My Trip To the Dentist!

 

 

I should probably be in bed or thinking about going to bed, but I wanted to give you an update of my day! First, a few weeks ago Dennis was at the dentist (again) and having a crown put on a tooth. When he came back home he came over to the school and I happened to be in the Principal's office talking to her. He kindly broke the news to me and told me that he had made a dentist appointment for me while he was there as I had been having a bad toothache for several days and he knew I'd endure it and not make one myself.  I despise going to the dentist. My teeth are super sensitive and almost anything that they do as they work on them is so painful! So, this morning I got up and my stomach started churning just thinking of my venture. We got there and I proudly announced my feelings for going to the dentist and I made it clear to him that I didn't hate him :o) He was very kind and very gentle as he checked my teeth and rattled off stuff to his assistant. He asked if the broken off tooth is what was bothering me and I told him no and that had happened probably two years ago and was never really painful. I said it was the one next to it. Eventually he did two x-rays and in a short time the nurse brought the results back to him. I was almost trembling as I had previously told Dennis that I was no way getting any caps or crowns whatsoever under any circumstances :o) The dentist proceeded to tell me that for the broken off tooth he could put a metal band around it and build it up as if nothing was ever wrong with it. He said sometimes he has to give an injection (and I began to tremble again), but most of the time he doesn't. I'm like no way!! He started working on that broken tooth and built it back up. Of course, before he could do anything they used some little mechanism and were blowing cold air on that tooth. Well, that about set me over the edge. Being my teeth are so sensitive I couldn't handle it and asked him to stop as I had broken out in a cold sweat! After that was finished he asked me to bite down and if it was built up too high. I thought there's no way he's going to grind that baby down!! At first, I said it was okay, but I thought I might as well as face the music because I knew it was not going to work and would be uncomfortable. He ended up taking it down somehow (I thinking grinding of some kind was involved). Then came the polishing!!! Oh, my goodness. That was nasty, too, as the stuff they put on had a nasty taste!! YUCK!! Sometime I got the nerve up when he finally got his hand out of my mouth to ask him how many cavities I had. He said, "Oh, you don't have any cavities!!" I'm like, "WHAT"? My teeth have been hurting so bad that I haven't chewed on the one side like forever! I told Dennis I just knew before going in there this morning that I must have had at least 10 cavities. When he told me I didn't have any cavities Dennis about came up out of his chair. (He went back with me in case I got sick!) He said, "Dr. Dryer, this is not fair. In June we'll be married 36 years and she has not had one cavity since we're married. I've had crowns, caps, bridges and cavities and she has nothing!" I was smiling from ear to ear!! haha!! I'll tell you what ~ I may not have had any cavities, but the sensitive teeth are so horrible. I can't stand to eat cold food that I have to chew!! Ice cream is not bad as I don't chew it :o) But main foods are really bad! Like tonight we company and we had a big fresh fruit platter and it is just terrible to try to eat when it causes so much pain. The dentist advised me before I go to bed to rub my sensitive toothpaste over the areas of my teeth that cause me the problem and just leave it on there. He said swallowing that little bit of toothpaste isn't going to hurt me. He also suggested getting mouthwash with fluoride and using that. I'm going to try to do both of those things every night at bedtime to see if it helps. But even the mouthwash hurts my teeth. I can't rinse my mouth with cold water when I brush my teeth. It has to be pretty warm ~ not hot, but warm. Tomorrow morning we both go back and have our teeth cleaned. He's already warned me that my teeth will become more sensitive for a couple of weeks because of the cleaning. They are going to talk to the hygienist and tell her to be careful with me. I usually don't go to the dentist until I have a problem, but today he asked me to promise him that I would go back in a year for a check~up and cleaning, so I did! I was very impressed with him and already have two teachers asking for his phone number to make an appointment. I'm sure tomorrow will be a lot more painful than today, but I'll get through it. The bill for all the work he did plus the two x-rays was only $176.00. And the cleaning tomorrow is only $44.00. Unbelievable!! I was so proud of how everything went today and very, very happy!! Poor Dennis was very, very envious :o) So, now if you'll excuse me, I must go get my mouthwash with fluoride and sensitive toothpaste, apply it and then head to bed!!