.  Imagine my lack of surprise when he removed my crown and asked, "was that temporarily cemented, or was it supposed to be permanent?" I laughed out loud.  Well, I guess that explains the smell!

So after today's procedure (which really wasn't bad at all), my crown was temporarily cemented back into place.  I go back in 10 days for a post-op appointment (oh - haha - I'm not allowed to brush or floss that tooth until then. thanks for the special mouthwash, doc!), and the crown isn't going to be permanently cemented back into place for "a few months."

Four years, four dentists, and well over $1,000 out-of-pocket later, I am ready to be done with this process.  My jaw is still numb, but I have a good feeling that perhaps this time will be the beginning of the end of this saga.  (and yes, Scott just brought me a chair to knock on)  I'm hoping to be able to chew on both sides of my mouth again in a few weeks.  For now, nothing sharp like chips or popcorn (or cereal, I guess), and a few days without a straw or hot drinks or spicy food.  Gee...it's like having another wisdom tooth removed!

Slippery When Wet (with blood)

The dentist had trouble removing my last wisdom tooth.  The top-left one pretty much popped right out (along with the filling on the tooth in front of it.  see you again Monday morning, Doc!), but the bottom-left one was holding on for dear life.  This was the least "erupted" of all of them, and the one I was dreading the most, so I wasn't entirely surprised. 

I was, however, surprised when he stuck the large fancy dental pliers in my mouth one more time and the tooth popped out like a watermelon seed at a spittin' contest (too... much... time... in... Florida!).  I laughed, a hearty single "HA!" at the sight of the dentist recoiling in horror and the click click as it bounced on the floor.  It also felt it hit my hair on the way down, and checked for a bloody toothprint when I got home, but there was none.

Anyway, I'm home now, most of the numbness having worn off.  I still hate the taste of blood (remedy: lots of water drinking - but not swishing), and am still grossed out by the same things that grossed me out last time.  Luckily for me, the tooth I'm having the most trouble with is also on the left side, so I'm thinking I'll be on solid food on the right side faster than I was last time.

For now, bring on the yogurt and pudding! (whilst I enjoy the smell of Scott's lunch)

Extracted

A few months back, the first time I visited our new dentist, 'removal of wisdom teeth' was once again added to my treatment plan.  (With my last dentist, I went so far as to visit an oral surgeon for the initial consult, but with our HMO they had to submit the paperwork to the insurance before the insurance would approve the procedure.  The paperwork got screwed up, and I wasn't in any hurry to have this done, so I just pretended the whole thing never happened rather than follow up. Scott's paperwork went through just fine a few months later, and he survived having his taken out just fine. That still didn't inspire me to go through it all.)

Anyway, the new dentist said he could take them out in-office, under novocaine but not anesthesia, two at a time.  And so I asked Facebook if anyone could think of a reason why I shouldn't go this route and save myself $500 or more.  Aside from a few people with "ooh - dentist - scary" reactions, there really weren't any.  So the next time I went in, I scheduled the first two to be pulled - #1 and #32 on the right side.

And now I'm going to attempt to post the juicy part of the story behind a "jump break" to spare anyone who can't bear the horror of what goes on when most people are asleep in the chair.  I personally don't think it's so bad, but Scott seemed to get a little squirmy when I told him parts of it.

Tomorrow?

I have an e-mail exchange between me and my dentist that I want to share, but I'm on the netbook and that's too much cutting and pasting to do without an actual mouse. For now, I'll just share this other tidbit with you:

Nothing says Friday quite like realizing you sent e-mails with major errors to three separate distribution lists, and that you need to recall, correct, and resend the messages in the last 10 minutes of your shift.

On the bright side, there was sure no thumb twiddling today!

Plans? Where we're going, we don't need plans!

So... you go to the dentist for a cleaning. At the end of the appointment, you schedule your next appointment 6 months later. How often do you end up having to change that next appointment because you can't plan your life 6 months in advance?

