Teeth suck
Oct. 30th, 2007 01:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fleaSo, I got my 3 cavities filled. It cost $540, for those of you who have no idea what dental care costs (like me, until recently.) The drilling was HORRIBLE but I didn't freak out or anything. Now my teeth are sore (but I've taken Advil) and my face is still numb. And I am feeling very sorry for myself. And angry with myself, because flossing and fluoride rinse probably could have prevented this. It is perhaps a poor reflection on me that having bad teeth and having to pay to fix them is making me want to go out and spend money and eat candy to make myself feel better.
The worst part is she said I have deep decay on one of my wisdom teeth, and wrote me a referral to see an oral surgeon about getting it removed. And hey, while they're in there, why not take them all! I have all four wisdom teeth well in and not causing me any trouble, except for the danger of decay because they are hard to brush and harder to floss, since they are about 5 miles back in my enormous mouth. The lower left is the decayed one, and she noted it's in kinda crooked; the upper left she says is freakishly huge (okay, those were not her words, but she said, "Wow, that one is big!" twice). The right two are in straight and look okay, but she said it might be as well to get them out anyway. Apparently when I was in the prime wisdom teeth removal years, the trend was to leave them in if they weren't impacted, but now the trend is to take them all no matter what, given the strong likelihood of decay and gum disease and the connection of gum disease with heart disease and diabetes. At 35, I'm still in the zone where it makes more sense to take them (apparently after 40 the bone doesn't heal well.)
Lemme tell you, reading Wikipedia on wisdom tooth extraction does NOT give me a happy for having this done. Also, I fear the cost. Never mind when the hell am I supposed to find the time to recuperate what with my small children.
In closing, wah.
The worst part is she said I have deep decay on one of my wisdom teeth, and wrote me a referral to see an oral surgeon about getting it removed. And hey, while they're in there, why not take them all! I have all four wisdom teeth well in and not causing me any trouble, except for the danger of decay because they are hard to brush and harder to floss, since they are about 5 miles back in my enormous mouth. The lower left is the decayed one, and she noted it's in kinda crooked; the upper left she says is freakishly huge (okay, those were not her words, but she said, "Wow, that one is big!" twice). The right two are in straight and look okay, but she said it might be as well to get them out anyway. Apparently when I was in the prime wisdom teeth removal years, the trend was to leave them in if they weren't impacted, but now the trend is to take them all no matter what, given the strong likelihood of decay and gum disease and the connection of gum disease with heart disease and diabetes. At 35, I'm still in the zone where it makes more sense to take them (apparently after 40 the bone doesn't heal well.)
Lemme tell you, reading Wikipedia on wisdom tooth extraction does NOT give me a happy for having this done. Also, I fear the cost. Never mind when the hell am I supposed to find the time to recuperate what with my small children.
In closing, wah.