Going to the dentist tomorrow

[V-22 Osprey]

I've been having pain on and off for over two weeks. As a severe odontophobic, I thought, no problem. I can come up with plenty of excuses to avoid going to the dentist.


Wisdom teeth always hurt when they come out.
It's just a bad irritation in the gum.
I'm so sensitive and borderline hypochondriac about my teeth that any pain is probably five times worse than what it is, so I'm not really in trouble.


Bad idea. This past Sunday I had a night of terror thinking that my jaw might be about to fracture. I caved in and went. Turns out I have a infection in one wisdom teeth and they are going to extract both on that side. Looking over the X-rays, they also discovered a big cavity, so I might be looking at a root canal in the future... glad they caught that.

Folks, take my word for it. If you ever feel like something is wrong with your teeth, DO NOT WAIT to go to the dentist. Schedule an appointment immediately. Even if you are absolutely terrified of the Ominous Sharp Pointy Things and the Lowering Chair of Doomy Doom And Doom, you will be able to find some one who is understanding. And to top it off, they will give you a little valium to ease your fear of whatever procedure they have to do. :D

[BlackIce, British Commie]

I've been having pain on and off for over two weeks. As a severe odontophobic, I thought, no problem. I can come up with plenty of excuses to avoid going to the dentist.


Wisdom teeth always hurt when they come out.
It's just a bad irritation in the gum.
I'm so sensitive and borderline hypochondriac about my teeth that any pain is probably five times worse than what it is, so I'm not really in trouble.


Bad idea. This past Sunday I had a night of terror thinking that my jaw might be about to fracture. I caved in and went. Turns out I have a infection in one wisdom teeth and they are going to extract both on that side. Looking over the X-rays, they also discovered a big cavity, so I might be looking at a root canal in the future... glad they caught that.

Folks, take my word for it. If you ever feel like something is wrong with your teeth, DO NOT WAIT to go to the dentist. Schedule an appointment immediately. Even if you are absolutely terrified of the Ominous Sharp Pointy Things and the Lowering Chair of Doomy Doom And Doom, you will be able to find some one who is understanding. And to top it off, they will give you a little valium to ease your fear of whatever procedure they have to do. :D

They did remind you to brush yah teeth, right? All i'm saying.

Oh, and it's good that your mouth is fixable.

[steelcobra]

Heh, I had all four of mine pulled at once. Under local anesthetic. Not fun. Plus they had to cut the bottom two in half to get them out because they were horizontal and hitting my back molars. Then I got dry sockets, which is so bad Percocet only makes the pain fade. Plus the stuff they soak the gauze they pack in the sockets tastes like evil condensed into liquid form.

[V-22 Osprey]

They did remind you to brush yah teeth, right? All i'm saying.

Nah, he just said to do a better job. :)

Plus the stuff they soak the gauze they pack in the sockets tastes like evil condensed into liquid form.

What, like Stilton cheese? :eek:

Edit: Darn it, I'm going out to get my mind off tomorrow and the temperature has jumped up 15 degrees in about two hours... and Boston today is on the list of worst cities with pollen. The very universe conspires against me!

[nightwng2000]

I still have sound of the drill and the sound and feel of the snapping of the pieces of the upper back left tooth as the doctor worked to extract it last year going through my head.

....

Oh... wait... that didn't improve your attitude about going, did it?

Pretend I didn't say anything.

Ahem.

:eek:

[V-22 Osprey]

Right now, I'm starting to get so freaked out I wouldn't be too upset if you said your dentist looked like Sweeney Todd and danced around you in the chair singing love ballads to his dental tools. "See here my friend, see how it glistens..."
:D

[nightwng2000]

Right now, I'm starting to get so freaked out I wouldn't be too upset if you said your dentist looked like Sweeney Todd and danced around you in the chair singing love ballads to his dental tools. "See here my friend, see how it glistens..."
:D

Well, technically, I'm not joking about the memory living on. But then, there are a lot of things people remember that they don't want to.

On the up side, while you would think that having a tooth extracted would lead to massive pain later, I never took even one of the Percocet the dentist prescribed for me in case of pain after the sedation wore off. It just wasn't there. That's not to say that everyone doesn't feel something afterward.