Me? I've actually been pretty good about this. This time, I even remembered that our days off would be changing. But still, life got in the way and I had to reschedule the appointments that we had - on the same day at the same time - to today 3 hours apart. That's ok, today was already going to be incredibly busy. This just adds to the jigsaw fun of the day. Check it out:

* 10:15 dentist appointment for one of us
* then hair cut for me (OMG I almost hacked off my bangs last night at work!)
* then lunch somewhere
* then potentially a quick run through Kohl's or Ross, depending on where lunch is, to find some summery capri pants
* 1:30 dentist appointment for the other one of us
* grocery shopping
* grocery put-awaying
* drive to Dave's to burn things on the grill for dinner
* plus laundry. Scott has that started already.

Tomorrow is a family day, Beth and Pete and the girls are in town and my mom is coming up at some point, but neither Beth nor I are sure what her plans are. We had two different stories and aren't sure whose is most current. "How do you keep a wave upon the sand?" No, really, if you know, can you tell me?

So it's not going to be much of a relaxing weekend. But that's ok - I can sleep Saturday at work!

David Gone Viral

I came across this via Rachel Lucas, who found it from somewhere else. Once I see a funny YouTube video, it's generally safe to assume that it's already considered viral. That said, watching this kid makes me want to go to the dentist and say, "give me what David got!"

WhosAGoodGirl???

Pardon me for a moment while I pat myself on the back for making the following good decisions in the past few days:

* On Tuesday, ordering Chicken Tuscan Style (grilled, with artichokes, tomatoes, squash and mushrooms) instead of the pot pie at Mimi's Cafe. Also, substituting steamed broccoli for the mashed potatoes.

* Yesterday, taking a brisk 40-minute walk with Scott from the TTC, meandering around the Poly, and up to the Grand and back. Bonus: fireworks mid-walk.

* Buying yellow squash at the store, perfect for steaming and having with dinner.

* Stocking up on 100-calorie packs to add to our "snack drawer." This time, Goldfish and Pretzel Goldfish.

* At the dentist this week, having my teeth cleaned without the woman using the water-pik of death. That means I've been good for the past 6 months!

Thank you for humoring me. Time to pack a healthy-ish lunch/dinner for work.

Off the Edge

Wow! I didn't realize I had gone so long without posting. I meant to post yesterday before my dentist appointment, but I guess I was having too much fun playing stupid Internet games.

All that being said, I really don't have too much to update. I went to the dentist for a cleaning yesterday. I think my gums are finally starting to recover from the water torture. I also went into work for what I assumed would be a 4-hour stint to finish making the confirmation calls for the big wedding happening in May. It ended up only taking me about an hour - plus 1/2 hour for other stupid things that needed to be done.

I had a wee meltdown at/after work yesterday, which lead me to go over to Scott's office and take him out for ice cream sundaes. I needed the ice cream. The meltdown is over something I can't really publicly talk about, and something that didn't really deserve the freak-out it got, but you know me - always good for that sort of thing! I might be able to talk about it in a week or so, but by then I might not want to. We'll see.

So Scott and I actually have two days off together this week, free from any sort of dental appointments, and plan on actually enjoying them together. What a concept!

Ouch?

Just a quick update to let anyone who might care know that Scott has survived having his 4 wisdom teeth yanked. Everything went really well - they didn't have to cut or drill or anything - and now he's taking uber-motrin to head off the serious ouchie to come. (that codeine allergy is apparently quite a bummer right about now!)

And by the way, there's a special ice pack they make for dental patients - like a long sock with velcro on the ends and two tiny ice pouches. It amuses me.

Of course, the other man in my life, my boss, is having his back surgery this afternoon. He's going to be out probably until the end of May. I think Scott may have the sweeter side of this day.

Previously Unreported

Birthday Festivities

I didn't bother reporting on my birthday evening because, quite frankly, it wasn't worth mentioning. Our plan was to go to the Brown Derby for dinner and then go see Fantasmic. In fact, I made a 4:40 reservation just so we'd be out in enough time to wait in line at the stadium. Dinner was pretty underwhelming. Our appetizers and our desserts were delicious (mmm... grapefruit cake..) but our entrees weren't spectacular, and certainly weren't worth $25 each! I'm not so much complaining. But we used a 50% off coupon and dinner was still $60. This was my second underwhelming experience there - I doubt I'll go back.

As for Fantasmic, it was pretty chilly out. It was drizzling on and off and the wind was blowing pretty hard. The idea of camping out on a metal bench freezing our butts off for an hour before the show just didn't thrill either of us. So instead we went home, piled a bunch of blankets on the living room floor and camped out and watched crappy movies on TV.

