Nathan Tyree: When good teeth go bad
One of my teeth went bad. The damn think went right over to the dark side. A fissure opened up and split all the way down t the root. By the time I knew that the tooth had to go infection had taken hold and an abscess had formed. My face began to swell. After two days I looked like that kid from Mask (I’m trying to avoid the obvious Elephant Man reference) and I was in constant pain.
A trip to my doctor resulted in waves of antibiotics and a sea of Vicadin. The sweet opiate helped to ease the pain and in time the swelling began to subside. But, my dentist could not get me in soon enough. I had to settle for a place an hour away down by the lake in Grove OK. Yesterday my wife drove me there.
Understand, I was in a Hydrocodone fog. Still, even with narcotic blood this was not a good experience. The dentist jammed a needle deep into the already sore and swollen tissue of my gums to deliver the Novocain that should have tempered my agony. These were the most painful injections I have ever experienced. based on past experience with my dentist I expected to wait twenty minutes until the ‘cain kicked in before he started working. This was not the case.
Almost immediately the dentist leaned in and poked at the swelling around the tooth.
“Need to drain that,†he said as he lifted an ice pick from the instrument tray. He jammed the sharp tip of the tool into my gums then began to squeeze with both hands. I could see geysers of blood and pus arcing into the air out of my open mouth. Then he went for his curved pliers.
Several rough yanks and the tooth broke free with an awful tearing noise. Suction was applied, gauze was shoved in place and I was sent home.
At home I crushed a Vicadin and mixed it with pudding. A couple hours later I awoke in a pool of my own blood, looking like a gun shot victim.
From now on I go to my own dentist.
One of my teeth went bad. The damn think went right over to the dark side. A fissure opened up and split all the way down t the root. By the time I knew that the tooth had to go infection had taken hold and an abscess had formed. My face began to swell. After two days I looked like that kid from Mask (I’m trying to avoid the obvious Elephant Man reference) and I was in constant pain.
A trip to my doctor resulted in waves of antibiotics and a sea of Vicadin. The sweet opiate helped to ease the pain and in time the swelling began to subside. But, my dentist could not get me in soon enough. I had to settle for a place an hour away down by the lake in Grove OK. Yesterday my wife drove me there.
Understand, I was in a Hydrocodone fog. Still, even with narcotic blood this was not a good experience. The dentist jammed a needle deep into the already sore and swollen tissue of my gums to deliver the Novocain that should have tempered my agony. These were the most painful injections I have ever experienced. based on past experience with my dentist I expected to wait twenty minutes until the ‘cain kicked in before he started working. This was not the case.
Almost immediately the dentist leaned in and poked at the swelling around the tooth.
“Need to drain that,†he said as he lifted an ice pick from the instrument tray. He jammed the sharp tip of the tool into my gums then began to squeeze with both hands. I could see geysers of blood and pus arcing into the air out of my open mouth. Then he went for his curved pliers.
Several rough yanks and the tooth broke free with an awful tearing noise. Suction was applied, gauze was shoved in place and I was sent home.
At home I crushed a Vicadin and mixed it with pudding. A couple hours later I awoke in a pool of my own blood, looking like a gun shot victim.
From now on I go to my own dentist.
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Dental insurance would have covered the preventative maintenence necessary to avoid such a calamity.
I'm just saying...