But then, it was probably the relief from the pain that was going on before the procedure that nulled the procedure pain.

See, I broke the tooth badly some time ago. Practically hollowed out but let the root in tact. I left it for months and months and finally an infection set in. My initial dentist didn't extract those particular teeth and said I had to make an appointment with an oral surgeon, which would have taken weeks.

The pain became so bad, that even swishing with salt water only relieved the pain for a few minutes at a time. I stayed awake all night that final night in pure agony.

Someone suggested another dentist and we immediately went as soon as they opened for an emergency extraction. He wanted to save the tooth, and that's preferred, but it costs a lot more to save it, and, quite frankly, I wanted the damn thing out.

I don't know if your dentist does sedation dentistry, where they knock you out entirely, but that's a recommendation. But, even if you have to put up with the sounds and the tugging and snipping, the relief really is worth it.

Just don't get the urge to touch the electrical thing they numb your gums with using your tongue. YEOUCH! Think of Jar Jar Binks.

And if you are awake, don't feel afraid to tell the dentist if a particular time that you feel a pin prick while you should be numb. They'll numb that area more. Sometimes it doesn't cover every spot perfectly. But usually it's only a tiny pin prick that gets through, not agony.

[V-22 Osprey]

It's going to be just local sedation. Well, I didn't get the urge to touch the eletrical thingy when they took out baby teeth some years ago, so I don't think I have to worry this time. I'm not sure how I would be able to tell the surgeon if a feel a pin prick, my mouth is going to be held open and my whole jaw will probably be numb. The Bill Cosby routine about chatty dentists comes to mind.

"You ever do any fishing?"
"Uh huagh."
"Where do you go"
"Addhadh gajgkja hahgh."
"Yes, I've been there many times myself..."

[steelcobra]

I don't know if your dentist does sedation dentistry, where they knock you out entirely, but that's a recommendation. But, even if you have to put up with the sounds and the tugging and snipping, the relief really is worth it.

Just don't get the urge to touch the electrical thing they numb your gums with using your tongue. YEOUCH! Think of Jar Jar Binks.

And if you are awake, don't feel afraid to tell the dentist if a particular time that you feel a pin prick while you should be numb. They'll numb that area more. Sometimes it doesn't cover every spot perfectly. But usually it's only a tiny pin prick that gets through, not agony.

No, I got Novocaine shots. Real fun when he stuck the needle in the roof of my mouth.

And I'll say that I definitely needed the percocet, four wisdom teeth at once sucks. At least the top two just came out when he pulled them.

[Brokenscope]

If your going to an oral surgeon, tell them to knock you out, and then have a friend drive you home.

[KN]

You guys get all the ****ing luxuries. I've never heard of dentists putting you under completely.

Then again, I've never had a root canal.

[Pelor]

You guys get all the ****ing luxuries. I've never heard of dentists putting you under completely.

Then again, I've never had a root canal.

It's an option most people take. I ate before I had my wisdom teeth removed, and so had to be put under.

[V-22 Osprey]

Going at 3:30 PM. I'm on the verge of having an out of body experience right now. I'm not even sure how I'm typing this.

[BlackIce, British Commie]

Going at 3:30 PM. I'm on the verge of having an out of body experience right now. I'm not even sure how I'm typing this.

Such is the magic of Mushrooms.

[nightwng2000]

It's going to be just local sedation. Well, I didn't get the urge to touch the eletrical thingy when they took out baby teeth some years ago, so I don't think I have to worry this time. I'm not sure how I would be able to tell the surgeon if a feel a pin prick, my mouth is going to be held open and my whole jaw will probably be numb. The Bill Cosby routine about chatty dentists comes to mind.

"You ever do any fishing?"
"Uh huagh."
"Where do you go"
"Addhadh gajgkja hahgh."
"Yes, I've been there many times myself..."

I grunted pain, and he asked if I felt pain, and I grunted (you can make sounds with your throat without moving your jaw, just don't swallow) "yes, sharp" and mimicked stabbing my left hand palm with my right index finger. He understood "sharp" and asked how much and I just held up my right index finger and thumb in the "a little" sign.

An experienced dentist will understand.

[nightwng2000]

No, I got Novocaine shots. Real fun when he stuck the needle in the roof of my mouth.

