more dental owies (or Ibuprofen is a wonderful thing)
Had a very strange dream this morning, likely due to dental anxiety. Something about being on a Girl Scout trip, and we had to get where we were going on this weird train where the train cars were just flatbeds with large rocks in them and that's where we sat, the wind whistling through our hair. And this wasn't seen as 'dangerous' or 'stupid'.
I woke up and scurried around to get to the dentist. Got there at 9:30 for a 10:00 appointment and they had me in the chair before 9:40.
Dr. G and I discussed my 8 teeth that need work. (Yes, 8 :( ) He's going to refer me to a root canal specialist for the remanants of the molar that started this mess, and possibly an oral surgeon to remove the wisdom tooth, but today, all he did was put fillings in the 'easy to fix teeth'. One bicuspid, and one tricuspid on the upper jaw on the other side. I had no idea before today that there wasn't anything wrong with these teeth.
So I was drilled, drilled more and they stuck a nice rubbery piece of foam in my mouth so I wouldn't have to open it so wide. I am liking these new advances in dentisty. The last time I had a tooth filled, I was probably about ten. I didn't get the nice novocaine gel swab back then, my fillings were silver or mercury, and if they checked my bite, it wasn't more than once. This dentist must have checked my bite 8 or 9 times to make sure the new resin (yes, resin? like pine sap or like the stuff we embed EM samples in?), they numbed my gums before shooting me full of novocaine, and Dr. G is very good about not bringing dental intruments into your field of view. (And personally I'm kind of calmed by his magnifying glasses, since they hide any reactions he might be making with his eyes.
On the other hand, drill-cooked, tooth decay has an unpleasant odor.
I also got my dental insurance bills back. On the one hand, I don't expect full coverage because the dentist is out of the network. On the other hand, I don't know what kind of service they expect us to get when they only pay $30 for an evaluation and about half of what my x-rays cost. I can't help it if they have to check for unerupted wisdom teeth. The most amusing part was that the envelope was 'decorated' with Stop Insurance Fraud messages, but the only 'fraud' was the company calling this 'insurance'. Apparently, because I came in for a consult, then came back for a cleaning, my cleaning wasn't covered because it was a seperate visit. Bastards.
So now I'm at work and kind of spacey. Still getting over the adrenaline. Having burned through my generic Honey Nut Cheerios on anxiety alone, I went off in search of mushy food since I still have the rotted out molar on the right and two fresh fillings now on the left (and a half-numb face). Opted to go to Yum Wok/Lulu's Noodles for wonton soup and fried rice that I wouldn't have to chew. Where were the veggies today? In any case, it's hard to chew warm broccoli with just your incisors.
So now, I have to work up the will to play with the ever-defunct microinjector, even though I'm in exactly the wrong state of mind to do so. The afternoon should be fun.
Not.