Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Tooth Fairies, Reprise

You may remember my adventures over the summer with the cracked tooth and root canal. My tooth apparently was too cracked, and so even after the root canal procedure was finished the tooth kept getting infected (yuck) and I couldn't get a crown installed. So the endodontist recommended removal, and the oral surgeon concurred.

I have an infinite capacity for denial and avoidance when something is likely to be expensive or painful or both.

Since "tooth extraction" sounds both expensive and painful, of course I put off having the tooth extracted (or even thinking about having the tooth extracted) for as long as humanly possible, which was all the way until this past Sunday, when the soft filling that the endodontist installed when he did the root canal -- the stuff that was supposed to remain inside the tooth sealed carefully under the crown that was, sadly, never installed -- suddenly fell out while I was brushing my teeth.

"Ick! Eeek! WTF?!?" I thought. (My vocabulary degenerates rapidly when I am scared or hurt or both...)

Even I know that one is not supposed to have a giant hole in one's tooth that probably extends all the way through the tooth to the underlying bone. Bad plan.

So I finally had the tooth extracted yesterday.

It was a relatively quick procedure. Once the novocaine took effect, it took the oral surgeon all of about 5 minutes to get the tooth out of my mouth.

I wish I could say it was also painless.

But I am hurting today. Not so much where the tooth was, although that is obviously a little tender. No, the bigger problem is that my jaw is very sore and stiff -- even more than it was after the root canal, which took two hours of drilling and disinfecting and packing the tooth with the soft filler material -- I can hardly open my mouth to drink water or talk. Forget eating - not gonna happen. How can this be? One would think I would have been more sore after the two hour drill-a-thon than after a 5 minute procedure... Maybe it was the 45 minutes of "biting down" on the gauze afterwards?

I wish I were young enough to at least get the small consolation of a $2 bill from the tooth fairy...

Then again, my track record with the tooth fairy isn't so good; maybe it's better that I'm not waiting for her to show her lovely face.

All I can say at this point is ... pain meds + empty stomach = good times!

* * *

I can hardly wait to start the tooth implant process.

7 comments:

Scope said...

I would recommend Ensure or some such shake like thing to get some nutrients.

Janie Junebug said...

Owwwwwww! I'm so sorry for you. I promise to eat on your behalf. What would you like? It's still driving me crazy that I can't find out what the toothpick thingy was. I'm accustomed to having my questions answered, pronto. How dare endotheworldontists ignore the likes of Lola? What Lola wants, Lola almost always gets.

Infinities of love,
Lola

Anonymous said...

I hope you feel better soon! After my jaw surgery I couldn't open my mouth or talk either, so I feel your pain. For a really filling milkshake/smoothie you can add cottage cheese into the blender. You don't taste it and it fills you up more than just a plain drink; eggbeaters are also a good addition.

SkylersDad said...

I had to have my wisdom teeth removed at 20 years old so they wouldn't interfere with all the orthodontic work I had done.

You never want to hear your oral surgeon say "cancel my next three appointments"...

Anonymous said...

I had braces for 2.5 years, four teeth removed, jaw surgery, and a root canal. I feel your pain. :) Hope the implant goes smoothly.

Oh and if it hurts to chew, my favourite thing when I was banded shut after my jaw surgery was peanut butter milkshakes... *drool*. Or peanut butter & chocolate or peanut butter banana. I'm a fan of pb if you can't tell..

Suzy said...

""I have an infinite capacity for denial and avoidance when something is likely to be expensive or painful or both.""

Right there with you on that...

Silliyak said...

At the risk of creating apprehension, when I got to the anchor part of the implant, the dentist said he'd give me a prescription for some Vicodin. I scoffed. By the time I got out to the receptionist, I thought "I'll fill the prescription, just in case", halfway to the pharmacist, I thought, "Maybe I'll take one when I get home" parking lot "I'll take one as soon as I get it" Waiting in line for the prescription "JFC! HURRY UP!" Also if you find yourself in the position of needing Vicodin, start taking laxatives immediately!