A Better Choice. Part 1.

My teeth suck.  Here are some reasons why…

1. Milk, blech, I can’t remember when I have ever drank a glass.
2. The fact that I didn’t eat through Middle and High School, bad, bad, idea.
3. Four babies equaling 3 years of pregnancy and now a grand total of 8 years of nursing that have sucked any remaining calcium from my system.
4. Diet Coke
5. Sugar
6. Years and years of no dental insurance.
7. The fact that I’d rather give birth then get a filling.

Anyway, the list could go on and on, but I’ll get to the point.  A few weeks ago I had a filling fall out.  I didn’t have any pain, just a hole where one shouldn’t be, making it impossible to ignore. I knew if I didn’t address it, it would just get worse. Plus I had a molar with a crown that was zinging me when I brush.

            Years ago Justin and I found a great dentist in Pleasant Grove.  Unfortunately for us, he decided to become a Wisdom Teeth Only kind of guy and we found ourselves without a dentist, which really was not cool of him.  We felt comfortable with him.

            As many of you locals know, we have what I call the conveyor belt dentists in our area. You hear their ads on the radio all the time.  They are preferred providers.  The have same day appointments.  These brothers even volunteer their services in many ways.  It all sounds so good.  My experience was not that however.  I found the whole thing very cold and impersonal.  The place is huge and the dentists just pop from room to room doing as much as possible.  I went to get fillings done last year.  The first thing, a technician came and injected my mouth with loads of lidocaine.  She numbed ¼ of my mouth with about 5 shots.  Apparently, my system doesn’t handle the epinephrine in the shots that most dentists use.  My heart felt like it was going to explode.  They couldn’t even start work on me until it slowed and calmed down a little.  Then they put those blocks in your mouth that force them open.  I’m not cool with this.  I wasn’t happy with the work either.  The dentist, whichever one it was, left a gap between my teeth.  After the appointment, I was so numb I couldn’t even talk.  It took forever to wear off.  I literally couldn’t feel my nose for days. I’m not exaggerating.

            After this I figured I’d never go back.  But last week I decided to give them a second chance, since I didn’t have a better alternative and my teeth needed immediate attention.  So, last Tuesday, a technician came and took a bunch of x-rays of my problem teeth.  Next thing you know, I’m being told I need 2 root canals. Wha? According to them, I had no other options. Let me go back and tell you why I loath this idea.  I am missing a few teeth, all from root canals gone bad.  Did you know that it is the only medical procedure that forces your body to accept dead tissue?  Well, apparently, my body revolts, gets abscesses and attempts to rid my mouth of root canals by any means possible. That, and the fact that two teeth would max out my insurance for the year and then cost me a wad of dough out of pocket.  Needless to say, I walked out of there without making another appointment.