My shame - and believe me, I'm not proud of this whatsoever - is that before my appointment today, I hadn't been to a dentist in ... gosh, 
honestly, I don't even know how long. At least 10 years, I'd say, though it's entirely possible (probable) that it's been even longer than that.
My last job in PDX didn't offer dental insurance, and though I'm sure I could have gotten an appointment under Nicole's coverage, I never did. About two weeks ago, though, I happened to catch a new angle of the back of my lower teeth, and I was horrified by the tartar buildup. Nicole was kind enough to get some recommendations from her co-workers and set up appointments for both of us.
I arrived at the office with some paperwork and my insurance card, but I had to admit to them that the information I could present would be very limited at best. No, I'm not on any medications, and no, I haven't had any reactions to any medications in the past (primarily because I haven't taken any, primarily because I haven't seen a doctor in at least that long, either). And did I have the name and address of my last dentist? HA!
So they pretty much started from square one and did some x-rays and used some kind of water pressure hose thingy to loosen the tartar, and then they scraped the fronts and backs of my teeth to remove what had been loosened up. Debridement, they called it.
Don't read the next paragraph.
What came out of my mouth when I rinsed was a bloody rust-colored mix of various chunks and particles. It was sort of like when you turn your keyboard over and shake it, and all sorts of stuff you never thought could be trapped in there falls out. I think I saw a whole chicken wing and three popcorn kernels. It was gross.
But, I have to say, my mouth mostly feels better for the effort. I'm not used to holding my jaw open like that, of course, so I'm sore, but my teeth definitely feel cleaner, though the sensation on my tongue when I feel the back of my lower teeth is a strange one. I can feel where there's still some build-up and where scraping was successful. And I still have a sort of a bloody aftertaste lingering in my mouth, which is just fantastic. But considering how long it had been, the news wasn't nearly as bad as I had been preparing myself for.
The bottom line is that I have to go back in two weeks, but my gums are healthy and I don't have any serious issues. They might have to do "a small filling", whatever that means, but they said they wouldn't have to do "a deep cleaning" (of the teeth below the gums). They're also going to "polish" my teeth (I have no idea what that entails), and we're going to talk about what needs to be done with my wisdom teeth, which never really came in the right way. They're not painful - yet - but I was told that the way they came in could pose problems later on in life, and it might be best to have them removed. They're going to have the rest of my x-rays developed by then, too.
I just hope everything is covered by a couple of co-payments, because I know how quickly dental costs can add up. The money saved on the cleaning and maintenance side of things will be used, quite possibly, on orthodontic work.
My receding hairline never bothered me as much as my crooked teeth, so I'm probably going to do something about it.
Invisilign, perhaps.
In other health news, I'm tired and feeling bloated, my nose is stuffed, and I have a sore throat. Good times, especially right in front of a long weekend that will include a roadtrip to Cooperstown.
I hope to NyQuil the hell out of this thing and nip it in the bud. WIsh me well.
honestly, I don't even know how long. At least 10 years, I'd say, though it's entirely possible (probable) that it's been even longer than that.My last job in PDX didn't offer dental insurance, and though I'm sure I could have gotten an appointment under Nicole's coverage, I never did. About two weeks ago, though, I happened to catch a new angle of the back of my lower teeth, and I was horrified by the tartar buildup. Nicole was kind enough to get some recommendations from her co-workers and set up appointments for both of us.
I arrived at the office with some paperwork and my insurance card, but I had to admit to them that the information I could present would be very limited at best. No, I'm not on any medications, and no, I haven't had any reactions to any medications in the past (primarily because I haven't taken any, primarily because I haven't seen a doctor in at least that long, either). And did I have the name and address of my last dentist? HA!
So they pretty much started from square one and did some x-rays and used some kind of water pressure hose thingy to loosen the tartar, and then they scraped the fronts and backs of my teeth to remove what had been loosened up. Debridement, they called it.
Don't read the next paragraph.
What came out of my mouth when I rinsed was a bloody rust-colored mix of various chunks and particles. It was sort of like when you turn your keyboard over and shake it, and all sorts of stuff you never thought could be trapped in there falls out. I think I saw a whole chicken wing and three popcorn kernels. It was gross.
But, I have to say, my mouth mostly feels better for the effort. I'm not used to holding my jaw open like that, of course, so I'm sore, but my teeth definitely feel cleaner, though the sensation on my tongue when I feel the back of my lower teeth is a strange one. I can feel where there's still some build-up and where scraping was successful. And I still have a sort of a bloody aftertaste lingering in my mouth, which is just fantastic. But considering how long it had been, the news wasn't nearly as bad as I had been preparing myself for.
The bottom line is that I have to go back in two weeks, but my gums are healthy and I don't have any serious issues. They might have to do "a small filling", whatever that means, but they said they wouldn't have to do "a deep cleaning" (of the teeth below the gums). They're also going to "polish" my teeth (I have no idea what that entails), and we're going to talk about what needs to be done with my wisdom teeth, which never really came in the right way. They're not painful - yet - but I was told that the way they came in could pose problems later on in life, and it might be best to have them removed. They're going to have the rest of my x-rays developed by then, too.
I just hope everything is covered by a couple of co-payments, because I know how quickly dental costs can add up. The money saved on the cleaning and maintenance side of things will be used, quite possibly, on orthodontic work.
My receding hairline never bothered me as much as my crooked teeth, so I'm probably going to do something about it.
Invisilign, perhaps.
In other health news, I'm tired and feeling bloated, my nose is stuffed, and I have a sore throat. Good times, especially right in front of a long weekend that will include a roadtrip to Cooperstown.
I hope to NyQuil the hell out of this thing and nip it in the bud. WIsh me well.
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