And I'll say that I definitely needed the percocet, four wisdom teeth at once sucks. At least the top two just came out when he pulled them.

Well, yeah, four at a time. My very back bottom teeth, one on each side, need to come out, they came in sideways. And the back top right needs to come out because it's too close to the one next to it. But that's elective. I've lived with it this long, I can wait till I can afford it.

But that one tooth HAD to come out. And GOD the relief! I usually don't like to touch people or be touched, but I HAD to shake the dentist's hand, I was so filled with gratitude.

[nightwng2000]

You guys get all the ****ing luxuries. I've never heard of dentists putting you under completely.

Then again, I've never had a root canal.

Here in Wilmington, NC, not a lot of dentists do sedation dentistry. I wish I had gone to one when I had the peridontal cleaning, though. You might be numb, but when they get that damn hook under your teeth and yank...!

[V-22 Osprey]

Just took a valium and I'm going in a few minutes. I'm trying to avoid freaking out. I'm still getting over the shock that I voluntarily walked over to the Chair of Doom this past week. :eek: :eek:

[BlackIce, British Commie]

Just took a valium and I'm going in a few minutes. I'm trying to avoid freaking out. I'm still getting over the shock that I voluntarily walked over to the Chair of Doom this past week. :eek: :eek:

When you return, you may describe to us the horrific pain you have willingly experienced.

[nightwng2000]

When you return, you may describe to us the horrific pain you have willingly experienced.

And be sure to post any audio/video to YouTube. :D

[V-22 Osprey]

Not too painful, but got Dr. House as surgeon. Heard him mutter "This is a disaster!" while yanking upper tooth out, which is not a very reassuring thing to hear. He left root of upper tooth in, saying that 95% of the time there would be no problem. He also said that I was so nervous that I made him nervous. At least he didn't faint at the sight of blood :rolleyes:. He then sulked with his back to me while assistant explained to me what I am to to. I asked if I was really that bad and Dr. House said "Yes.", and I will have to be put under for next two teeth. Geez, at least I wasn't kicking and yelling.

Went outside irratated, decided to go back in to talk to my dentist (not the sulky surgeon) to say sorry and that it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, and was treated to my mom standing by the door screaming at me not to go anywhere near those bunch of quacks again. Really frakking embarassing. I'm sure he heard her and will be very suprised when he sees me again.

Right now my face is numb and I'm bleeding a lot. Had to endure long speeches by my mother (who was completly pissed at surgeon), about how most people would kill to have as a parent someone so paranoid and convinced that ebil dentists are out to get everyone. Well, not in so many words, but you get the drift. Off to spit more blood in sink. Further updates to follow, unless I get knocked out/stoned out of my mind with Percoset or whatever you call it.

Edit: Mom is demanding for me to clarify that she was pissed at the the idiot surgeon for leaving root in, which she has NEVER heard of.

She is also set upon that he left root in due to me being so hard, and not because the root was CURVED and HARD to get out, and could WEAKEN jaw muscle.

[nightwng2000]

Not too painful, but got Dr. House as surgeon. Heard him mutter "This is a disaster!" while yanking upper tooth out, which is not a very reassuring thing to hear. He left root of upper tooth in, saying that 95% of the time there would be no problem. He also said that I was so nervous that I made him nervous. At least he didn't faint at the sight of blood :rolleyes:. He then sulked with his back to me while assistant explained to me what I am to to. I asked if I was really that bad and Dr. House said "Yes.", and I will have to be put under for next two teeth. Geez, at least I wasn't kicking and yelling.

Went outside irratated, decided to go back in to talk to my dentist (not the sulky surgeon) to say sorry and that it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, and was treated to my mom standing by the door screaming at me not to go anywhere near those bunch of quacks again. Really frakking embarassing. I'm sure he heard her and will be very suprised when he sees me again.

Right now my face is numb and I'm bleeding a lot. Had to endure long speeches by my mother (who was completly pissed at surgeon), about how most people would kill to have as a parent someone so paranoid and convinced that ebil dentists are out to get everyone. Well, not in so many words, but you get the drift. Off to spit more blood in sink. Further updates to follow, unless I get knocked out/stoned out of my mind with Percoset or whatever you call it.

