Tooth Removed

Last week I went to see the oral surgeon about having my extra tooth removed.  I wasn't sure what to expect.  My dentist had told me that it could be done with local anesthesia, but also told me that they would offer to put me under if I wanted.  But that of course would be an additional $500.  Ouch! 

When I arrived I did the normal "new patient" routine.  Filled out paperwork about me...personal information, medical history, insurance information, etc.  No sooner had I started filling the paperwork out, I hear my name called. 

"We just want to take an x-ray or 2 of the area we will be working on."

Ok.  So I head back to the little room and sat in the nice reclining dental chair.  Still filling out paperwork, the dental assiatant placed the big and heavy metal vest over me.  Then she had me bite down on a plastic piece while she placed the camera in front of my mouth.  CLICK X-ray done.

I continue to complete the paperwork.  As I finish, the doctor comes in.  He explains to me whats going to happen and asks me if I'm ok with just using local anesthesia.  Of course I am.  I then sign another form basically stating that I understand that he's going to be extracting a tooth from my mouth.

Next walks in Bridget.  She's so giddy because her name rhymes with mine and she proceeds to tell me how she's never met anyone with my name and how she loves the "Gidget" movies.  Great!

So here we go.  We walk into a bigger room.  It has a large table with a bunch of metal tools on top.  The dental chair is smack dab in the middle of the room.  Above it is the big light.  I go and sit on the chair.  Bridget attaches the dental bib around my neck. 

The doctor explains to me that he is going to inject the anesthesia into my gums.  The areas he is going to apply the anesthesia into are very sensitive, so this was going to hurt.  But if everything goes according to plan, this will be the only part that hurts.  I tell him ok and he begins.

OUCH!!! I didn't say that, but I wanted to.  It was a quick pinch.  But it hurt.  So much so I had a tear come out of my eye.  OUCH! One more time.  The anesthesia is beginning to work.  He put in 4 shots.  My upper lip felt like it was swollen.  The doctor started telling me that he was going to test the area to see if the anesthesia had set in.  All I could feel was a little pressure on the areas he was touching. 

Pressure.  That's all I felt.  I heard a little drilling.  Some tugging.  Then he's done.  That was it.  This extra tooth was wrapped around the roots of my other teeth.  But it was bigger than I thought.  I had to have 3 stitches put in.  Great, my mouth looks like Frankensteins now. 

All in all that whole visit took 20 minutes.  That's from the moment I walked into the door, til the time I walked out. 

I've had to eat soft foods this past week.  When I tried to bite things I used my side teeth because the front ones were still a little tender.  But I have to admit, it was a great experience.

I had my stitches taken out yesterday.  It has definitely been nice to have them out.  No more people staring at me like I have something in my teeth.  The roof of my mouth is still a little swollen.  The area that the tooth was taken out at is tender to the touch.  The best way to describe the feeling...have you ever drank a hot drink or sipped a hot soup and it burn the roof of your mouth?  Well that swollen tender feeling on the roof of your mouth is what my mouth feels like right now. 

My next dental appointment is in a few weeks.  Hopefully we can get started on the braces process.  Until then...

The adventure begins

Here I am, 32, married, mother of 3, about to get braces. The interesting part is that if you were to see me, you would say that I didn't need them. (I'll post pictures along the way.)

So let me explain why I am getting them.

As a young child, I was a thumb sucker. My mother told me that during ultra sounds, there were shots of me sucking my thumb in utero. Everyone knew I sucked my thumb. I even had a nickname for my thumbs. My right thumb was 'Nilla and my left thumb was Chocolate. I sucked my thumbs so much, I ended up with a sort of sore on my thumb. I also ended up with an over bite and a gap between my two front teeth. The sores on my thumbs disappeared with time after I stopped sucking my thumb. The gap between my teeth went away also as my other teeth grew in.

Years of course have gone by since those days. Random visits to the dentist for cleanings, fillings, and check ups. Not one of them ever told me what my current dentist discovered with a simple x-ray. She told me that I had an extra tooth inside of my gums. The x-ray showed I had a tooth inside of my gums above my central incisors. She was surprised that I never felt any discomfort from it.

Well due to genetics causing crowding of my teeth, my thumb sucking creating an over bite, and the extra tooth pushing my central incisor down, I wanted to get all of that corrected. She suggested braces. I figured, what the heck. My insurance covers it, so lets do it.

First things first. I had to get the extra tooth removed. We were hoping the oral surgeon would be able to get it out. So my husband took time off to take me. We went in, and after he examined my teeth he said that I would need to be put under in order for the tooth to be removed. At this point I thought that maybe I could just get the braces done without having the tooth removed. I mean it hasn't bothered me all these years. Wrong. My dentist informed me that in order for me to get braces, I needed to get the tooth removed.

So now I have an appointment at the end of February to have the tooth removed. Hopefully it goes well. Then after that I can begin the process of getting braces.

I'm so excited...not.

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