Had A Tooth Pulled Today

[Fierce Critter]

(Note: this is mostly for my personal rehabilitation. I'm miserable and just fucking need to vent. But input is welcome, as well as sharing your own dental horror stories. But if you're squeamish, don't read. And if stories about someone else's dental experiences bore you - don't read!)

Gads. Just... gads.

Finally had to have that nasty molar pulled - it's been breaking apart bit by bit over the past 3-4 years.

It was a "simple extraction", dentist told me it wouldn't be very complicated and I'd be fine.

But I had a rare anxiety attack in the chair. I never used to have a problem with the dentist. But since entering adulthood, I can be a real pussy in the chair. I don't know why.

I ended up crying as they went about numbing me up. They had me sit for a while while the novocaine did it's job, and had me watch TV. Animal Planet and "Mr. Roberts" on TCM helped a bit. Smart idea. I was going to ask them for the laughing gas, as that always helps. But since I don't have dental coverage, I wanted to avoid the expense. Next time, I GO TO THE EXPENSE.

The extraction did go well. They gave me the tooth. What's left of it. Gads. I haven't been able to bring myself to look at it yet.

That tooth had been abscessed for at least 3 years, so I got a prescription for penacillin. Plus prescriptions for both 800mg Motrin and Tylenol 3's with codeine - at my request. I have NO pain threshold. Gimme drugs, thank you very much.

Surprisingly, though, the T3's aren't having the "knock me out" effect I'd hoped for. All I wanted to do was sleep. But I sleep better on Benadryl or melatonin. I didn't have the balls to ask for anything stronger, though. And Frankly, the pain isn't bad so I really only would have needed it to put myself out.

I had all 4 wisdom teeth pulled at the same time when I was 19. It did NOT go well. Two were surgical extractions, and the resulting pain was horrendous. Add to that that I just couldn't get one spot in particular to clot. Well, today was an unfortunate repeat. Mutherfucker just wouldn't clot right. I kept ending up with mouthfuls of blood I had to spit and rinse out. They didn't really explain to me that I should be putting some pressure on the gauze placed in the spot - I was trying to not bite down too hard on it, especially considering there are stitches in there. But the blood kept clotting ALL OVER my mouth. At one point, the clot extended from my last molar to my front canine. I rinsed it away, and actually used scissors (I keep surgical scissors around - don't ask) to trim it down. Re-read the "aftercare" instruction booklet they gave me, and that's where it said to put pressure on the gauze to get the clot to form. Duh. Once I did that, it finally clotted correctly.

But I have developed some weakness at the sight of my own blood - again, upon reaching adulthood. When I see an inordinate amount of blood coming from myself, I can pass out. I hate that about myself, but it's just something I can't help now. I almost fainted several times today in the bathroom, rinsing my mouth of the fucking gushing blood filling it up. I almost called Jon at one point, then almost called my parents so somebody could be with me if I fainted.

Thank god by about 11:30, I got it to clot correctly and I got to fitful sleep. But I'd had the tooth pulled by 8:30, so I was dealing with this for 3 hours.

I am glad it's out, though. I'd been living with that mutherfucker doing nasty things in my mouth for years. I'm not ordinarily that stupid about my personal healthcare, but dentistry is fucking expensive when you don't have insurance, and I have been terrified about being in any way, shape, or form - toothless. Finally just had to face facts that I was putting my health in danger - in fact, the ongoing infection was probably having some toll on my health all this time, on top of the depression issues. Hope this helps me feel better.

I have to give it 6-12 months to heal. Then I get a bridge. I'm happy about that. I was afraid I'd end up with an ugly partial. And Jon might be going to a job soon that has dental coverage, so I won't have to worry about being able to pay for it.

Back to sleep... zzzz....

[Rayne]

((((((hugs)))))))

I have to have some serious work done soon myself ... I'm NOT looking forward to it.

[Sybil]

**eeeee-gads**

**gasps**

Poor baby!

I had a wisdom tooth ripped out a few years ago.

..3 more to go..

..cavities to be dealt with..

**sigh**

..so not looking foreward to it.. AT ALL.

[Msterbeau]

*Sympathy for Camille*

Sorry babe... I hate having my teeth messed with.

My younger daughter had a loose tooth the past few weeks. Apparently yesterday at school she bopped her face (on purpose? Who can say...) on her desk and wacked it loose. Oi....

[Guest Megalicious]

Finally just had to face facts that I was putting my health in danger - in fact, the ongoing infection was probably having some toll on my health all this time, on top of the depression issues. Hope this helps me feel better.

I hope so too.

Get some rest, I hope you feel better soon.

[Fierce Critter]

God, I want a Wendy's chicken sandwich so freaking bad right now.

Rice soup sucks.

Mewl.

[Dubh Aingeal]

While I can sympothize with you (as I have had the work done) I can only relate to the very short term of the pain associated. Once the novicaine wears off I am in pain for about an hour before my natural ability to ignore pain kicks in. After that there is no more pain. I'm just one of those odd freaks like that. Gall Bladder surgery and I was back at work in 5 days. When I had the tonsils out a couple years ago I was on solid food within 36 hours.

[honeymustard02]

I feel sorry for you.

But I can't say I've been there.

I had all 4 wisdom teeth at once and had little swelling/bleeding/bruising. My dentist was amazing!

I wish you the fastest and bestest healing though!!!