Edit: Mom is demanding for me to clarify that she was pissed at the the idiot surgeon for leaving root in, which she has NEVER heard of.

She is also set upon that he left root in due to me being so hard, and not because the root was CURVED and HARD to get out, and could WEAKEN jaw muscle.

I'm sorry, I DID laugh at the Dr. House bit. :D

My dentist was talking to the assistant the whole time and was talking about how difficult it was to get the pieces of the tooth out. But he also worked to reassure me that it wasn't abnormal. It really is difficult to work so far back in the mouth without doing other damage to teeth further in front. But he didn't freak out and therefore didn't freak me out. The sounds and tugging did that job well enough.

I can't speak to leaving the root in or not by itself. I know my dentist said the preference, even in an infection situation, is to save as much of the tooth as possible, including the root if possible. Barring that, remove the root and fill in the tooth and cap it because it does become weak. But that's very expensive for all that work. So he removed the tooth at my request, root and all.

I can understand your mom being upset. Paranoid not so much, but upset, yeah. Definitely time for a new oral surgeon if not dentist.

And don't get panicy about the blood. It does last awhile. I assume you have gauze that you are supposed to clamp down on? That's what I had to do anyway. Just keep changing it fairly regularly to cut down on infection and it will stop eventually. That's another reason for clean gauze, it's a good indicator of the bleeding slowing down.

Enjoy your nappy time with the Percocet! :D

[V-22 Osprey]

I'm doing OK right now. Back of my mouth aches, but I haven't had to take anything else yet. I've had worse headaches. I can't brush my teeth tonight, so I'm going to feel all scuzzy tomorrow. Yuck.

As time goes on, I'm getting angrier at the dentist. I wasn't thrashing about and screaming in terror. The place is supposed to specialize in regards to people scared of going to the dentist and I find a bit weird that they have a dentist who made me feel completely at ease and a surgeon who made me feel like a crybaby who was the worst patient he's ever seen. Perhaps his delicate ears were offended by my "ah cwap ah cwap ah cwap" after hearing my bottom wisdom tooth crack.

[nightwng2000]

I'm doing OK right now. Back of my mouth aches, but I haven't had to take anything else yet. I've had worse headaches. I can't brush my teeth tonight, so I'm going to feel all scuzzy tomorrow. Yuck.

As time goes on, I'm getting angrier at the dentist. I wasn't thrashing about and screaming in terror. The place is supposed to specialize in regards to people scared of going to the dentist and I find a bit weird that they have a dentist who made me feel completely at ease and a surgeon who made me feel like a crybaby who was the worst patient he's ever seen. Perhaps his delicate ears were offended by my "ah cwap ah cwap ah cwap" after hearing my bottom wisdom tooth crack.

Sadly, that sound will follow you forever. :(

[V-22 Osprey]

Sadly, that sound will follow you forever. :(

That's for sure! Actually, now I'm not terribly mad at the dentist- maybe violent mood swings are part of the medication's side effects :). I feel a whole lot better today. The bleeding tapered off last night. I just have an ache in the back of the mouth that comes and goes and a general funny feeling all around. The holes are already starting to close up! I mentioned to my mom that jerk or not, the guy knew what he was doing and was a proper artist with a needle.

Boy, did that get her mad. "What, just because he was competent you're going to forgive him for all the pain and suffering he put the two of us through?! And on top of that, you don't know if he left things in your mouth! It could be ten or fifteen years but you could have trouble later on!"

Geez, thanks for the vote of confidence. Perhaps next week, after all the yanking and tugging Dr. House did, my entire lower jaw will just fall off my skull entirely from its own accord and I will flop about on the ground for a few minutes before dying horribly of massive bloodloss. :D

Reading this, I might be putting my mom in a bit of a unfair light. People should know that some time after Operation Peter Pan, there was a dentist cartel of sorts in Miami that screwed over tons of Cubans with completely unnecessary root canals, extractions et cetera.

I think that might have contributed to her feeling that 99.2% of dentists are the minions of Satan.

