I'm not a fan of going to the dentist. Which is probably why I always put off going. When I lived on my own I finally went for a check-up after 5 years. I had been having some headaches and thought it might have to do with my wisdom teeth. So I found a new dentist (I wasn't about to drive 2 hours to see my former dentist Dr. Taylor) in Smithville at the recommendation of a co-worker. Apparently my headaches weren't caused by my wisdom teeth but due to the fact that I grind my teeth. I also have a "click" in both sides of my jaw. Dr. Philips suggested a mouth guard. The thought of that made me worry... "how much is this going to set me back?" And then I was told some good news... lots of room for my wisdom teeth! But then I was told some bad news... 9 cavities! :( My cavities like to "grow" in between my teeth, hence the importance of flossing, something I detest doing.
I was given an estimate as to what all this dental work was going to cost me. I was really nervous as to what a mouth guard was going to cost me. Little did I know that it was nothing in comparison to the cost of 9 fillings! Honestly why does it cost so much? You think I would have learned my lesson and had become a dedicated flosser over the years. But because I hated it so much, I relapsed into my old self and continued to only brush twice a day until a few months ago and I began to floss regularly. Really good floss does make a difference! or at least I think so. And now another 5 years have gone by since those cavities were filled so I figured it was due time to have another check-up. Last week I went to yet another dentist, Dr. Zucker. My friend Meagan did her co-op placement for dental assistant with him several years ago, so he came highly recommended.
I got some bad news at my latest check-up :( I have some cavities in my wisdom teeth, not to mention the 4 others scattered in some other teeth. I got 2 filled yesterday and my jaw still hurts. The dentist gave me 3 options for the wisdom teeth- a) fill them and hope I don't get any more cavities in them, b) pull just the top 2 (the ones with the cavities which also happen to be the ones I have a really hard time flossing) out and leave the bottom ones in since they're fine, or c) go to the oral surgeon and have all 4 pulled while being put under. I've decided on option "b" at the dentist suggestion. We don't really have the funds for option "c" and with my luck I'd end up getting more cavities if I went with option "a". So in just over a month I'll have half my wisdom left :)
5 comments:
Anneke,
If your wisdom teeth are sufficiently through to decay, you can have them pulled without anesthesia. I did, many years ago, and when I took Ian this summer, the dentist was all set to put him under. (for $500, mind you, which our policy wouldn't cover.) I told the dentist to just use a local, and he found it quite tolerable. Plus, it's relatively risk-free.
Marcia,
Yes my wisdom teeth are completely through and no, I'm not having anesthesia, just the local freezing, and possibly laughing gas. I'm not looking foward to it but my sister also had 2 of hers removed recently with only local freezing and she said it wasn't that bad either. Thankfully my mother is coming that day to take care of my kids (and me :)
You'll do fine; if you could handle 2 C-sections, you can handle wisdom teeth! Nice that your mom is still close enough to help out when you need her.
Hi Anneke,
I just had one wisdom tooth pulled with local anesthesia and it was a piece of cake and a whole lot cheaper than even getting a filling. I was a little nervous too, but it was no problem at all.
Hope it goes well for you too!
Denise
the loss of two wisdom teeth now makes you wiser in taking care of your teeth...so you're more wise now :)
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