Friday, April 18, 2014

Back from The Dentist

Well, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, and I learned a ton about how teeth are extracted.

The tooth in question is/was "#31", the last molar on the lower right side. I'd had a filling fall out some years ago, and like a dummy, I just ignored it until it really started to hurt. My own dental insurance had gone away after I was laid-off from Boeing, so I went to the Dentist my wife uses.

He wanted to just pull the tooth, but I figured it wasn't that bad, so I went back to my own Dentist who examined me, said I needed a root canal and a crown, and no, my wife's insurance wouldn't pay for it.

I also got a lecture about what would have been a $250 filling replacement had now turned into a $2200 procedure!

ANYWAY.......that was about 5 years ago, so I guess I got my money's worth out of the crown.

During a previous cleaning they noticed something was odd, but couldn't decide what was going on, so they told me not to worry about it, but to contact them immediately if I had any problems.

WELL...during the cleaning I had a couple of weeks ago, they noticed that the tooth appeared a bit "strange", so they took and X-Ray, and found the front root had separated from the rest of the tooth, and declared the tooth would have to be removed, which we did this morning.

The worst part was getting stuck with the needle (God, I HATE needles!) to numb it out, and the actual extraction and cleanup went very smoothly.

There were NO problems apparent with clotting, despite the fact I'm taking Plavix and an 81mg aspirin per day.

I was in and out in an hour, and then came home and took a bit of a nap.

So far I'm just kind of "generically sore" in the jaw, and taking it easy, as I don't want to interfere with the clotting/healing that's started.

I had planned on attending the Battleship Iowa memorial service tomorrow for the 47 people that lost their lives in the Turret #2 Explosion, and then operate the radio station for the event we're having, but I think I'll pass on it. One of the things the Dentist told me to do was NOT talk a whole lot, and since I operate on Single Sideband, that's kind of hard to do!

Sunday the wife and I will be going to the Easter Brunch on the Iowa, so at least I'll spend a little time there this weekend.

Think I'll head back to the rack for a little while.......

6 comments:

  1. Ouch! As one that has really bad teeth, I feel your pain. Relax and you are wise to not push it.

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  2. What Kelly said - I'm glad the procedure went well.

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  3. Didn't bother me much sleeping last night, but a 0400 I woke up shivering quite badly.

    Let the dog out to do her thing, and then threw another blanket on my side of the bed.

    Feel pretty good this morning, but I'm going to stay home and tinker on the Supra. Have both rearview mirrors and the sunshade ready for paint, so I'll do that, and work on the interior a bit.

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  4. Gotta take care of the teeth... And glad you're feeling better!

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  5. Take it easy and take care of your teeth

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Keep it civil, please....

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