I was scared for my job. (Thankfully I am still employed)
I quit smoking (Hopefully for good this time)
My brother had to put down the 14 yr old siberian husky he got at 8 wks old and I helped raise.
My depression hit many a low point.
I found out I had to have 2 teeth extracted on my birthday (ugh, emergency dental visit - first time seeing him in YEARS - oh and this was the week if Thanksgiving too)
Couldn't eat really much of anything Thanksgiving (teeth issues)
Money problems (Always gonna be there but they were pretty bad after all of the car problems I had over the summer)
etc...
etc...
etc...
So end of last year I had what I thought would be a cleaning but it was actually an evaluation in which I found out I had to have A LOT of work done on my teeth. (Yay, more money out of my pocket that I don't have since I my dental insurance doesn't cover all that much) So today I went in for my cleaning (that I thought I was going to get mid-December) and also to start working on fixing up my teeth.
Now one thing I will say about my dentist is that he is a pretty cool guy when it comes to talking to his patients. At least he has always been with me. It also helped that he looked me dead in the face when I had to have my teeth taken out and asked me point blank "How serious are you about keeping the rest of your teeth?" Yeah, that scared me a little since I am a little attached to my teeth.... So we set to work on a plan to save the teeth I have left. Just for the record I have had 4 teeth removed as well as my wisdom teeth.
So today I got to sit down with the dental hygienist who explained that the "little rock like things" she was pulling out of my gums was plaque deposits. (ewwwwww!) She also said that since I was now taking such good care of my teeth (I will explain everything I do now in a minute) that it would be "a piece of cake from here on out when it came to my cleanings."
Once she was done, and my teeth were cleaning/scraped/flouride covered/etc. I got to sit down with my dentist. I told him how I starting using a mouth guard at night when I sleep (not so comfortable but eventually I will get a custom made one for a little extra $$ that will be MUCH easier to use). I also brush every morning and rinse with mouthwash and every night I brush and floss. He told me he was very impressed and could see the improvement already after just a few weeks.
Yay me!!!!
Then we got to work on the fillings. One was very small and didn't use novacaine (a little discomfort but was pretty easy) but the other one was not so fun. I hate the novacaine shots. They hurt and I am always scared I am going to bite my gums or mouth or whatever and not feel it when I break the skin. (Needless to say - 6 hrs later I am still slightly sore and have a little bit of bruising but am ok.)
Advil is also my friend right now since I had to hold my jaw open more or less for 90 mins. I was told Advil will help to avoid TMJ (or lessen the pain from it or something) so yeah, slight soreness. Although it was hilarious when I tried to put chap stick on and could not rub my lips together from lack of feeling.
Hey! At least I can still make people laugh. Laughter is good. It makes people feel more at ease and it is so much better than yelling. People who are demanding and yell and scream are even more angry because they don't get their way. People do not like to be pushed around. I am nice and friendly as much as I can (at least I try to be) and people are always nice to me in return. The hygienist and I were cracking jokes and it was good.
Thankfully, I don't have to go back until at least mid-February so I have some time to heal....
So long story short (too late!! -if you actually get that reference I may have to hug you) make sure you are nice to people and TAKE CARE OF YOUR TEETH!!!!! (Yeah I have scared two of my nephews into making sure they brush regularly.)
(No this is definitely not my mouth.... )
No comments:
Post a Comment