Weird story, but it was a nice moment for me and maybe you'll find it to be too. Last week, I went to the dentist and found I need a crown
Posted by
colin (aka colinski)
Dec 25 '23, 12:31
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and a filling replaced. Now, that doesn't sound like good news, but for me it was. For years, I've had horrible teeth, 2 root canals, and I've been terrified of the dentist. Just crippling fear of the pain. I don't numb well, I feel it all.. it's horrible and I know the damage I'm doing, but I neglect to go. I've also had long periods of no dental coverage, so it makes it easy to avoid going.
Along the drive I started having THAT FEELING... when your teeth feel weird, your gums get tender, and you know something is up. By the time I got to NM, I was considering going to a clinic to get antibiotics in case I had an abscess (instead of going to the dentist). I finally talked with a friend who did sedation dentistry and it convinced me to head in.
So I book something next day (lucky me), go in, they have a cheap first visit deal with xrays and cleaning ($88! woo!), so I get the exam, cleaning come later. They did the whole x-ray set, dr comes in, starts "hmmmmmm"ing and poking around. I have not been in 6 years, so I'm not expecting anything good.
He says the pain I'm feeling is a tiny crack in a molar, where I had a filling years ago. He said it needs a crown, but should be good and healthy. The other spot, he said I have a very old silver filing, is failing, and I have a small cavity. He said we should get those fixed and I waited for the rest. He thens said "your teeth look great, keep going what you're doing." He said what happened is not because of neglect, it's just how dental work goes. 20 or so years, needs work. But beyond that I'm good.
I cried when I left. It's one of those things that is a little skinny layer of the anxiety that pulls on me every day. Every time I brush my teeth, I worry I'm in trouble, doing damage, headed towards pain. Knowing things are good was the tiniest little weight off.
The fix isn't cheap, but it's cheaper than a root canal, which is what I thought it was.
Not sure what the message is here... it was just good to overcome something that's been so hard for so long. And to feel the real-time relief of releasing a daily stressor.
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