Time for my Root Canal!

[gfoxcook]

Yes, it's off to the entodontist (yes, there's a whole type of doctor that does nothing but root canals... I always thought dentists just did them, but... nope... huzzah, specialisation!) for me...

Actually, this all started with a minor toothache I ignored for over a year, then back in mid-May it exploded into so-painful-I-couldn't-bite-down-on-food-on-EITHER-SIDE-of-my-mouth, not just the "bad" side anymore.... + facial swelling and pain and tenderness + not being able to open my jaw all the way.... for a few days (I held off telling my sweetie because I wanted to propose to her on our 9th anniversary for a wedding on our 10th anniversary next year... without her feeling pity for me #;-}>). So....

Monday, May 18: emergency dentist visit to diagnose/x-ray the area in question... found out it was only ONE tooth, not 2 like I thought from the pain area/level... though my pain had gotten better on its own on Sunday, likely due to my white blood cells finally kicking the shit out of that nasty fucker embedded in my cheek/jaw for a week.

Tuesday, May 19: entodontist visit to knock out one side of my face with some anesthetic, suck out all the infected nerve material out of the roots, put in some temporary metal to seal the new giant hole in the top of the molar in question, solve the general infection problem, get some nice prescriptions.

Tuesday, June 2: dentist follow-up to clean all the tartar and crap off my teeth, finish taking x-rays of the rest of my mouth, etc...

Tuesday, June 16 (today!): entodontist visit to actually complete (start???) the root canal, fill those bitches with some permanent metal, SHAVE DOWN THE FREAKING TOOTH ENAMEL to make the now-dead tooth less tooth-shaped and thus ready for a crown (this is the part that freaks me out ;_; ... )... and... I guess that's it. Anesthetic again, I hope!

Thursday, July 2: dentist follow-up plus crown fitting.

?????day, July ??: dentist visit for actual crown placement, hopefully with a perfect fit against the tooth that closes on it so I won't need ANOTHER DAMNED VISIT.

Yes. A cornucopia of dental/entodontal medical funs to be had by all!

BRUSH YOUR TEETH MOAR, KIDS.

[super0sonic]

I am scared less because of pain and more because of cost. Still i hope all ends well as fast as possible. See if the cap can be gold then you will be a Pirate!!!

[Nem]

I had a bad tooth once that I lived with for about a year and a half. It prevented me from even using the left side of my mouth for anything. I even had to drink fluids through the right side. It was that bad.

Eventually I went to the dentist. She gave me 2 options. The first was 3 visits, each consisting of a root canal on the single tooth. Suffice it to say, I took the second option. I had the tooth pulled.

[gfoxcook]

Originally Posted by super0sonic

I am scared less because of pain and more because of cost. Still i hope all ends well as fast as possible. See if the cap can be gold then you will be a Pirate!!!

When you go to the dentist, you mean? Well, for me it's cost plus SHAME, not pain. I don't want to get a bunch of lecturing from a dentist or a hygienist about how I need to floss moar because I suck at taking care of my own teef, yanno? That's the main thing that blows to me, along with cost. Pain comes in third. #;-}>

I'm sure my crown will be gold, yes. It's the very back left molar, and as a result, it doesn't need to be all white and porcelainy...

So it'll be gold/palladium due to those metals matching closest the strength/hardness of natural dentin/enamel (which matters for the teeth that'll be pressed against 'em from above, of course).

Originally Posted by Nem

I had a bad tooth once that I lived with for about a year and a half. It prevented me from even using the left side of my mouth for anything. I even had to drink fluids through the right side. It was that bad.

Wow, that is bad, yes. Very similar to my own case. For at least a year I lived with my bad tooth, maybe not quite a year and a half. And yep, left side of the mouth for me, too. I avoided eating with the left side, but the one place where mine wasn't as bad as yours is that I was able to drink through either side or the middle, didn't matter. It was just chewing on it that I avoided due to pain/sensitivity.

Eventually I went to the dentist. She gave me 2 options. The first was 3 visits, each consisting of a root canal on the single tooth. Suffice it to say, I took the second option. I had the tooth pulled.

Yep, same options here, only my dentist doesn't do root canals herself, so I went to an endotontist (I keep spelling it entodontist, because that's how I hear it pronounced) recommended by both her and my parents, who've had root canals from him. And as a result of needing to go back and forth between dentist and entodontist.. hence my 6 visits instead of just 3.

I considered having the tooth pulled as well, but the thought of eventually losing the tooth above the tooth in question due to it not having a corresponding tooth biting against it... made me rethink that, and I decided to keep it.

So anywho, 2 weeks from now and I get a temporary plastic crown, and then another 2 weeks or whenever and I GETS MAH GOLD. MEEEE GOOOOOOOLD. </Conan's leprechaun impression>

[Bahamut]

Man, I haven't been to a dentist in SIX YEARS! And that's just as long as I went without having an eye test. I dread to think what has to be done with my teeth the next time I go...

[gfoxcook]

Originally Posted by Bahamut

Man, I haven't been to a dentist in SIX YEARS! And that's just as long as I went without having an eye test. I dread to think what has to be done with my teeth the next time I go...

Hell, I was only away for about 4-5 years. SIX? Impressive. I BOW TO YE.

[SeptemberRG]

Originally Posted by Bahamut

Man, I haven't been to a dentist in SIX YEARS! And that's just as long as I went without having an eye test. I dread to think what has to be done with my teeth the next time I go...

Bahammy boy go to the fucking Dentist I go at least 3 times a year.

[Miikro]

yeah i think it's been about the same since i visited one. oh, lack of insurance is awesome.

[gfoxcook]

3 times a year? ISN'T THAT A BIT EXCESSIVE? O_O

Originally Posted by Miikro

yeah i think it's been about the same since i visited one. oh, lack of insurance is awesome.

Aye.

Anywho... on Tuesday I go in for my final step: getting my bling slapped on me toof. Then my dental quest (for now)... is OVAH.

Gold crown time... initiate!

[gfoxcook]

Originally Posted by gfoxcook

Anywho... on Tuesday I go in for my final step: getting my bling slapped on me toof. Then my dental quest (for now)... is OVAH.

Gold crown time... initiate!

Oh, just to update the sitch here... gold crown fit nicely, my dentist ground down a fangy bit on a molar or pre-molar nearby it to make the fit on that side of my jaw a bit smoother, all was well from July to December!

...

... then I went in on December 21st for a cleaning (went well, I had a bit of tartar on the backside of my lower front teeth, but that's about it, I did a great job the past half-year on the rest of my brushing besides that one spot!), and to get 2 fillings done that the dentist had wanted to do last summer but I'd had enough dental funs after the root canal + its 6 visits... + 1 filling replaced that had partially come out at some time or another in the past few years... I think of it as 2.5 fillings, thus....

And as of 3 days later--Christmas Eve--I now have pretty severe cold-liquid sensitivity in my upper right molar area, the opposite side of my mouth (perfectly) from my root canal (lower left). It's a bit hot-liquid + pressure sensitive as well, but mostly the pain's from any cold liquids, not cold air, thankfully.

Problem is that my dentist has been closed from 12/23 all the way through today, so I haven't been able to get this taken care of yet. I'll be calling her tomorrow morning, though. DOING MY BEST AS A DENTAL PATIENT now, damnit!

tl;dr:

~10 days of semi-pain >>>> 100s and 100s (no exaggeration) of days of ignoring a dental issue that became a root canal, at least.