[BlackIce, British Commie]

Sadly, that sound will follow you forever. :(

I give to you a replacement sound. Much more enjoyable, really.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=VtyqIRMJLCs&feature=related

[nightwng2000]

That's for sure! Actually, now I'm not terribly mad at the dentist- maybe violent mood swings are part of the medication's side effects :). I feel a whole lot better today. The bleeding tapered off last night. I just have an ache in the back of the mouth that comes and goes and a general funny feeling all around. The holes are already starting to close up! I mentioned to my mom that jerk or not, the guy knew what he was doing and was a proper artist with a needle.

Boy, did that get her mad. "What, just because he was competent you're going to forgive him for all the pain and suffering he put the two of us through?! And on top of that, you don't know if he left things in your mouth! It could be ten or fifteen years but you could have trouble later on!"

Geez, thanks for the vote of confidence. Perhaps next week, after all the yanking and tugging Dr. House did, my entire lower jaw will just fall off my skull entirely from its own accord and I will flop about on the ground for a few minutes before dying horribly of massive bloodloss. :D

Reading this, I might be putting my mom in a bit of a unfair light. People should know that some time after Operation Peter Pan, there was a dentist cartel of sorts in Miami that screwed over tons of Cubans with completely unnecessary root canals, extractions et cetera.

I think that might have contributed to her feeling that 99.2% of dentists are the minions of Satan.

As you're writhing and dying, be sure to audio/video record the event and have someone upload it to a Guro site. Since I'm a hetero guy, I won't be interested in it, but I'm sure there are quite a few Guro fans who would be. :D

You can assure your mother about one thing:
If anything was left in, the next time you go to a dentist and have your mouth x-rayed, it will most likely be discovered. So no need to wait years, unless you don't go back to a dentist. And I think medical malpractice still applies to dentists. But I could be wrong.

Just remember to not eat or drink anything that could leave a gritty substance in the hole. Even sugar drinks will leave a sugar grain behind if given the chance. And that slows healing. And yes, the hole really will pretty much close up. I just have what could be called a small "ditch" where my back tooth was. Nothing can get lost or trapped in it.

[V-22 Osprey]

I did not know what Guro was, so I looked at Wikipedia. Eww. Am I sheltered, or what? I'm just having cream of wheat and Carnation Instant Breakfast right now. As for stuff falling in the hole, they gave me a plastic syringe thingy to shoot water in, but said I couldn't use it for the first four days. Which worries me a bit since the hole seems to be healing super-fast. I think I'll call them and see what they say.

Oh, I signed a consent form saying that they wouldn't be liable if they broke my jaw while extracting the teeth. And of course, Miss Enternal Optimist is saying that every person in the office would testify that I was such a nervous wreck that anything they left behind would be my fault entirely, despite me pointing out that I spoke to my dentist and shook hands before leaving.

Anyway, thanks for putting up with my running commentary on something most people go through in their lives. :D

[nightwng2000]

I did not know what Guro was, so I looked at Wikipedia. Eww. Am I sheltered, or what? I'm just having cream of wheat and Carnation Instant Breakfast right now. As for stuff falling in the hole, they gave me a plastic syringe thingy to shoot water in, but said I couldn't use it for the first four days. Which worries me a bit since the hole seems to be healing super-fast. I think I'll call them and see what they say.

Oh, I signed a consent form saying that they wouldn't be liable if they broke my jaw while extracting the teeth. And of course, Miss Enternal Optimist is saying that every person in the office would testify that I was such a nervous wreck that anything they left behind would be my fault entirely, despite me pointing out that I spoke to my dentist and shook hands before leaving.

Anyway, thanks for putting up with my running commentary on something most people go through in their lives. :D

Hmmm.... If you didn't know about Guro, then I suppose educating you on Vore wouldn't be a good idea either. :eek: :D

It's hard, but once you move to solids, just chew on the opposite side til it's healed. Good idea to check with the dentist about the syringe, but if you haven't had anything that can get in there and get stuck, I wouldn't worry too much.

I don't know if the dentist office has that unwritten code of backing each other up, but I wouldn't worry too much. You'd know if your jaw wer broken, and, again, an x-ray will show any pieces left behind. So just avoid the paranoia (which can make you sick really) and just worry enough to have a follow up later if you feel you need it. Nothing wrong with a follow up when it comes to any medical procedure.