Frank at the dentist

[fbhjr]

Keep in mind, I have trouble breathing while on my back, don’t like being
touched, and hate things in my mouth.

The insurance only covers 2 crowns a year. And, I’m told with the state of
my teeth I can expect to do the 2 a year for the next several years. It is
far more a question of which two.
So, I normally show up in January, spend my insurance money for the year
and then wait to come back.
This year is not an exception.

I got to the dentist 15 minutes early last night and he took me right away.
“We’re going to be replacing the crowns on your two back right teeth
tonight,” he said.
“My right or your right?” I asked. “Because I thought you were doing my
left back teeth.”
“Am I? I thought I was doing the right…”
“Maybe we’re talking about the same ones because as you face me the ones
I’m talking about are on my left.”
“No, my chart goes by the patient side of it. Are you sure it was the
left?”
“Well, that’s one of the big things about dyslexia. No, I’m not sure. I
think you said left, but it’s really 50/50.”
“You really need both sides done, but the right looks a bit worse. Why
would I have said left?”
“You said it was because my gums were bothering me there and new crowns
could fix that.”
“Do your gums hurt on the left side?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure it’s your left side?”
I pointed to my left side.
“This is where it hurts,” I said.
“Gum fixing first!” he said. “That makes a lot of sense. We’ll do the
left ones.”

He got me all set with the pain killers and tilted me way, way back to
start drilling.
The drilling went on and on. I concentrated on breathing as it is tough
for me upside down like that.
After a while, the dentist stopped, pulled out his iPhone and started
taking photos of my mouth.
“Wuuu?” I asked.
“I don’t normally see this color inside a tooth,” he said.
“Wuuu?”
“It is a greenish color. Not normal.”
He showed me the photo. It didn’t look very green to me. Looked more like
the inside of a clam.
“Wuuu?”
“No, I don’t think it is a problem. But, I’m going to make sure we get rid
of it.”
He switched to a different drill that vibrated my whole head when he used
it.
“WuuWuuWuu,” I said.
“This one does cause a lot of vibration,” he said. “But, it won’t break
into the root cavity as it can only remove weaker material not the good
bone. I’m using it so we don’t have to do an emergency root canal on you.
“If you want that instead, raise your hand.”
I kept both hands down.
“That’s what I thought,” he said.

After a while the iPhone came out again and more photos were taken.
“Just documenting I got it all,” he said.

Once drilling was done he did something that seemed like hot gluing my
teeth. He said it was a light cured material to use as an even base for
the crowns so they didn’t have to conform to the uneven tooth material.
Then he took the mold for the replacement crowns. That took a while.

All told it was almost 2 ½ hours in the chair. But, it is done. After
insurance it only cost me $1400. Yeah. Well. Ooo. (With insurance it
would have been over $3000.)
But, once a year.

Once the new crowns come in I go back and have the permanent ones put in.
I’ll be glad to have it done.

Comments

[morgan-lafaye.livejournal.com]

First, I'm sorry you have to go through this.
Second, why doe it not surprise me that you have teeth that produce something a dentist has never seen and must be documented?

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

Again....

[postingwhore.livejournal.com]

What's up with your teeth that you need to get so many crowns?

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

A lot of them are replacements for ones done over the last 30 or so years that are wearing out.

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Wear and tear continues to be a thing. Most of the work I've had done in the last few years has been simply replacement of old work. I suppose I can count myself fortunate on that point.

[padiwack.livejournal.com]

sinceresympathies

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

I do not object to exceeding the service life with my own!

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Neither do I!

[evrgreen.livejournal.com]

WuuuWuuWuu

I guess there is something to be said for getting the unpleasantness over with at the start of the year - hopefully everything gets better from here on out (until next year, anyway)!

[chaquir.livejournal.com]

That sounds as if it was a nasty tooth.
How many years do you still have to 'do' before you get everything fixed?

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

He said there were 4 areas that needed work.
So, three more years?

[manue7a.livejournal.com]

ugh, two and a half hours on a dentist's chair - must feel like a lifetime.
How weird, the bit with the iPhone..

[ravena-kade.livejournal.com]

Eekkkkkk....

I also have the same trouble breathing in a dentist chair.... And I remember the sounds of those different types of drills all too well. I need to make an appointment with a new dentist ans basically start the same thing....

[meathiel]

Ugh ... you have my sympathies!

And only $1400 ... so cheap ...

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

For me the dyslexia is worst in memory.
I can almost always tell right from left at any given time.
But, remembering if something was left or right from yesterday, not going to happen.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

That's after insurance...

[hindustar.livejournal.com]

Ouch!!! eeeww. *hugs*

Everything you wrote just reinforced my thinking that if a dentist says "you need a root canal" I will tell him to just pull it.

As a fellow dyslexic I absolutely hate left/right directions. I would rather people point me at my target. Seriously. *sigh*

Most of the time I have to hold my hands up and do the L for left with my thumb and pointer finger.

[postingwhore.livejournal.com]

Wow, why were those done? :O

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

Various reasons over many years.
Most of them were damage from when I used to drink a lot of soda with sugar in it.
It seemed like every year I had cavities if I had the drinks with sugar.
I gave that up and it got better.

[chaquir.livejournal.com]

auwtsj**

[endlessblush.livejournal.com]

$1400 sounds high to me but $3000 sounds ridiculous! thank goodness for insurance.

I'm glad it's being done despite your discomfort

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

Yeah. The insurance only pays 50% of things like crowns.
It pays 100% for cleaning and preventative things.
Well, until you hit $1500 a year. Then you're done until the next year no mater what it is.