An Oral History
I've been having drama relating to my teeth since this past summer, resulting in ingesting of more ibuprofrin than one human should take without a "goodbye-cruel-world-somebody-please through-all-my-porn-collection-out-before-the-medical-examiner-gets-here" note. For awhile I was under the impression that the persistant pain on the right side of my jaw was due to my impacted-as-hell wisdom teeth, but had a doctor at University of Maryland Hospital's Dental School explain that it was from the two cavities (one on the upper right and one on the lower right). Sure, he explained, I definitely needed to have the wisdom teeth extracted (along with a portion of bone that was fused to it), but that the immediate pain could only be stopped by the cavities either being filled or removed. Naturally, being a temp, I have no dental insurance nor money to have this done. Taking a day off during the week equals less pay, which only adds to the cauldron of oral doom. So, having not much of a choice, I've been doctoring it with numerous meds (Advil, Aleve, Equate, Motrin, Oragel) and seeking alternate means of having the teeth repaired. The pain is usually there, but muted due to the ibuprofrin fairy.
Things officially hit a new low when the pain got so bad late one night last week that I was huddled into a fetal position and wishing some giant bohemoth with pliers would yank them from my mouth right there. No such luck. A pharmacist at Wal Mart advised me that taking four pills would be a prescription dosage, but to make sure I did it with food to prevent the possibility of having an ulcer. But the pain was still residing up in my mouth like your great Uncle Cletis arriving for an unexpected visit, using your bathroom at 3am and not even having the courtesy to jiggle the damn handle to make the toilet stop running. As decent as my Christmas was this year, my dental theatre in the round put a damper on everything, especially since I had to chew everything on the left side of my mouth. After purchasing some Temporary Dental Fill (yes, they actually sell this stuff) I did manage to seal them up somewhat like a half-ass brick mason. The pain hasn't gone away, but at least the open air doesn't hit it like it did before. There's no hope IMHO of getting these things filled without a root canal involved, something that I say up close and personal when my then-BF went through it in '97. I opt that I skip ove rthe middle man entirely and have them both extracted before I go on a rampage, leaving a trail of carnage and empty Advil bottles behind me.
Things officially hit a new low when the pain got so bad late one night last week that I was huddled into a fetal position and wishing some giant bohemoth with pliers would yank them from my mouth right there. No such luck. A pharmacist at Wal Mart advised me that taking four pills would be a prescription dosage, but to make sure I did it with food to prevent the possibility of having an ulcer. But the pain was still residing up in my mouth like your great Uncle Cletis arriving for an unexpected visit, using your bathroom at 3am and not even having the courtesy to jiggle the damn handle to make the toilet stop running. As decent as my Christmas was this year, my dental theatre in the round put a damper on everything, especially since I had to chew everything on the left side of my mouth. After purchasing some Temporary Dental Fill (yes, they actually sell this stuff) I did manage to seal them up somewhat like a half-ass brick mason. The pain hasn't gone away, but at least the open air doesn't hit it like it did before. There's no hope IMHO of getting these things filled without a root canal involved, something that I say up close and personal when my then-BF went through it in '97. I opt that I skip ove rthe middle man entirely and have them both extracted before I go on a rampage, leaving a trail of carnage and empty Advil bottles behind me.