Teeth
Squeezing in one last post before the week is over.
This week, I've been at the tender mercies of the British National Health Service dentists .
The fact is, I can't even remember the last time I was at the dentist, but I have a nasty feeling it might've been in 2008. It was one of those things I had been thinking about, "I should go at some point", but who actually wants to go? Then, just before our summer holiday in Finland, a tooth started to ache. It went away with some standard painkillers and I determinedly buried my head in the sand and hoped that was it.
It wasn't, of course. Our holiday went fine, but the throbbing returned intermittently, and last week I finally gave in and looked up a dentist on the NHS website. I actually got an appointment for the Wednesday (in Finland, the queues for non-emergency appointments start at 4 months).
My worries about new cavities turned out to be unfounded, and instead the dentist sent me to a hygienist for a cleaning and said two of my old fillings needed replacing, because they'd started to leak. Both of those happened this week.
The hygienist poked my gums with sharp objects and gave me a lecture on the importance of flossing. The dentist hit me up with local anaesthesia without even asking (not that I would've refused!) and it turns out that there's adrenaline in that stuff. I had a crazy reaction where my pulse and breathing went wild for a few minutes.
The operation itself wasn't nearly as bad as I'd remembered. Obviously it was uncomfortable having to keep my jaws open so wide for such a long time (it was like the longest blow job of my life) but at least it didn't hurt.
I'd even go so far as to say that the worst part was probably how the numbness lasted for hours. It pulled my facial muscles into this really weird smile/grimace that I could do nothing about, and the unpleasant pins and needles that lingered for hours.
Actually, no. The worst part was probably the £230 I had to fork over afterward. I know it's peanuts compared to having done it at a private clinic but I guess I'm used to the 20 euros or so they charge you in Finland (but see the point about the queues). I'm starting to get why the word "dental" comes up so often when benefits are being discussed on American TV.
But it's done now and I don't have to go back for at least another year \o/
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. You can also comment there using OpenID.
This week, I've been at the tender mercies of the British National Health Service dentists .
The fact is, I can't even remember the last time I was at the dentist, but I have a nasty feeling it might've been in 2008. It was one of those things I had been thinking about, "I should go at some point", but who actually wants to go? Then, just before our summer holiday in Finland, a tooth started to ache. It went away with some standard painkillers and I determinedly buried my head in the sand and hoped that was it.
It wasn't, of course. Our holiday went fine, but the throbbing returned intermittently, and last week I finally gave in and looked up a dentist on the NHS website. I actually got an appointment for the Wednesday (in Finland, the queues for non-emergency appointments start at 4 months).
My worries about new cavities turned out to be unfounded, and instead the dentist sent me to a hygienist for a cleaning and said two of my old fillings needed replacing, because they'd started to leak. Both of those happened this week.
The hygienist poked my gums with sharp objects and gave me a lecture on the importance of flossing. The dentist hit me up with local anaesthesia without even asking (not that I would've refused!) and it turns out that there's adrenaline in that stuff. I had a crazy reaction where my pulse and breathing went wild for a few minutes.
The operation itself wasn't nearly as bad as I'd remembered. Obviously it was uncomfortable having to keep my jaws open so wide for such a long time (it was like the longest blow job of my life) but at least it didn't hurt.
I'd even go so far as to say that the worst part was probably how the numbness lasted for hours. It pulled my facial muscles into this really weird smile/grimace that I could do nothing about, and the unpleasant pins and needles that lingered for hours.
Actually, no. The worst part was probably the £230 I had to fork over afterward. I know it's peanuts compared to having done it at a private clinic but I guess I'm used to the 20 euros or so they charge you in Finland (but see the point about the queues). I'm starting to get why the word "dental" comes up so often when benefits are being discussed on American TV.
But it's done now and I don't have to go back for at least another year \o/
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. You can also comment there using OpenID.