I'm only 30 - I want to save my teeth!

7.20.15 ~ Crown on #18

Been in the new place for a little over a week ~ settling in, feeling better, getting back into my routine with my mouth care. Our living room and dining room are still filled with bags and boxes to unpack ~ our closets also need unpacking and sorting. Now that we have moved, I probably will donate/throw out even more stuff that did get moved over. Still not 100% , but I know it will take time ~ some relationship stuff on my mind too.

Showed up 15 minutes late to my dentist appointment yesterday. SOOOOO embarrassed - my alarm didn't go off at all and it is now a bit of a drive to get to my dentist (compared to a 10 second drive before moving), so they called me as I was parking and I apologized to everyone. I'm not known for being late (I'm usually 10 minutes early), so I'm assuming they get that this was an accident.

Hop in the car, too tired to care about worrying, and they try to take off the temp crown. Last time, I had to ask to be numbed up and the dentist was like "are you sure?". This time I thought I would tough it out and it hurt to the point where I was making noises to let her know. She did some drilling to loosen the temp crown and after a few more "ouch ouch ouch" it came off. I've never had any issues with other teeth, but #18 has given me such issues with pain. I don't think it will be completely better under I get the tooth next to it worked on (it needs a root canal too) and get my crooked upper wisdom tooth extracted - so I'll just deal with it for now. I also get why they didn't want to numb me up - I need to be able to feel my bite correctly to decide if the tooth needs to be adjusted. (I get that but I don't appreciate pain during a dental procedure ~ totally goes against what a person with phobia needs.)

Then it came time to adjust the tooth. We realized that the bite was going to be too high because of my crooked upper wisdom tooth that is biting down on it. She could keep adjusting the crown, but she was worried it might be damaged or not fit my bite right after I get my wisdom teeth pulled. So we agreed to let her do some drilling on my wisdom tooth instead to make the bite better.

Was told to wait 30 minutes before eating or drinking (I waited a good hour because I'm paranoid) and 24 hours before I start brushing or flossing the tooth. I started with some soft fruit and first bite my wisdom tooth slipped off of the crown and made a slight grinding noise - crown and wisdom tooth are fine but it made my heart stop (and I stopped eating for awhile). I tried again an hour later and did better. Then had some chicken patties to test something a bit harder. That went fine too. I could tell I was slurring my words a bit - not use to having such a big tooth back in that area, but I feel better this morning. I think the gum might still be a bit swollen from her poking around but there's no pain from that. Still not 100% sure I want to use my left-side of my mouth - I have not in years, but at least I can eat and am not in major pain.

I have one gum check up in September, but otherwise I'm done for 2015. I'm going to wait until 2016 to continue my dental treatment, as long as no other teeth break. I have one upper molar tooth on my left side that is worrying me ~ I would say it's missing a big chunk out of it (I thought it caused a cheek infection earlier this week, but after using a special mouth wash my cheek infection has cleared up). It's gotten worse since March, so I'm going to keep an eye on it and pray that it can last a few more months. If it does break, I will go back in to get it taken care of it and use the Care Credit that I have been using to cover the costs for now. Not ideal ~ but I'm glad I'm forcing myself to go in and not just wait until the tooth completely crumbles apart.

Crown is feeling a lot "better"in the sense that it feels normal now. I think the stress of moving is getting to me - I keep getting sores/infections in my mouth if I'm not religious about brushing/flossing at least twice a day. I have a special mouthwash I buy to help, so I'm using that, but I'm noticing that they come back when I'm anxious. (And I've been very stressed/anxious about this whole move - now I'm on to the budgeting and it looks like a nightmare unless we are really strict with what we are doing with our $$$.)

Still not really eating on that side - doesn't feel normal to do that. I'm not going to force myself - I've tried and it makes me nervous that I'm going to break a molar (since one tooth has some damage and I can't afford to fix it until next year).

As long as I'm not in pain, I won't complain.

Been doing better with caring for my teeth - I'm at least brushing before bed and I'm trying to use my Water Pik more frequently. Working up towards brushing twice a day now as my goal. I think I'm feeling like I'm off the hook since I don't have to go back until late September so I can slack off now. Which I realize is totally not the truth.

Took some pictures of my teeth and gums - teeth took whiter and gums look like a more normal pink to me at least. No more bleeding except for one spot - where I had the gum surgery - I know the teeth in that area need to be worked on too, so I'm not sure what else I can do to stop the bleeding. Not sure if it's something with how I'm flossing or what since I can't really see between those teeth to determine what exactly is bleeding, which is kind of frustrating.

<-- Can't believe these are my teeth!! I think the canines on the top are starting to get little holes in them. Not sure if it's just the tooth wearing out or a cavity.

<-- Not sure how my bottom teeth are doing since I feel like I have a lot more gum loss there than in my upper teeth. I have been noticing white "spots" at the bottom of the gums- I'm wondering if the roots are being exposed/the gums are really thin there. Is that even possible???

I'm also noticing a red ring around the gums of a tooth that I know needs a crown (I thought it needed a root canal but I guess not now that I'm looking at my dental treatment plan). It's tooth #19 - right next to the one I just had the root canal/crown treatment completed. I'm going to keep an eye on it and see if it gets any worse.

Been a few months since I posted in here, but not much has been going on with my dental journey, besides trying to pay off what I owe from all the 2015 work.

