Visit To The Dentist

After cracking my tooth, my back tooth at the top, the very back tooth, on Christmas Day and living on smoothies and scrambled eggs for almost two weeks, I had a call from the Dentist.  I left an emergency message on their machine on Boxing day (day after Christmas) but I knew I wouldn't hear from them as it said they were closed until 3rd January.

I have been nursing my sore, broken, loose tooth for so long.  I really really dislike going to the dentist.  I don't know what it is.  I don't really have any horror dentist stories.  I have been seeing the same dentist all my life.  Well that's not entirely true, my old dentist retired about 20 years ago and my current dentist is the dentist that took over his practice.

At 7.30am yesterday morning I had a call from the dentist.  I had an appointment at 10.00am.  In I drove.  So nervous that I was going to lose the tooth.  I knew it was cracked badly, I heard the massive crack on Christmas day.  I then felt the wobble and if I ate something that was too hard, I would feel a crunch, like the tooth came out and then was pushed right back in to my gums, it was very sore.  Fortunately I had a root canal in that tooth years ago, so it wasn't sore from the nerve, it was the gum, it was throbbing and stinging, from the movement of the tooth.  That's why I was trying to stick to smoothies and soft things, like scrambled eggs, things I didn't have to chew.  I was so nervous the whole tooth would fall out or that the dentist would not be able to save the tooth.

So I arrived at the dentist.  The nurse on the front desk asked what happened.  I told her the story of the Christmas day crack, then being loose and the feeling that the tooth kept coming in and out.
I am called in...... I said to my dentist "I really mean no offense, but I really don't like coming to see you". LOL.  He laughed, he knew I didn't mean that I didn't like seeing him, personally.  He is a lovely man.

I sat down in the chair, the seat reclined and I was given the glasses to put on (to stop the glare of the light they shine into your mouth).  He looked in and said "Oh Boy, how on earth did you manage to keep that in there for that long?".  I said, I have been nursing that tooth like a baby.  He told me that I have cracked half of my tooth, cracked it right in half.  So he numbed me up with a needle.  Oh doesn't that needle hurt!  I have to say I think that's the worst part!  Before I knew it, he had pulled it out.  Not the whole tooth, just the half that had broken off.

The gum is so swollen, red and "angry" as the dentist said.  That they are leaving it for a week, then I am to go back, have an xray and see if they will just fill the hole, crown it or have to remove the rest of the tooth.  The dentist did say that he would like to try to save the tooth, but until they get the xray, he will not know what is the best option.

So I left the dentist.  With a numb mouth.  With that feeling that your lip is the size of a basketball!  You smile and your mouth doesn't move, you have a drink and it runs out, LOL.

After a couple of hours the anesthetic had worn off and I was in a lot of pain,  more pain than before.  It is still sore today, but has settled down a bit.  But I am still on soft food and smoothies, I'm worried about the hole at the back and it being so tender.  He said it will start to settle down in a couple of days.  In the mean time, I will just continue to feel sorry for myself.

Upside of all of this.  As I have been living on just smoothies and scrambled egg for almost two weeks now..... I have now lost a total of 2kg (4.4lbs) since Christmas Day!  Woo Hoo.    It's always good to try and find a positive in a negative situation and this is mine, LOL.