It took me almost 2 years to visit the dentist. While the reasons for this were not all unavoidable, I have to admit to some delinquency on my part. While the move/migration was traumatic and the few months thereafter, it just seems ridiculous that it would take that long for me to finally get to a dentist.
I can offer up all sorts of excuses and reasonings, but none of it matters now. 2 years later, the dentist explained to me how badly off my teeth were. Mostly because of my unfortunate tendency to lapse in my dental habits /blush
Anywho … when I finally got there, the experience – as with just about every other one I’ve had since moving here – was unique and notable.
They took full x-rays (I think I’ve had more x-rays done in this country since I got here than I’ve had in my entire life before now) and put me sit in a chair while the “doctor” evaluated my condition fully. And that included “measuring” the depth down the side of my teeth into my gums.
In any case, the news was not good and I have a dozen or so visits stretching ahead of (not to mention a large co-pay bill) to get things better. For one thing, it seems as if I haven’t lost the habit of grinding my teeth while I sleep. Hubby goes “I knew that” when I tell him and I am like “well geez, you coulda told ME about this”. I thought that was a direct result of the levels of stress I had while working at Digicel. Clearly not. OR … the habit stuck.
A few years back, I had realized that I had an oral fixation and that I HAD to be doing something with my mouth all the time – hence the smoking and the nail biting. (please – no dirty references – thanks) So I am wondering if this grinding is another symptom of that oral fixation. Maybe … who knows. I just gotta get it fixed.
The first appointment was for what they called “cleaning/debridement” and that scared the SHIT outta me. What the hell is a debridement anyway? According to my trust dictionary:
debridement |diˈbrēdmənt| noun Medicine the removal of damaged tissue or foreign objects from a wound.
Ouch.
As it turns out, all they did was use a powerful water pic – same sort of cleaning I’ve always had. Nothing to worry about. It was painful, of course, because … well dangit … I hadn’t been to the dentist in almost 2 years!!! But not so bad that they couldn’t get it done and certainly my teeth LOOK and feel a LOT better now that it’s done.
The next step is to deal with what they say are cavities in between my teeth. I don’t think I’ve ever had those … so THAT will be another new experience for me. After that, a crown to be made and fitted and finally a guard to be made and fitted as well to help with the grinding.
Yea. /sigh
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