March 31, 2011

• A Tale of the Teeth (Part 2)

  "A a a r r r g g g h h h"

  It hurts.

  It hurts bad.
  I'm in pain as I write this.

  (My hip operation was two years ago! I didn't think I'd be in this much pain so soon, but there you go.)
  This pain is a simple toothache, possibly the worst pain known to mankind.

  Back in September of 2009, I posted an entry titled "A Tale of the Teeth". It was a lighthearted look at what happened after I found out I had to have two bottom teeth removed because of terrible pain caused by exposed nerves. (See accompanying photo at the bottom center of my open mouth, in a rare shot without my partial in place)  I had just had a major hip revision operation and shouldn't have been subjected to any real amount of pain only three months later, but I was, and I had the offending parts of my body removed. The article explains that the dentist to whom I offered said teeth pulled them for only three bucks, but wanted to charge me over three grand for a permanent replacement bridge. More money, it was noted at the time, than for my entire hip operation, which, it also might be noted right now, I still haven't completed paying for (although I only have two more $100.00 payments and that little inconvenience will be overcome).

  This entry will be shudderingly titled "A Tale of the Teeth Part 2" I have to have another tooth pulled. (And probably, like TODAY.) I'm in pain. Terrible pain. I've waited long enough. I really can't afford more expense. But I simply can't stand it anymore.

  I always like to start these little "pain" essays with a rundown of my "lifetime of pain." 1. Complications during my birth (which also caused the death of my twin sister). I'm told my head was almost crushed. There are lots of indentations in the back of my old baldy skull. 2. Dislodged eardrum in 2nd grade. Caused me to miss almost a quarter of school that year, and besides the pain, I couldn't keep my balance. 3. Migraine headaches. I used to begin each week with a whopper of a headache when I was in elementary school and junior high. Couldn't see either. Got my first pair of glasses at  age 11. 4. Broken jaw at age 14. From a car wreck. Had to cut up my sandwiches for years cause I couldn't bite or chew real well. I had lots of oral surgery back then, and this really soured me on dentists, by the way. 5. My left hip. Congenital defects possibly from birth caused me to have to have a hip replacement at the age of 41. (I was falling down a lot when the blood flow to my leg would get pinched off by the cartilage buildup around my ball and socket.) This is the prosthesis which I had to have replaced a couple of years ago. I had pain in my left leg and hip for most of my life.  

  I've been telling everyone I'm pain free for pretty much the first time in my life. I'm doing pretty well getting myself back on track financially too after a  decade or so of spendthrift ways using lots of little pieces of plastic. Everything seemed to be going fine, and then of course you know the old adage, when it rains.....yessir. (And we've been getting an awful amount of rain here in SoCal, so maybe that was an omen.) I had to get a set of tires for my car last weekend. I waited till the treads were gone, and the tires just started to leak air on their own. Emergency expense: $400.00 I now have to get a wiggling molar removed which began to get loose and periodically cause toothache pain back in 2007 or so, possibly even when I got it's opposite molar removed a year earlier! Emergency expense: Not calculated yet. (I'm a bit shy on space rent for my mobile, and have to come up with $800.00 for Uncle Sam by the 18th of next month. Am I worrying? Is this a worrisome turn of events? What, Me Worry?)

  I wrote "The Tale of The Teeth"  after having my two bottom teeth pulled and a temporary partial created. It cost me $175.00 (a better deal than the permanent partial for $1000.00 or the permanent bridge for the price of a small car.) I've had the temporary partial since Sept. of 2009. It took only one day for the dentist to pull my teeth, make an impression, have the partial constructed, and install it in my mouth.

  I'm writing this at 7:30 in the morning on the day I'm probably going in to have the other molar removed. The dentist's office isn't open for another half hour. Hopefully they can fit me in.....hopefully as soon as possible.

  It'll only be $3.00 to pull the tooth. That's the easy part. (The pain goes away instantly, too.) Then they're going to pitch all kinds of expensive toothsome alternatives for me. I'll take a temporary partial, joined to the other molar for which I never had an implant of partical constucted, cause it was too expensive in the first instance, and couldn't be done without pulling another tooth in the second.

  All I can say right now is.

  You guessed it.

  AAArrrggghhh!

  EDIT: 04/01 7:30am. I have an appointment for 9:30am. Couldn't get out of the office yesterday cause it was last day of the month. Lost of panels to ship. I waited till almost absolutely the last minute to get this done anyway, and it's so weird that just last week I was happy that my tooth hadn't hurt me in a few weeks, meaning I wouldn't need to have this tooth extracted for a while yet. WRONG. MFN/ppf

  • 12:49 pm
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