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My teeth are not so bad
I was at the dentist for like 2 and a half hours. Yikes...
They did X-Rays, a cancer check, a gum check, a tooth exam, a tooth mold, even pointing a laser at some teeth, etc.
Weirdly, I told them I hadn't been to a dentist in 4 years since I just didn't remember the last time I managed to catch Dr. Melnick at Carnival. I thought it was 2004 or 2005. According to LJ, though, the last time I went to the dentist was Carnival of 2003. Holy crap. So more like almost 6 years.
The good news is, oddly enough, my gums are almost in the exact same condition they were in 6 years ago (just because I remember the general numbers getting called out as they poked back then -- I was mostly 3's and 4's and a few 5's then too as I am now), and aside from having a SMALL cavity in a back molar, my teeth are also in fantastic condition for someone who never goes to the dentist. The only problem was of course a huge amount of tartar buildup, so I was in for a really badass cleaning.
Fortunately, the oral hygienist or whatever, she said "We don't like hurting people any more than they like going to the dentist", so she put some topical anaesthetic on my gums which made them kind of numb, and then went to work scraping and prodding and poking and cleaning, for like a good hour or so, maybe even more. It wasn't fun by any means, but it was not nearly as bad as I was expecting. Just long, because there was so much crap to scrape off.
They made an appointment for tomorrow at 11am for me to get the cavity filled. The entire shebang today cost like $300 and getting the cavity filled will be $150 -- not fun, but I can afford it, and if I don't get it filled now it'll probably be worse and more painful to get done later on, so why not, I guess.
I asked for and received a second set of X-Ray prints, so if I do have trouble in Japan or do end up switching dentists, I can take those along. They also gave me a whole bunch of the typical toothbrush, floss, etc things, along with some packets of Tylenol -- she said my gums are gonna hurt something awful once the numbing stuff wears off, though now it's an hour later, the stuff wore off, and I don't feel so bad -- only problem is I'm hungry and don't really want to CHEW anything yet.
But overall, given how totally scared I am of dentists and how much I've been avoiding the experience, I did pretty well overall. Either they were really good at not hurting me for the most part, or maybe I've finally grown up about this entire thing.
Also, dude! Since I'm home, I was here to get my Fedex shipment of baseball scorebooks which I ordered a few days ago :) I've been totally unable to find landscape 11-player books anywhere like the ones I used to buy at Big 5 several years ago, so this makes me hugely hugely happy! As long as I don't go to over 125 games this year, I should be fine with 5 books...
They did X-Rays, a cancer check, a gum check, a tooth exam, a tooth mold, even pointing a laser at some teeth, etc.
Weirdly, I told them I hadn't been to a dentist in 4 years since I just didn't remember the last time I managed to catch Dr. Melnick at Carnival. I thought it was 2004 or 2005. According to LJ, though, the last time I went to the dentist was Carnival of 2003. Holy crap. So more like almost 6 years.
The good news is, oddly enough, my gums are almost in the exact same condition they were in 6 years ago (just because I remember the general numbers getting called out as they poked back then -- I was mostly 3's and 4's and a few 5's then too as I am now), and aside from having a SMALL cavity in a back molar, my teeth are also in fantastic condition for someone who never goes to the dentist. The only problem was of course a huge amount of tartar buildup, so I was in for a really badass cleaning.
Fortunately, the oral hygienist or whatever, she said "We don't like hurting people any more than they like going to the dentist", so she put some topical anaesthetic on my gums which made them kind of numb, and then went to work scraping and prodding and poking and cleaning, for like a good hour or so, maybe even more. It wasn't fun by any means, but it was not nearly as bad as I was expecting. Just long, because there was so much crap to scrape off.
They made an appointment for tomorrow at 11am for me to get the cavity filled. The entire shebang today cost like $300 and getting the cavity filled will be $150 -- not fun, but I can afford it, and if I don't get it filled now it'll probably be worse and more painful to get done later on, so why not, I guess.
I asked for and received a second set of X-Ray prints, so if I do have trouble in Japan or do end up switching dentists, I can take those along. They also gave me a whole bunch of the typical toothbrush, floss, etc things, along with some packets of Tylenol -- she said my gums are gonna hurt something awful once the numbing stuff wears off, though now it's an hour later, the stuff wore off, and I don't feel so bad -- only problem is I'm hungry and don't really want to CHEW anything yet.
But overall, given how totally scared I am of dentists and how much I've been avoiding the experience, I did pretty well overall. Either they were really good at not hurting me for the most part, or maybe I've finally grown up about this entire thing.
Also, dude! Since I'm home, I was here to get my Fedex shipment of baseball scorebooks which I ordered a few days ago :) I've been totally unable to find landscape 11-player books anywhere like the ones I used to buy at Big 5 several years ago, so this makes me hugely hugely happy! As long as I don't go to over 125 games this year, I should be fine with 5 books...
no subject
For not having been in a while I thought the assessment was decent though I've been asked back to care for a few cavities before they get bad and my front gums are starting to recede just a little. The latter freaked me out a little but his tone implied that it wasn't too late and it could be helped.
/sigh