Why you should regularly visit your dentist.
I hadn't been to my dentist since May-2004 (normally I went on weekends, but since Sofia and the kids moved to Montreal, I am not in Ottawa on the weekends).
Last night, as I was munching on some cashews, I felt a pain in one of my molars and then some grit in my mouth. I went and washed it out, assuming that maybe there had been a stone or something amount the cashews. Turns out I noticed a hole in the surface of the molar (top right, second from the back, my wisdom teeth were removed years ago). Fishing around for grit in my mouth, it looked like crumbled filling. So I assumed that my filling had cracked and crumbled and come out.
Went to the dentist this morning, he took an x-ray and came back with bad news. I have a large cavity under the filling, which gave way. The filling did not fall out, but rather impacted into the space of the cavity. He did not rework the filling, since the cavity is very near the root - cleaning it out would likely result in exposing the root. As some may have already guessed, I need a root canal. I have never had one, so it should be an interesting experience. The doctor says it will take two hours since there are 3 roots he needs to clean out.
The one thing he is surprised at is that I am not in pain (I am not, not even a little bit). The spot where the filling impacted is a little sensitive to pressure, so I don't chew on it.
Last night, as I was munching on some cashews, I felt a pain in one of my molars and then some grit in my mouth. I went and washed it out, assuming that maybe there had been a stone or something amount the cashews. Turns out I noticed a hole in the surface of the molar (top right, second from the back, my wisdom teeth were removed years ago). Fishing around for grit in my mouth, it looked like crumbled filling. So I assumed that my filling had cracked and crumbled and come out.
Went to the dentist this morning, he took an x-ray and came back with bad news. I have a large cavity under the filling, which gave way. The filling did not fall out, but rather impacted into the space of the cavity. He did not rework the filling, since the cavity is very near the root - cleaning it out would likely result in exposing the root. As some may have already guessed, I need a root canal. I have never had one, so it should be an interesting experience. The doctor says it will take two hours since there are 3 roots he needs to clean out.
The one thing he is surprised at is that I am not in pain (I am not, not even a little bit). The spot where the filling impacted is a little sensitive to pressure, so I don't chew on it.
Comments
"lan"?
Seem to be dropping the initial consonants today!
Works and Plan!
MIO: I am not terribly worried about it. I am more concerned that my tooth my suddenly erupt into a mountianof pain. Denstistry is significantly better now-a-days than it was in the past.
MOI: I haven't had a cavity in nearly 20 years, but I have had my fillings changed over the years.
My dental plan is pretty good. It will cover one root canal per tooth (shouldn't need more than that). There is no limit on the number of canals per year. I do have a $2000 per year limit on crowns, though (and they will only cover the cost of metal ones).
Don't eat any taffy apples from Hallowe'en! (Not that people give those out anymore!)
i hate to go to the dentists,too..though,i am forced for some time.
once,they televized that someone died so sudden and the biopsy said that "a germ" from his cavity came up to his brain and that damaged his brain to stop that caused his death..unbelievable..
My, the last I visited a dentist was as way back as yours! :)
tin-tin: When I was a kid, I hated visiting the dentist. He was rough and had big fingers and was always saying “Open wider". Now, I don’t mind going. It is just the time. sigh.
MOI: As I have mentioned in other posts, my job has a number of very addictive incentives (along with good pay, a good health plan, and a genuine honest to goodness pension plan – very rare in private companies), that is why it is so hard to give it up and strike out on my own, because I won't find anything like that elsewhere.
ghee: I know I can feel pain in my teeth, but I am glad that I feel no pain at the moment. There is some correlation between gum disease and heart attacks.
letter for you: The process is pretty simple: (1) he will freeze my mouth, (2) he will clean out the old filling and cavity, (3) he will drill 3 holes in the tooth so he can scrape out the nerves in the tooth all the way down through the root of the tooth. The tricky bit is making sure he gets all the nerve out, if any remains, it will cause me pain later on. I presume he will have some fine pointy thing for scraping the nerve out of the root.
kaymac: Actually, it is fine. I will see how it is after Monday.
barbara: I don't know what it will be like. I am told the technique is much better now-a-days. Yes, it is expensive - about $900 worth of expensive. Fortunately, my insurance covers it.
Wish you a peaceful Sunday and a great week ahead:-)
I know for sure that the root canal you got really helped out a lot. Here in Colorado Springs, dentistry is at par with the latest trends and technologies.