September 10, 2007

The Battle for Molar 14



So most everyday throughout the summer I’ve been having headaches. Bad ones. Since this hasn’t been a stellar work summer I thought they were stress related. Pop a motrin and rock on, right? Wrong. Last week and two motrins ago, I poured myself a glass of ice cold / fiery hot tooth pain. You know that scene in “Cast Away” where Tom Hanks finds himself at odds with a figure skate? Well that was me, except with a Chuck Taylor considering beating my head until I fell unconscious.

My new dentist has a head rotating xray machine that shows all your teeth in 3d in Photoshop right in front of her. She clicks a few buttons and bam - the cavity shows up with a detailed map of how far down it goes and bada bing: A map of your busted tooth appears. This maybe me being old, but I would have loved to have that thing when I was a child. Instead I was strapped to a dental chair with an umbrella like structure in my mouth for what seemed like hours. Left to drool and stare off into space and dream of a place where candy eating did NOT result in metallic substances in your mouth. The new technology (while more costly) means I’ll be fast asleep when whatever happens to my teeth happens.

As fate would have it, a third hidden wisdom tooth which laid dormant (I had two out 2 years ago.) decided to make it’s cameo appearance this summer. And that was causing all the trouble. Wisdom tooth three has to come out to fix the pained Molar 14.

My appointment is still more than 30 days away, so I am resolved to eat everything on the right side of my mouth and drink only hot tea. Candy of any sort will be disastrous and painful, so friends if you see me venturing towards the candy dish, smack it away. Molar 14 thanks you.

5 comments:

Carol Ann said...

I've been having my own battle with tooth #12. It's broken! And it has been making me cry on a regular basis for the last week or so. I initially made an appointment to have it yanked next week, because I stupidly felt some sense of duty in regards to a work thing (a four-day class on some cockamamie software for which I will be a super-user/loser. But as I sat at my desk and sobbed to myself today I threw down the gauntlet and called the dentist...so tombeer morning at 8:30, hopefully I'll be getting a shot of that lovely milky-colored cocktail before the carnage begins.

Just the thought of being awake for it makes me want to vomit and cry all day.

So how about that iPhone price drop, huh?

Leslie said...

Molar 12! OH NO. I only have a small cavity and it's making me talk funny, so I feel your pain.
;( Tooth aches..HURT.

It's funny, I really really really put this off. When defending my case to the dentist all I could retort with was "Mwah, It's EXPENSIVE" to which she responded: "No more expensive than that ipod in your purse." So ..she wins.

If I can alot money to new boots, ipods, and Pepper Jack Melts at Arby's, then I can spare some for healthcare. Shame on me. Although - it was years before I had a job with dental care. My last job sorta made me choose between my teeth and other parts. So I figure if I applied paste to brush life would be peachy. I should've figured in a soda addiction.

Hench said...

You have an iphone Leslie? Are you going to complain about paying the original price to get your $100 rebate?

I can't believe they are doing that.

Sorry to hear about your teeth woes, ladies. I had my last two wisdom teeth pulled in July and it sucked bad!

Leslie said...

Tooth, blue tooth, iphone..I see.
lol.
I wrote a blog on my feelings for iphone. Not directed negatively at either of you 2 ladies..just more or less my opinion on the whole schpeal.
(how do you spell speal, schmpeal, zpeal?)

Hench said...

Wow I totally read that your dentist said "No more than that iphone in your purse." But she said ipod....oops.