But my week? Not so hot
On Tuesday afternoon, I reported to the Dentist's office to have two molars pulled. Both had become abscessed, and had previously had root canals on them. I could have paid about 2K per tooth to try and save them, but the dentist was very clear that both would probably fail again within the next year or so, so the 4K might not be a good investment.
The dentist, viewing the x-rays, thought the two should be pretty easy to extract, and down the road we went. An hour and a half later, along with two surgical extracts (rather than just straight pulls), the teeth were out, my sinus was compromised (punctured and wide open between my nose and my extraction site) and I was on my way with orders of "No smoking for a minimum of 7 days until we check to see if the sinus is healing, no soda until then, no straws, no hard or crunchy foods, no..." and on and on. Basically, the instructions were "You are screwed for the next 7 days...good luck with that".
(Aside) Having moved here, we obviously had to find a new dentist. Back in KY, we had a pretty good dentist, and a pretty good Oral Surgeon. The OS managed to pull 5 teeth for me (four wisdom and a molar) with minimal pain, and a quick recovery. AND the Wisdoms required 1 careful removal of the roots from around the sinus cavity, and a bone shaving of the jaw line for one. By day 3 or 4, I was pretty much healed, and only getting a random stab of pain here or there. Mr. Oz had his wisdom teeth pulled under a local at our Dentist, and was "back to normal" within 1 day. This should have been easy.
Needless to say I have not had the best. week. ever. Wednesday was a haze of pain killers and the like. I have eaten virtually nothing (random puddings, mashed potatoes from the mess hall, a little cheese ravioli,), am dying for a smoke (no dying "with a cig" comments here...trust me..you don't want me to go all addict crazy on you!). I still have pain in the one site (upper/sinus breached molar), am on enough pills to gag a maggot (antibiotics, decongestants, pain killers, ibuprofen, and on and on)...and I have hit day 5. I guess I can be thankful that I may have avoided "dry socket" (although I am not sure that I don't have a partial one in the upper which would be why it is still somewhat painful), my jaws are aching, and I am beginning to wonder if I will ever be able to eat anything that isn't the consistency of soup ever again.
Is it normal? Am I healing well? Who the heck knows. From what I have researched on the web, I guess I am doing okay. I will tell ya - any previous extraction I have had (or Mr. Oz or the Cadet has had), the Dentist typically calls that evening or the next morning to check to make sure "everything is okay" and to see if you have any questions. Not this office. Nary a word was heard from them. (Even though the extractions were considered "traumatic", and the sinus breach considered a major concern). I actually called the Dentists office on Thursday afternoon to ask a question, and they said the Dentist would call me back. No call back. Nice. So when I see her Tuesday, irrespective of what she says about the sinus issue, I will demand a referral to an oral surgeon (my insurance requires a referral), and say "thanks....I am done with this office". (ENT's and Dentists refer to Oral Surgeons to fix breaches in the Maxillary Sinus).
Lesson learned - extractions (for me) don't occur under a local in your dentist's office - they are best left to an Oral Surgeon (Had he or she breached my sinus, they would have immediately fixed it during the procedure)
It is a lesson that I won't forget!
The dentist, viewing the x-rays, thought the two should be pretty easy to extract, and down the road we went. An hour and a half later, along with two surgical extracts (rather than just straight pulls), the teeth were out, my sinus was compromised (punctured and wide open between my nose and my extraction site) and I was on my way with orders of "No smoking for a minimum of 7 days until we check to see if the sinus is healing, no soda until then, no straws, no hard or crunchy foods, no..." and on and on. Basically, the instructions were "You are screwed for the next 7 days...good luck with that".
(Aside) Having moved here, we obviously had to find a new dentist. Back in KY, we had a pretty good dentist, and a pretty good Oral Surgeon. The OS managed to pull 5 teeth for me (four wisdom and a molar) with minimal pain, and a quick recovery. AND the Wisdoms required 1 careful removal of the roots from around the sinus cavity, and a bone shaving of the jaw line for one. By day 3 or 4, I was pretty much healed, and only getting a random stab of pain here or there. Mr. Oz had his wisdom teeth pulled under a local at our Dentist, and was "back to normal" within 1 day. This should have been easy.
Needless to say I have not had the best. week. ever. Wednesday was a haze of pain killers and the like. I have eaten virtually nothing (random puddings, mashed potatoes from the mess hall, a little cheese ravioli,), am dying for a smoke (no dying "with a cig" comments here...trust me..you don't want me to go all addict crazy on you!). I still have pain in the one site (upper/sinus breached molar), am on enough pills to gag a maggot (antibiotics, decongestants, pain killers, ibuprofen, and on and on)...and I have hit day 5. I guess I can be thankful that I may have avoided "dry socket" (although I am not sure that I don't have a partial one in the upper which would be why it is still somewhat painful), my jaws are aching, and I am beginning to wonder if I will ever be able to eat anything that isn't the consistency of soup ever again.
Is it normal? Am I healing well? Who the heck knows. From what I have researched on the web, I guess I am doing okay. I will tell ya - any previous extraction I have had (or Mr. Oz or the Cadet has had), the Dentist typically calls that evening or the next morning to check to make sure "everything is okay" and to see if you have any questions. Not this office. Nary a word was heard from them. (Even though the extractions were considered "traumatic", and the sinus breach considered a major concern). I actually called the Dentists office on Thursday afternoon to ask a question, and they said the Dentist would call me back. No call back. Nice. So when I see her Tuesday, irrespective of what she says about the sinus issue, I will demand a referral to an oral surgeon (my insurance requires a referral), and say "thanks....I am done with this office". (ENT's and Dentists refer to Oral Surgeons to fix breaches in the Maxillary Sinus).
Lesson learned - extractions (for me) don't occur under a local in your dentist's office - they are best left to an Oral Surgeon (Had he or she breached my sinus, they would have immediately fixed it during the procedure)
It is a lesson that I won't forget!
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