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21 March 2007

Maybe I should just have them all pulled. →[More:]

I need to go to the dentist. I have two badly chipped molars (one on each side) and a tiny notch in my left front tooth that you can't really see, but feels like a jagged fingernail (Jon calls me "Notchy"). I haven't been to the dentist in, gasp, about nine years. Actually, I went last year when I chipped the first molar; the dentist took x-rays and said everything looked fine (amazingly), but I never went back for the repair.

Down the street from our apartment in Queens, there's a very modern-looking storefront dentist's office with a big-screen TV in the waiting area and seemingly lots of customers (always a good sign). Their website even promises sedatives. They'll give you a "pill" to take before you even come in for your appointment to ease any anxiety. (I'm such a whimp, I swear.) It's the novacaine needles; I can't stand those deep-gum needles. I often require a second and even third shot for it to work (*whimpers*).

Maybe I should just do like my birth mother did, lo the many years ago. Rather than have the necessary dental work done, she just had the dentist pull all her teeth and pop in dentures (is that even possible so fast?). Then, she said, in fine Blanche DuBois fashion, she went out dancing (and bled all over the dance floor). But that may be a bit extreme.

post by: Pips at: 11:12 | 12 comments

I'll tell you this much pipster, if you go to a good dentist it really doesn't hurt all that much. I'm more or less physically brave and not afraid of pain, but going to the dentist freaks my shit out in the worst way. I had to get a root canal last year and I spent the hours waiting for the appointment laying on my couch in a coma of fear, I was almost out of my body. I dragged myself in to the dentist and it didn't hurt at all, I almost fell asleep while he was doing it. In the end, if you can, just make an appointment and distract yourself until it's time to go, once it's started you won't be scared anymore. They also have much better anesthetic than they used to when we were younger, those needles used to hurt like hell and now for some reason they don't (although perhaps I just have no more nerves in my gums, one or the other).

posted by Divine_Wino 21 March | 11:18

Go to the dentist, sweetheart. They can be very gentle, and I'm an even bigger dentophobe than you are.

although, the blood on the dancefloor would be kind of a cool move...

posted by jonmc 21 March | 11:24

Yeah, seconding the wino. I put off going to the dentist for the longest time, remembering those big old needles (they were HUGE). It took a filling coming out and incredible pain to get me there, and then I was all like "...that's it?"

But by all means take a valium or something if it's going to get you through it. Good dental health impacts on your overall health and all that.

posted by gaspode 21 March | 11:25

Oh man. I hadn't been to a dentist in four years, and when I finally went I had two small cavities, one in each upper back molar. And they needed to be filled, and I'd never had cavities before in my life, and I have a superserious horrific phobia of doctors and needles and everything.

It was NOTHING. Like, NOTHING. I took the day off work because I was freaking out so much. The guy numbed my gums before he even injected me, and I didn't feel a thing.

Please go take care of your teeth. It really, really isn't as bad as you think. And yes, if you need a valium beforehand, go for it. Having bad teeth means a lifetime of trouble (ask my grandmother).

posted by Fuzzbean 21 March | 11:46

Painful teeth suck 'cos they're in your head, so they make you feel bad all over, or at least in your head. Why can't teeth be somewhere less sensitive? I guess they kinda have to be where our mouths are but I'm lobbying for the next generation of humanoids to have a digestive tract that inputs in the left shoulder and outputs somewhere below the knee. Why? You do the math. I'm tired of math.

Seriously, sorry to hear about your teeth, Pips... I could recommend the best dentist in the country, but he's in Maryland (I've never been to another dentist than my childhood one, and I've always enjoyed dentist visits. Never had a cavity, even with two chipped teeth. Good dude). Get better soon so we can have an old-fashioned ceramic tile eating contest this June.

posted by Hugh Janus 21 March | 12:00

I hadn't been to the dentist in, oh, four or five years or so but because I get dental insurance as part of my employment benefits, I took the plunge and went to a local dentist. I was incredibly nervous, but they were great.

It turned out my teeth were just fine, but the problem was the gums. So last summer I had to have a lot of horrible periodontal work. But they numbed me to hell and back, and I played loud music in my ears to blot out the scrape, scrape, scrape of the little pointy tool of doom.

It was ok. Each time got better. I fully understand now the notion of preventative dentistry and I am diligent about flossing and using those little interdental brushes.

Good luck Pips!

posted by essexjan 21 March | 12:11

I lost three adjacent molars to cracked roots. IMHO: if you possibly can, keep the teeth.

posted by warbaby 21 March | 12:11

You have insurance. I would bite the bullet (not too hard) and spend a couple years maxing out your dental benefit and get your teeth fixed. Fillings, cleanings, crowns, etc.

You will be generally healthier for it.

We'll hold your hand (figuratively) and get you through it.

But, one word of caution, keep an eye on your insurance and don't over spend. I did one year, carelessly, and ended up with a big bill.

posted by danf 21 March | 12:26

My 104 year old grandmother told me "Don't get old" and "Keep your own teeth, don't get dentures".
She's still around at 104 years old, I'll take her advice...well, the getting old part was too funny.

Those huge needles are necessary if you don't go every 6 months to the dentist. Really.
Don't be like my dead friend who did coke before a dentist appointment, I didn't know he was that addicted...he never made that appointment, just the one with the pearly gates. RIP.

posted by alicesshoe 21 March | 13:48

Dentures never work as well your teeth, and are a huge pain to keep relined, and repaired. You'll wind up spending much more time and money annually at the dentist, if you go the denture route, and unless you have terrible infections or other whole mouth problems, you probably would find it hard to locate a dentist who would pull all your teeth anyway, these days.

But the real problem with dentures is that, sooner or later, you stop eating as well. It's just harder to chew and grind food adequately with dentures, and you start to cook and eat mostly foods that are already ground to a pulp and cooked past all recognition. This is not good, I think, in the long run, for your health, particularly that of your intestines. They don't call "roughage" that for nothing.

posted by paulsc 21 March | 14:19

No coke, alicesshoe? Well, I'm definitely not going then.

Seriously, folks, thanks for being so supportive and sharing your stories. I'm workin' up the nerve, I really am; I know I have to go. I try to tell myself it won't be the big deal I think it will. And it would be so good to chew normally again. I love my teeth. I really do.

A friend at work said dentists have something they can touch up small nicks and wearings with now, like new. So, hopefully I won't be "Notchy" for long (though I've grown rather fond of the name : ). Plus, the chairs are really comfortable, and you get a free toothbrush. I am still paranoid, though, about the water they use, coming out of that icky, mossy tubing... Damn 60 Minutes report.

Soon, though, soon...

posted by Pips 21 March | 14:25

I've read that your jawbone deteriorates if you have your teeth pulled. I've been going to Peter Silver, the Jazz Dentist--he treats a lot of musicians, and he buzzes your cheek with a little vibrator while he puts the needle in...don't laugh, it does cut the pain.

posted by brujita 22 March | 00:27

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