the dentist...duh duh DUHHH!

Okay, I am so awful. I went over two years without seeing a dentist. I know, I know. But with three kids and a few moves it was just really low on my priority list. So I finally buckled down and scheduled a dentist appointment for myself. Well, let me say that I'm glad I did and I'm not glad I did...but mostly I'm glad.

First of all, it was nice to get my teeth all squeaky clean (actually he said for not seeing a dentist for two years they weren't bad at all). Secondly, he discovered a small crack on one of my back molars where a filling that I had was leaking into my tooth...or something along those lines. Anyway, bottom line is that it wasn't hurting me...yet. If I had waited until it did hurt, it would have been a very painful and very expensive root canal! Yikes! I had no idea. I also had a small cavity in the back that needed to be taken care of.

I'm not very fond of going to the dentist, either. In fact, I hate going to the dentist. And this trip just reminded me why. They had to take 18 x-rays of my mouth. Yes, 18. I almost think that's the worst part. Nearly gagging every time they jammed those sharp (I know they aren't really sharp but they feel like they are) bites into my mouth was a real joy.

After the cleaning came another fun part. I have this thing where I don't like being jabbed with needles (who does?). So getting shots in my mouth? ....eehhhh. Anyway, they really only felt like pinches so it wasn't too bad. The bad part was the drilling! I know I was numbed up but I could still feel it. Imagine what the "nails on a chalkboard" sound would feel like.

Then they had to fit me with a temporary crown. That seemed to take f-o-r-e-v-e-r! They had to keep sticking it on, take measurements and then pry it off. It felt like my whole tooth was going to rip out of my mouth each time. And it feels so weird in my mouth. My tongue is totally drawn to it all the time. The real crown comes in two weeks. I only hope it will feel like a real tooth and not this gritty feeling temporary one.

The best part (not really) was when the bill came. My insurance covered about half of the bill but I was still stuck with paying over $500. I guess it could have been worse. A root canal would have cost me nearly $2,000...so $500 is looking pretty good.

So the lesson here boys and girls:

DON'T WAIT TWO YEARS TO SEE YOUR DENTIST!