Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Cavity club

Today my cavity fillings -- two of them -- could be postponed no longer. It wasn't quite as bad as I worried but it was bad enough. The anesthesia that was supposed to keep me numb for three hours lasted about 20 minutes and they had to reapply it in the middle of the first filling. (They blamed it on my metabolism and my first thought was -- should I be concerned about how long my epidural's going to last?)

It also ran out in the middle of the second filling, which was on the other side of my mouth. They said they would give me more anesthesia but didn't really want to because of the pregnancy, even though my doctor had said it was fine. I asked how much longer they'd be drilling and they said only about 10 seconds so I sucked it up and went without extra numbness. I HATE how sensitive my teeth are. I also am not crazy about the taste of burned tooth that is now in my mouth.

I was a regular member of the no-cavity club when I was a kid and once even won a giant stuffed kangaroo for my efforts, but in recent years it seems I always have cavities, even though I'm more diligent about dental hygiene than ever. Dentists always tell me it's not my fault, it's the shape of my teeth. So I asked the dentist today if there was any reason I couldn't just get sealants over the rest of my molars that are so far cavity-free. She said they don't usually do sealants for adults but that was pretty much the extent of the explanation. I might see if I can talk to her about that more.

I wish I had something other than the state of my teeth to talk about but I really don't. Maybe tomorrow will be more interesting.

4 comments:

Libba Lemon said...

No worries about the epidural! There's actually a tiny catheter inserted so that they can adjust/increase the medication. You'll even get a button to push for an extra hit if you need it.

Can't wait to see you this weekend!!

Ally said...

That sounds so not fun. Sorry--I know it must be frustrating.

I don't know about sealants, but it couldn't hurt to ask another dentist....

Amanda said...

I'm sorry... did you just say your dentist refused to take money for sealants from you? Holy crap! I would assume they'd tell you to get all sorts of stuff done just for the extra money!

Jennifer Kirby said...

I can only assume they make more money from cavities.