Thursday 1 November 2007

Well, it's over!

I have at last had my tooth out! I have had an abcess caused by a broken root, and the hospital insisted I had to have it out. About a week before I went to the hospital for the dental surgery, I visited my dentist to ask about having a bridge, as it was the tooth next to my front one, and I have a tooth both sides of the one that had to come out so could support a bridge. He told me that I couldn't have a bridge for three months, to let my gum shape settle down, but as he was talking to me I noticed he was getting the blue gungy stuff that they use for impressions, ready. You will have to wear a denture immediately after the tooth is pulled, he said. A denture!! I was horrified!

Anyway, a couple of hours before I was due to have my tooth pulled, I went to collect 'the denture'. It was such a diddy little thing that I didn't mind.

At the hospital I had to have a blood test as I am on Warfarin, the blood thinning drug, and they wanted to make sure that my blood was thick enough to stop me making a mess of their floor! I had to wait for an hour in the dentist chair until the machine was available, getting more and more nervous by the minute. The tutor came over to me and said that it would be a difficult extraction because the root was in two or three peices, and they would have to 'dig around' to make sure that they were all out. She also said that it was going to be hard to actually extract the tooth because the crown was loose so they didn't have a 'guide' for their tools:0( I would also need packing and stitches.

By this time I was very nervous indeed, as I am petrified of dentists anyway! I then found out that a student was going to do this 'difficult' work. He seemed very nice, and finally started work. After the injections he proceeded to try and guide the tools correctly into the socket, and when at last he got a grip he started to pull. The pain!! I yelled out and the tutor said 'Poor you, did that hurt up inside your nose'? (It sure did)! 'I am sorry' she said 'you have such a lot of infection around the root that the anaesthetic doesn't always work first time, we will give you some more'. Fancy having my tooth pulled out without anaesthetic:0( I was now shaking quite violently and unable to stop myself. They had called Lennie in for moral support, and I heard him telling them that I had a history of dry sockets, and of going into shock. (All very true!)

Anyhow, he eventually pulled it out, dug around a lot to make sure all the bits of root were out, packed it out and stitched it up. They couldn't fit the little denture in so sent me to another department to have it altered a bit. It was no joke putting the thing in and out with blood pouring all over the place, and stitches getting caught, I can tell you. I was then sent on my way, with the denture firmly in place, after being told to take it out before I went to bed, then put it back in the morning. Easier said than done!!

When I woke the next morning, my face was swollen, and my top lip was huge! My son in law Gary had been warned not to poke fun of me over my swollen face because I was embarrassed. As I walked into the kitched he said 'You look like a turtle'!! I couldn't help laughing though!

It took a couple of days for my face to get back to it's normal shape, and after regularly using a special mouth wash for a week, I now feel completely fine! I thought I would never be able to tolerate a denture, however small, but I am getting along fine with it. After the three months of wearing it in preparation for a bridge, I may well decide to keep it instead. This one tooth tiny denture cost £200.00 on the NHS, and if I want a bridge, that will be another £200.00. The teeth either side of the gap are crowned, and I am afraid that once they start messing with them to make a bridge, I may have further trouble.

I hope I have not made anyone nervous about visiting the dentist, because this was not a straight forward extraction. The extraction I had about a year ago, again in the dental hospital, was very straight forward, and I had no problems at all!

10 comments:

Gary said...

Well I reckon you should keep the denture as it's teeny weeny and it is an excellent match! Show us a photo of it in your hand, it's so sweet!!!

Croom said...

Oooh Sandie, poor, poor you. How brave was that? Poor Dave is about to have teeth removed now his pension has hit in. I don't think I will let him read this he he.

He like you wants a bridge but as the teeth either side are also not good I am not sure what will happen. I shall let you know. The problem is that the teeth that his existing plate hooks round are the ones that need removing!!
Love Tinaxxx

GoldAnne said...

oooh poor poor Sandie that sounds dreadful, to be honest think my husb could have done much better we used to do peeps on warfarin too,do take care xxx

Jeanette Spain said...

