Two weeks of Stupidity. (LJ)

Well, I shouldn't start a blog off with grinding my teeth, but after the last two weeks, that seems appropriate.

Two weeks ago on Tuesday mom and dad came home from shopping at Trader Joe's. If you don't have one in your city/country, it is a market that has organic foods and some fancier gourmet items as well. Anyhow, they had gotten healthy cereal, some fruits and veggies, fresh fish and just for a treat, some pre-made sushi. The kind they got was "California Rolls" which usually have a little avocado, fake crab (cooked) and carrots. I don't really like the taste of seaweed so mom got a package that was the sticky sushi rice rolled in toasted sesame seeds. I ate salad and a few of the Sushi rolls but was almost done with one when I felt a sesame seed get stuck between my back molars on the right side. I had braces for 3 years and I am used to small seeds or stringy meat getting wedged between my teeth. I finished my sushi and went to brush my teeth.

After a thorough brushing I flossed. Clean right? Well, I couldn't get rid of the feeling that I had something stuck up there. After flossing so many times my gums bled I gave up and got a compact mirror to look inside. My furthest molar looked like it had a triangular chip in it but somehow, the chip was still attached to the tooth. I called my dentist and got an appt. for Thursday.

On Thursday I went in and had x-rays taken and then the dentist came in. He looked over the x-rays and used the curved pick and mirror set to look for the chip, but told me it wasn't there. I insisted because this is the same tooth that has been bothering me since I got my braces off. The back molars on top and on bottom all got stainless steel bands around them and I was pretty sure a small cavity had developed during the time I wore braces. I find this a stupid irony since both my dentist and orthodontist told me I kept my mouth cleaner than almost all of the other patients they had seen.

Anyhow, my dentist finally chose to floss and when he did, the floss shredded in the chipped area. D'oh. He finally saw the chip. There was mumbling on his part and then he got a needle full of Novocaine and I pretty much knew what was coming next, despite the fact I have never had a cavity or needed a filling...

The Novocaine needle feels like, well like you are getting jabbed repeatedly in the gums with a sharp object. After a short wait, Dr. Griffin got out his drill. I was shocked and dismayed to find that the high pitched whining you hear in ads or movies, IS EXACTLY AS HORRIBLE IN REAL LIFE! Only a little worse because the noise and vibrations are amplified through your skull. It was ok for maybe a minute before he hit some not numbed part and I could fee searing heat and pain. I made a face and he stopped drilling and re-dosed me. We waited longer and then he continued. Eventually he got the chip out and discovered that I was right for the last 5 years, I DID have a extremely small, non growing cavity, caused by a gap in the cement when the band was placed. In other words: Not my fault. But It didn't really make me feel better because I have been proud of my cavity free life. With all of my other health concerns, having nice teeth has made me happy.

In the end he drilled out far more of my tooth then I would have ever wanted and then filled it. It's only slightly discoloured but I am still upset. I plan on seeing what I can do about my old retainers getting fixed and maybe I can have my "drifting" teeth kicked back into place.

My next two blogs will be on different subjects but in this 2 week period of complete and utter stupidity.