My Day Off!

Well I'm not this bad!

What did I do on my day off? Went to the Dentist! Ugh!

Well, normally that would not have been such a horrible thing. Oh about 3 1/2 yrs ago. Why...dad would have probably bought me lunch! HA! Did I ever tell you my dad is...ok was a dentist? He retired and so now I found one that actually remembered me as a kid. His dad made crowns for my dad's patients. He said he remembered bringing me the cases, I answered the door. Man, I'm in my 40s & this would have to be prior to 13 yrs old when we moved from that house. Remembers what street it was & everything. Probably remembered old psychotic me! HA! Maybe I met him at the door in my bikini or something! HA! We had a pool so?

Ok, so I had to get a crown prep. Ugh! It is the first one in my life. Last molar on top left. Sometime in the early 80s I was working with my dad & over lunch the Hygentist was going to clean my teeth. Well!...she stuck the scaler between the back teeth & I hit the ceiling. My dad came running. Turned out there was a cavity in between. We x-rayed & you couldn't see it because the molars will overlap causing a shadow but he drilled a bit & found the hole. Over the years it has just slowly gotten bigger with a side one developing & kinda meeting the other part & last year the filling fell out so this new guy tried to put one in, but didn't know if there was really enough tooth to keep it & sure enough few months later it came out. So, I finally got it done after my flex account kicked in Jan 1st. One great advantage with dad...payment was a kiss & I love you! :-X Free toothbrushes & toothpaste & sample sizes of tylenol etc. & my dad always saved me the new flavors of flouride when he was cleaning my teeth. He'd let me try & if I liked it he would order it for patients! HA! When we were kids he had these toothbrushes that were in the long tube & on each end was a half of a dog..you know those wiener dogs...red I remember. I loved those. HA! Then you got those red tablets that you would chew & it would show with red on your teeth where you missed brushing! HA! He always took us for rides up & down in the chair also! His patients were wonderful. They all knew us. I'll come home from college & come to his office & if he was busy with a patient one of the others waiting in the other rooms would see me go by & call out. They'd ask me if my teacher was still bugging me & how this guy was...they knew all the details! HA! Of course my dad knew about their kids too. Generations of patients. The days when it was about helping & not about making the most money & having the most toys!

Well, back to this lovely tooth of mine. I think that tooth also may have been the one that I lost half of the filling on a cheeseburger in college. Lovely cafeteria, although I should not complain, we had prime rib there & shrimp! It was sooooo good! Next day, they would put the shrimp cut up in the salad bar line, I'd just get cupsful. So my dad would not let me wait to come home & I had to see a dentist out there. First time I ever went to anyone other than my dad. Very odd. You know it is not only a dentist you have gone to all your life but "Daddy"! He won't hurt you unless he really can't help it! You trust him completely you know! So, that guy was going to give me novacaine without any choice & I'm like stop...how much do you have to drill & I'm like try first without. My dad always gave a choice. Some rather their mouths numb for hours, others rather a bit of pain & no numbing. My mom's dad you could drill for crowns and he'd be gabbing away. Didn't feel a thing. Wow! I apparently did not get those genes! HA! I didn't have my first cavity until I was 13 yrs old when I got my braces off. Under the band. I only had them on 1 yr & 8 months I think. Amazing how you will always remember how long! HA! So I had them off sometime in 7th grade I think? When my dad filled that tooth that day the scaler tortured me, it took him 3 shots of novacaine to numb it enough for him to even touch it with his finger. Today a first doc came in & shot me up. Then my dentist, Dr. B., came in & drilled away & nothing! No pain! Ahhhhh! He gave me a bit more for the inside gum when they were going to get the temporary in. I have to go back on President's Day to get the permanent one. Ya, my day's off...geez!

He asked me if I wanted porcelain or gold. I don't smile big enough to see that back molar & he said my bite is real tight so I could crack it. Dad says go with the gold. I figured the man who has his tongue in me, if he has a problem with it not looking natural, then he can just look at the other "natural" parts of me & see it is not all that great anyways! HA! Now, I also have to explain that typically when they numb me for cortisone shots it doesn't really work. After I leave the doctors office then it is numb. Ugh. So I was soooo thrilled. I was there about 2 hours with him drilling & then building it up. The numb face was starting to go away & then an hour after I left it started to throb. I'm like oh boy I have to teach tomorrow. 800 mg of Motrin, Extra Strength Tylenol & shopping cured that! HA! I swear when you don't concentrate on it it helps. Kohls had a sale, what do you want! HA! Now it is not throbbing but sore & can't really bite on it. I can't eat nuts or gum etc now until Feb. Ugh! But I'll have it in before I head up north for a presentation I'm doing at a college I use to teach at, so that will be good. I can enjoy going out to dinner with everyone etc.

Ok, so I guess it wasn't too bad of a day, except I wish I could have just putzed around at home & got things done, but that is why we get "Tomorrow". Next post I'll tell you what I got shopping! :-)

Oh also...I forgot to tell you...when they were measuring to do the impressions, I said, I know I have a big mouth & she said actually your mouth is small. I was shocked! HA! I said can I get that in writing for my coworkers, friends & family for proof! She laughed. I said that to my neurologist I see for my migraines when she said my brain was normal. I must just project well or just talk fast! HA!