Oh Sandie what an ordeal, it sounds as if that would of been so painful, you brave brave thing, I would keep the denture and save risking the teeth next to the one missing, you deserve a treat for being so brave.
Jeanette Spain

granny grimble said...

That sounded horrendous Sandie. You didn't tell me that it was so bad, just that it was a pretty tooth. You are very brave. I think I waould have hoiked up my skirt and run if it had been me! It would be a shame to go to all that extra expence of a bridge when it looks and feels so good now. It certainly is a good match with your other dentures!!!!! Only joking.

Croom said...

Can we have a close up with the tooth in please :O)
Tinaxx

Babs (Beetle) said...

Well, I think I might just put up with the denture too at £200!

Some dentists arn't as good at tricky stuff as others, I've noticed, it's all over now though :O)

Naturegirl said...

An experience as this one is a cure for everyone NOT to go to a dentist!!
OMG!! No freezing that took and you endured that horrible pain.. it all sounds so babaric!! You poor dear!!
I was touched by your comment to me on my Jan. 15th post! I am 4 yrs away
and I never look back..I shall go visit your daughter now. blessings NG

Bry said...

ooooooo Sandie, you are brave...but.... I read this the day before I went to have a huge and rather broken molar removed...I was a little nervous that would be putting it mildly and um well it was horrendous!!! I am still in pain now and that is nearly a week later!!!! Ho hum the joys of dental surgery! I think we both deserve lots and lots of sympathy coupled with a large amount of yummy icecream and other soft and delicious food!

Cecelia said...

I'm glad that is over for you! What a terrible experience.
I used to faint when the doctors would just bring out a needle. And I wanted to be a nurse! My dentist got me over the fainting by having me sit down and have a "cocktail" with him before he would work on my teeth. It was warm water with Spirits of Ammonia. Then he set up mirrors so I had to watch, as he explained what he was doing. It was so interesting! Until he got to doing stitches! But, he did get me over the fainting, for then. I didn't go to nursing school, and the fears came back, especially since they always have to probe a lot to hit a vein.
I had an abcessed tooth when I was in my 20s, and all they did then was to pull the tooth. Until then, I had perfect teeth, and never so much as a cavity. After the tooth was pulled, I didn't want a fake tooth in my mouth, so all my teeth shifted over the years. When my children were young, I broke my front teeth, opening packages. Couldn't afford to have them fixed, except with temporary "teeth". Eventually, most of my teeth went bad, and I had to have them all pulled.
The dentist left two lower teeth and did root canals on them, put metal on them and magnets in the dentures. That worked until the posts of the root canal broke. The dentist put me to sleep to remove those two! Had to get new teeth. This was all very expensive, and insurance would only pay half, after the deductable.
I never did master the dentures, and pull them out the minute I am by myself. I didn't like the look either. They didn't match my real teeth, I thought.
But, when I am around people, I do wear them.
Anyway, I thought of people like my great-aunts and my grandmother, when they had their teeth out, in the old days. Surely we have it a lot better than they did. (I also remember them keeping their teeth in their pockets, until company came!)
I knew one lady who had a lot of trouble with dentures fitting, and finally had implants done. I don't know how that worked out as she didn't live too much longer after that. (Not because of the teeth, but she had Alzheimers.)
Just wanted to let you know that you need that tooth in to keep your other teeth from shifting.
Hope you have good luck with that.
I'm really glad to have my teeth out. No more teeth to break off or bad toothaches when the dentist is not in his office!
Health care is a hot topic here in the U.S. You mentioned the cost. In talking about universal health care here, they haven't mentioned that there would be a charge! That's something to think about.
Still, with the control the insurance companies have, the rapidly rising prices, and so many people who can't afford health care or insurance, something really needs to be done.