The Never-Ending Cavity

For this story, we'll have to rewind about two months. After my root canal at the specialist in downtown Orlando, I had to wait over a month for an appointment with my dentist to do the crown (mostly because they took two weeks off for the holidays). On January 22, he was going to do my crown (upper-right) and fill two little cavities in #18 and #19 (lower left). In the weeks preceding that appointment, one of those bottom teeth had become a little sensitive. So rather than fill both, he "cleaned out" #19 and we were going to see if it got better or worse before deciding whether or not it needed a root canal.

My next appointment was February 5, when it was decided he'd do a root canal. That was the time when he said "come back next week" and I couldn't get another appointment until the 26th. Of course, some time between the two appointments, the tooth really started to hurt. That's when I learned he'd done half of the root canal and would be finishing it on the 26th. So when I showed up at 8 am (grr) on the 26th I was ready for this tooth to never hurt again.

Yes, I know that it sometimes takes a few days to recover from a root canal. I was prepared to take ibuprofen non-stop for another two or three days. What I wasn't prepared for was the absolute agony my mouth would be in. I wasn't able to sleep on my left side, because I would wake up with white-hot pain covering the left side of my face. I was taking 600mg of ibuprofen every 4 hours (the package says not to take more than 1200 in 24 hours, if that gives you any indication). So Thursday I called and they prescribed me some pain killers (since the vicodin didn't do anything but make me high, they gave me darvocet) and yet another round of amoxicillin.

By yesterday morning, I could tell I was a little bit better. I still couldn't chew on the left side, but I wasn't in constant pain that the painkillers weren't touching. Still, I had Scott call the dentist and they were nice enough to fit me in at the end of the day. So they x-rayed the tooth again (and told me what a beautiful job he did). He actually filed the tooth down a little bit so that I can bite without banging it into my top teeth (by the way, this hurt A LOT - he didn't want to numb my whole jaw for 15 seconds of work). He listened to me when I said the first two pain pills didn't make the pain stop - that they just made me high - so he gave me a third prescription. And it seems that if the antibiotics don't knock out what he assumes is the infection that he thought he got out during the second half of the root canal in the next few days, apparently the next course of action is to pull the darn tooth and just put in a bridge. Yikes!

It does feel better. I'm guessing that it is infected and that the amoxicillin is doing its job. Amazingly enough, it seems that my vacation is paramount here. Both the dentist and the hygienist kept referencing it and saying we need to get it all taken care of so I'm not in pain. Funny, I was desperately in need of a root canal on the top in December for that cruise. I was just starting to think that I was doomed to carry ibuprofen with me everywhere for the rest of my life!

I just find the entire process ironic - there I was in January with two little cavities. Here I am in March with one cavity that hasn't even been touched yet, another that's still in trauma, and enough prescription pain killers to go into a black market side business. Scott, on the other hand, goes in to the dentist and comes out with a potentially catastrophic diagnosis on one of his teeth. Three appointments later, he's completely fixed.

But I know that expression that God doesn't give us more than we can handle. Apparently I can - and will - handle a lot. I would just prefer to not handle it in my mouth!

Poo

Tonight is Oscar night. As most of you know, this is my big TV event of the year (especially since I'm not watching Idol this season). Sadly, I figured the Oscars would be on my birthday weekend like last year, but they aren't. I'll be off next Sunday, watching something else on the TV. So I didn't take today off.

No problem! I figured I'd just tape the show and watch it tomorrow morning before my 1:00 dentist appointment. I can control my media intake - I'll just watch the whole thing before even checking my e-mail.

Scratch that.

When I called the dentist last week to find out if they had any sooner openings (had half a root canal done, was supposed to come back 1 week later, but they were totally booked until THREE weeks later), I found out that the 1:00 appointment on my card had been given to someone else because the **** woman who checked me out never bothered to put the appointment in the computer. Luckily, there was still an appointment available - at 8 am.

So now I'm torn - tape the Oscars, watch them when I get home (11 pm to 2 am if the show doesn't run long), and then catch a few hours of sleep before the appointment and doze on the couch the rest of the day... or I could keep up with the results from work on oscar.com and still tape the show to watch after the dentist appointment.

Well, at any rate, I should probably set up the VCR now before I forget.