*Hugs*

[Steven]

Daummmmm Camille....so sorry bout your tooth (freakin tooth and eye pain are the WORST) but Im glad your getting things done because you need that for yoru overall health. Hope your feeling better soon.

I once had two wisdom teeth pulled by a trainee Military Dentist.

they gave me one (one) shot of novocaine deep into the roof of my mouth and started crackin on them impacted teeth. It was horror.

[Homicidalheathen]

Why on earth did you live with an infected gum for 3 years???

Next time dont wait so long!!!

Hugs. Just dont bend over and you will be ok...or lift anything heavy or strain.

Lay down and take it easy. No sucking. LOL. Seriously......the suction takes out the blood clot.

[Gaf The Horse With Tears]

darlin.. I feel your pain. I have had so many problems with mny teeth over the years that I just lived with. It will get better, and then you will realize how swollen your mouth had been before and that bit of info will make it all the better.

[Fierce Critter]

Thanks for the input and sympathy, all. Actually does make me feel better.

The actual experience was kinda scary. Getting those novocaine shots is fucking horror - it always hurts, and it takes so freaking long. Then, he had to drill the tooth just a little. Then, and this was the worst, the warning that I'll hear a cracking noise - oh my freaking god. Since I wasn't on the gas, I just tried to take my mind away by reciting something over and over in my head. The only thing I could think of - and this part does crack me up - was Apoptygma Berzerk's "Love Never Dies". :D I kept playing that song over and over and over in my head in an attempt to get out-of-body while all that was going on. It worked. There's some kind of gothy-level-indicator in all that somewhere, I'm sure. :D

I wish I had your powers of pain-resistence, Dubh. I can take a little bit of pain, I can walk off a bang to the shin, small cuts, twisted ankles, that sort of thing. But when it comes to dental pain, I go all soft and sissified.

Still, though, it's not the pain that's bad - hell, it doesn' hurt at all, thank goodness. It's all that clotting and bleeding that's got me sick to my stomach and miserable. The clot that formed is good, but it extends kinda high above the gumline. I can taste it, and it's keeping me nauseated. And you know how if you have something like a cut inside your mouth or a piece of food stuck in a tooth, and you can't get to some floss or a pick and so you can't stop yourself from fucking with it with your tongue? I'm having that problem. I'm being mostly good about leaving it alone. But once in a while, I touch that spot with my tongue, feel that clot and feel like puking. I wish I had a good scalpal on hand so I could just top that sucker off a bit so it doesn't sit so high. (Yes, I keep things like scalpals, lancets, syringes and surgical scissors around most of the time - daughter of an RN and I find these tools better for their purpose than sewing pins, kitchen knives and the like).

I'm going to continue to chill today. Running out just long enough to pick up some catfood, Coke, and that fucking Wendy's chicken sandwich. :D Probably just take it outta the bun and it eat in tiny bits. I'm terrified of dislodging that miserable, fucking clot and ending up with dry socket.

HH - ordinarily, I'm very good about taking care of health issues. Had I been in my right mind, I would have probably sold something to get the cash to go to the dentist as soon as the first problem developed with that tooth. But as things were, I was in North Carolina when it started and progressed, and in the deepest depths of my then-undiagnosed depression. Things didn't start off that bad - the filling simply fell out. So I started packing the tooth with over-the-counter filling material. It took a piece of the tooth itself breaking off to get me to the dentist. He rebuilt the tooth with white filling material, and it only cost me $150. What got it infected was I didn't realize the filling was standing up too high, and my upper tooth was slamming down on it and I let it go almost 11 months like that. That's what caused the tooth to start hurting, and the abcess to happen. Once I had the filling filed down, the pain went away but the infection was still there.

It wasn't until I moved back here, and then lost yet another piece of tooth last summer, that I realized I really couldn't put it off anymore. I still did, because of having no money to get to the dentist. And out of fear that they'd have to pull the tooth. I really have been horrified at the thought of losing any of my original teeth. The only thing that finally got me to the dentist was we got a coupon to go for a cleaning, exam and x-rays for $65. So I went. And the Panorex showed that the root system was just basically swimming in infection. It was amazing that I had no resulting pain from it.

Pulling the tooth was only $110. So that's why I finally had it done. If I had gone to the dentist first thing way back when that first filling fell out, things wouldn't have progressed so bad. Depression and lack of $$ basically put me on a bad course.

I'm very glad it's out now, though. I'll only be without a tooth for 6-12 months while waiting for it to heal, and in that time I surely can come up with the $1800 it will cost to have a bridge made. Plus, it's really looking like Jon is going on to a union job very, very soon with great benefits - including dental. Fingers crossed and prayers said...

[Head Wreck]

i had six's removed (wisdoms) and 3 sevens, one seven remaining as it was to aukward to extract without taking some jawbone with it

[Homicidalheathen]

But once in a while, I touch that spot with my tongue, feel that clot and feel like puking

Ya make a LOUSEY vampire M'Lady. LOL.

[Fierce Critter]

But once in a while, I touch that spot with my tongue, feel that clot and feel like puking

Ya make a LOUSEY vampire M'Lady. LOL.

LOL! Actually, blood play interests me. Both giving and taking. <--MAJOR vampire fetishist

My life-partner isn't interested, though. So I doubt I'll ever get the opportunity.

Clotting in extraction spots is a different thing altogether. GAG.