Yesterday, I had my bottom right hand side wisdom tooth pulled. Years ago, I had a cavity in it and instead of pulling it then, my old dentist put a filling in it. To this day, I don't know why and other dentists that I have been to don't know either. So, a few weeks ago, my filling fell out. No fun. I was doing fine and thought that I could deal with it. Then, I started having excruciating pain along my gum line, because apparently my nerve was starting to become exposed. Blah. No fun now.
Seeing as Eric and I don't have any dental insurance, I had to find the best price, because we would be paying out of pocket. I posted in my mom's group on Facebook asking for recommendations. Everyone that my mom friends suggested was too expensive. So, I pulled out the phone book and started calling different dentists to see how much they would charge. It truly is ridiculous how much a dentist will charge you! One place wanted over $1000, for one tooth! Geez!
I ended up finding Dr. Lee in Palm Desert. But the thing was, they didn't have an opening for a week! The lady asked me are you in pain? Ummm, yes, that is why I was calling to get an appointment! Duh! So, I dealt with the pain and went yesterday. Eric and the kids dropped me off. They took and xray of my tooth and then Dr. Lee did an exam. He tells me, since this is a wisdom tooth, I don't recommend a root canal and a crown, it should just be pulled. Well, isn't that why I was there?
I was under the impression that I was going to be given nitrous oxide. I had never had that and asked how exactly it worked and how it numbs you. The dental assistant told me, we are just going to be using a local anesthetic. Oh joy! I told her that it takes almost 3 sets of numbing shots to actually get me numb. Really no fun! I am not a big fan of needles. So, Dr. Lee numbed the inside of my cheek with some gel stuff and then proceeded to stick me. Just a little pinch, he kept saying. Relax, he kept saying. Breathe through your nose, he kept saying. I was shaking. Well, just like I thought, it took 3 sets to completely numb me. (After I had the procedure, someone told me that the nitrous would have relaxed me. Wish that I had known that then!)
A little over an hour later, the dentist had my tooth out. My jaw was so sore, but hey, he prescribed me pain meds and antibiotics, just in case. So, I texted Eric and they came and got me. We went to Target and had my prescriptions filled. I spent the majority of last night on the couch with an ice pack on my face. You can't really eat anything, because your mouth and jaw are sore and food can get into the huge crater in your mouth. So needless to say, I was pretty hungry! I slept horribly, because after the numbing finally wore off, the pain set in. The pain meds were not helping and I ended up getting an ice pack and sleeping on it.
Today, I am majorly sore. My mouth hurts and I keep reminding myself that I did this, because I was in pain. I was able to eat some cream of wheat, but am totally craving a cheeseburger! LOL!
So long story short, going to the dentist and having your tooth pulled is no fun! But in the long run, I won't be in any pain anymore, but it looks like it might be a very long run! ;)
#32 tooth (I hope this doesn't gross anyone out!)
My 6 year old daughter wanted to see what my tooth looked like, so I asked for it back. Ouch!
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