Today Did Not Get Better

[rowyn]

So the dentist visit was to check on a tooth that has been checked on three times in the last eight months. In November, he filled a cavity in it and warned me that it might be dying. "But I don't think so, because it would hurt a lot more."

It mostly stopped hurting after that, but I went back a week or two later because it'd started again. He filed down a high spot and I left. Five months later, it started hurting again when I chewed on that side. I went in, had the filling filed down again, he warned again that it might be a problem at the root "but it would hurt probably hurt more, so hopefully not." It stopped hurting again.

Last week, it started hurting when chewing on that side again. It still didn't hurt much -- like a 1. It had never risen above a 2.T he top felt sharp, like a broken edge. I made an appointment yesterday for today.

It had fractured down the middle.

So he poked about to see if he could salvage it with a root canal, but nope. Dead tooth. He extracted it. Now I have a giant hole and a mouth full of wet gauze and a dentist convinced I have insane pain tolerance.

I wish I had insane pain tolerance. The giant hole hurts a lot more than the tooth had. It will probably be a week or two healing.

I am at Walmart, waiting for the three different prescriptions to be filled: painkillers, antibiotic pills, antibiotic rinse. Then I guess I'll go back to work. Today is going to be awful anyway. I might as well get paid for some of it.

Comments

[lilfluff.livejournal.com]

I really wish that wasn't a familiar story. I will say it didn't take me very many days for the pain to go away, I'd say within a week I had to poke the socket to feel anything.

(And yay, I get to do it again Friday)

[rowyn]

Ooh, good to get a frame of reference on how long the ouch persists.

My dentist tried to persuade me to use three Advil liquidcaps at a time instead of codeine (which he did prescribe in case I need it.) But by 6PM I was sick of hurting and took one of the codeine instead. I dunno how much difference it makes, though. I am still at the "kind of sore" stage. The problem is less how much it hurts than that it's just this endless dull ache.

Many sympathies for you on Friday. :(

[eimarra]

I keep hearing horror stories that make me think good dentists are a fluke; they don't really know anything about teeth. They just fake it.

{{HUGS}}

[rowyn]

I really like this dentist, actually. I dunno that this was a particular failure on his part; he did warn me all along that this might happen. :|

[gnibbles.livejournal.com]

*purrs next to your mouff* Kitty healing powers activate!

[rowyn]

yay healz! \o/

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Eep. *hugs* Hope you feel better soon!

[rowyn]

Thanks *hugs a kitty*

[tagryn]

So sorry. I had one extracted a few weeks back. Ice/freezer/frozen pea bags are your friend.

[rowyn]

Yowch. :( I don't have any swelling, at least. My body was doing a good job of pretending EVERYTHING IS JUST FINE, THANKS. :/

[kagetsume.livejournal.com]

Ow. I've broken a tooth before. It is ... not pleasant. But yeah, an extracted tooth won't hurt for too long. Are you going to get an implant or a bridge once it heals?

[rowyn]

One or the other, yeah. I might wait until next year and get dental insurance again first. (I canceled it because (a) I thought my teeth were fine at this point and (b) it's not subsidized (c) my dentist isn't on their discount list, so they only cover like 50% or something. It's pretty terrible. But if I'm having major work done, it'd be worth having.)

[archangelbeth]

Good luck! O:(

[rowyn]

Thanks! I am doing pretty well today, actually. :)

[vik_thor]

Hope the socket heals quickly.

[rowyn]

Thanks! Me too. I am super paranoid about dry socket. *shudder* It's doing fine at the moment, though.

[narile.livejournal.com]

Interesting timing there. Rocky had a tooth extracted yesterday as well. I'll let him know he has a partner in misery. ;/

[rowyn]

Ugh. v_v Give him my sympathies!

Sympathy and Best Wishes

[phierma.livejournal.com]

I've had a lot of teeth extracted over the years, but never for a broken tooth (about half a dozen "deciduous" teeth that were too stubborn to make way for the "permanent" ones*, and five [yes, five] wisdom teeth, all of which were completely impacted and had to be chiseled out in two separate batches [I opted for general anesthesia on both occasions]). The worst of them was the second round of wisdom teeth (the final three). Due to a nearly lawsuit-worthy mishandling of my recovery from the anesthesia, I had torn the stitches out before I reached home. (Don't ask. Really.) In that instance, I was still in pain about five days later (on the day of my marriage to my first wife). The other extractions settled down much more quickly; maybe three or four days for the second worst (the first round of wisdom teeth).

I said all that to say this: you have my understanding and sympathy, as well as my best wishes for a speedy recovery.

And good luck with the bike.

*I still have a primary molar where a bicuspid should be; said bicuspid is believed to have manifested as wisdom tooth number 5.

Re: Sympathy and Best Wishes

[rowyn]

Yowch!

This was nothing like as bad as having my wisdom teeth out (just the usual four). That took, I dunno, a week before I really felt recovered. With the extraction, I was feeling pretty good by Friday, just two days later. Whew. :)