On the whole it's not as bad as it could have been.

[seryn]

The dentist thing went decently. I really liked this dentist, this office, and surprisingly even the location. (Plenty of parking, easy to get to... so much so that it was actually faster than driving and parking at my old dentist.)

I was going because something was already bothering me. They fixed it. The fixing did not hurt more than the problem. The problem turned out to be way more serious than the new (but not new²) dentist had indicated.

The new² dentist wants me to come back next week to basically repeat what the new dentist did.

Of course there are some negatives. Even with insurance it was a couple hundred bucks. It hurts like the flaming blasted netherworld if I try to chew anything, drink anything, or, you know, breathe with my mouth even slightly open. I also got lost coming home because I thought I should eat something--- there wasn't any lunch food at home--- and didn't go straight back. I'd had a secondary plan if that didn't work out quite right and got lost again halfway back home where I'd detoured (I know there's a yarn store, and there's supposed to be good food there. Not that yarn people necessarily know good food.)

After I got home, took some ibuprofen and drank some kefir, I went off to the knitting group. It was more fun because everyone knew what they were doing and I didn't have to teach anything. But it was somewhat uncomfortable because I don't like it when someone in a protected class of people gives me a hassle for my personal life choices. 8 year old kid saying "You should have kids!" isn't something you can really get angry about because to them, they're saying, "I'd like a mom like you!" which is a compliment. They're not hearing the kind of ghastly routine I know would happen where I'd want to whallop any kid who screamed for food made from fried ketchup.

And I discovered I managed to double-schedule myself. I'm supposed to be at the doctor and the dentist simultaneously--- and! neither of them is open again until the day of. I have no clue what I'm supposed to do about it. I'm going to have to cancel something with almost zero notice.

We had homemade gyro-like sandwiches tonight. I was so hungry I ate anyway, but it hurt so much that everything tasted like it had been slathered with pain. I should have just gone for the hummus and pita.

Comments

[thistleingrey]

Leave a message with the one that you think will be easier to reschedule (or that's less urgent). Phone messages with timestamps count, nearly always, towards the cancellation policy (x hours in advance).

[seryn]

I called both offices today and reached someone even though they're not "open" to see patients. There was someone in the office doing paperwork who was happy to change my appointment.

Thanks for the advice though.

And, following up, even the hurting part is better today. It's actually almost to the point where it's better than before they fixed it. And I'm suspecting that part of why my head was hurting was because this was such a serious thing. It was a cavity that looked tiny on the surface but had grown under an adjacent filling. I almost needed a root canal. It's not a surprise that my head didn't feel right.

[thistleingrey]

Oh good--and I'm glad you're feeling better. Yeah, sometimes cavities can put pressure on a nerve, which throws off other things (if it's near a molar / towards the back, sometimes it messes up balance due to eustachian tube proximity, e.g.). (At least, so I recall from my uncle's long-ago explanation; I've only had tiny cavities so far.)

[seryn]

When they drill out most of your tooth, it hurts after the numb wears off. And it takes a while for your tooth's nerves to get accustomed.

I have relatively decent teeth considering my genetic background. My mother called them "Irish teeth". (So despite my saying that ethnicity shouldn't have any bearing on how people are treated, it sometimes matters if there's a common trait or tendency.) Soft enamel, deep pits (by shape) in back teeth, over-crowded mouth. But I didn't have to have false teeth or dentures, so modern dentistry is working for me. My teeth got a lot worse when I moved to California because the water here is much less fluoridated than where I grew up. (I wonder what people with children do... because you don't want them drinking the public water since they don't bother checking for things like warfarin or antibiotics, but children often swallow fluoride rinse instead of spitting it and might give themselves sodium poisoning.)

I have terrible problems when my sinuses are stuffed because it makes my teeth and jaw ache and then my head hurts from two things. I get so angry about it because the doctor says I should talk to the dentist and the dentist says "no problems here." I want to drag them into one room and staple them to the floor until they talk to each other. I'm really hoping the new² dentist will write me a note for my doctor.