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Monday, September 5, 2016

Let's talk about how much I hate dentists

I used to be the type of person who didn't mind going to the dentist.  I'd get them cleaned, it didn't cause discomfort, and so it was no big deal.

For 36 years, I had no issues with dentistry at all.  No cavities at all.

I am this close to my 43rd birthday, which means the last 7 years have been a sheer dental nightmare.  That might be a little hyperbolic, but not much, especially for a person who for nearly 4 decades had NO DENTAL PROBLEMS.

I can't tell you how many cavities I've had filled in the last 7 years.

I had to have a mouthguard made because of teeth-clenching, which I blame completely on having 2 sons.

Last year, my dentist fixed messed with a cavity that wasn't bothering me, wasn't causing me any pain, which caused me to develop an abscess and led to Root Canal #1 and a crown.

Root Canal #1 and a crown led to us getting the "much better dental insurance" this year.

And thank goodness!

This year, the day before my 43rd birthday, in fact, I will be having Root Canal #2 at the endodontist's office.

My dentist, like she did last year, fixed messed with a cavity that wasn't bothering me, wasn't causing me any pain.  And now it is causing me considerable pain. I am taking an antibiotic and tossing back ibuprofen and acetaminophen like candy.

This led to me inform her on Thursday that from now on she is not to fix mess with any cavities of mine until or unless they are causing me pain.  I'd rather just have it get bad and go straight to root canal.  These little dinky fillings are leading to full-blown root canal and crown, which in my untrained, non-dentist mind, is complete bullshit.

Apparently, I have high pulp and with my chronic teeth clenching I'm wearing down the enamel on my teeth, making it likely that I'll have problems with getting fillings.  I saw on an x-ray that I've nearly worn a filling down flat from clenching during the night when I sleep.

So while I don't think my dentist is "making shit up," I also think her insistence on getting these fillings "fixed" early is simply making me having to deal with pain and discomfort a whole hell of a lot sooner and more frequently than I might otherwise have to.

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