To recap here's what I've gone through since March after my molar tooth breaking apart.

Comprehensive evaluation and full set of x-rays - $133
Deep cleaning on all 4 quadrants - $628
Root canal treatment & Crown - $1887
Flap Surgery on my Left side - $1694
Two perio. cleanings - $185
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Total: $4527

Shoot me please...

Insurance paid $1000.
I paid some of that out-of-pocket/cash.
The rest of it (most of it) was put on my Care Credit.

I'm making $125 monthly payments to my CC. The good news is that I'm not paying any interest on that, but the bad news is that the monthly payment will only go up as I continue to get more work done.

I'm also starting to get tired of where I'm going to get treatment. The dentist I've seen a few times isn't the most inspiring and I think is just simply trying to get me to get as much dental work done RIGHT NOW regardless of me telling her I can't afford to do more.

When I started this journey, the doctors were all freaking out about my gums. My gums were so horrible and I had to do everything to treat it RIGHT NOW or ELSE!!!! So I did and I got my act together with caring for my mouth. They didn't really say much during my first check up, but I thought "Okay maybe it's just that I need more time - 6 full months should have them saying something about my gums." Six months roll around and all I get is "Oh, your gums? Yeah they're fine." as if they were never an issue to begin with.

Now the BIG thing are getting these fillings done. It is just 2 fillings and they are way cheaper than a root canal, so yeah I get it. But don't threaten me when I told you I'm already having money issues.

I spoke to my husband about it- who's still pretty tiffed about me needing all of this treatment. Which really makes me sad - I need medical treatment - I can't just ignore my mouth health! He gets that and agrees with that, but still he's annoyed with me and it bugs me to no end that I can't make him alright with my mouth situation. I'm saving some money this month and next month, so I can try to get the fillings done in November or December (sooner than I was planning on it).

So I'm at the point of feeling pretty bummed about my mouth - all this hard work at the dentist's and at home and all I was told was that "Your gums are fine. We are just going to try our best to save the teeth that you have left." WTH?

I'm not MISSING any teeth.

None of my teeth are loose or falling out - yeah I have one molar tooth that has a big chunk missing from the side, but that's the worse.

Give this Lady SOME HOPE! Otherwise why am I spending thousands of my $$$ and a whole bunch of time caring for my stupid mouth? Idk... the dentist just made it sound like a hopeless case.

Hey, it's good to see you on here again!

I know what you mean about the costs being overwhelming...right now, I'm almost done with the first phase of my treatment. I've shelled out about $5k already - for the initial exam/x-rays, 2 (regular) cleanings, and 9 fillings. Still have 2 fillings left (doing this on Friday - was supposed to be done last week, but the office screwed up and I had to reschedule. Oops). And then I get a couple months off, with another ortho consult in between, then have a round of extractions and possibly fillings in my wisdom teeth to go through - ugh. I had an HSA-type account that I was able to draw from, and that's covered most of my expenses so far, but I've started to get into out-of-pocket territory now. I've got probably another $2500-3k of work that needs to be done and then I get into orthodontics (was given a rough estimate of $8k). Luckily, I can get on a payment plan for that, but still, thinking about the money thing is starting to stress me out a bit. Sigh.

I just keep reminding myself that it IS an investment in myself (and my boyfriend keeps reminding me of it), and that it WILL be worth it in the end!!!!! Sometimes it seems endless and I'm like "WHEN AM I GOING TO GET TO THAT POINT?!," so I certainly understand how you're feeling. And hey, if they're saying that your gums are fine now, then that means they are a lot better, right?

I remember when I walked out of my first ortho consult, I had liked the orthodontist fine and he was nice and all, but he had created this sense of urgency that made me feel like my teeth were going to start falling out of my head if I didn't start getting them fixed ASAP. This was NOT helpful - it just made me even more overwhelmed. Luckily, my dentist has slowed it WAY down and he's been awesome at helping me break it down. He's never sugar-coated it and has always been straight about the fact that, yes, my teeth do need a lot of work and are kind of a mess (my words, not his), but he told me that I should do it at a pace I'm comfortable with and that if I needed time, then that's fine (he put it like, "all this work doesn't have to get done tomorrow"). That attitude has been super helpful, and so has the fact that he made me feel confident that I could get everything healthy again instead of making me feel bad about all the issues in my mouth. It ended up that I was able to cope with a lot more and a lot faster than I thought I would. But I still have a looooooong way to go. Some of my cavities have ended up being deeper than we had originally thought, so I'm glad I got those taken care of sooner than later. Of course, I'm still freaking out that they're going to turn into root canals, haha.

Anyway, you'll get there!!! One step at a time. Best of luck with everything!

Perio. Check up today

Apparently staying away from the dentist for 3 months is just too much for me. I would say on a scale of 1 to 10, I was about a 7 in the waiting room and an 7.5/8 in the chair - shaking, but going through it and knowing it would be okay... just worried. This is the second or third time I've seen this particular dentist, so that made it a lot nicer - I know her, she's really nice, and I like how she treats my mouth. She shared that things look good, just a tiny bit of tartar and plague after 3 months (and to be honest, I haven't been very good at keeping up with my routine, so I was thrilled to hear this).

In March, a different dentist will re-evaluate my mouth (new xray) and decide if I can start going every 6 months for a cleaning or if I need to stick with 3 months. I'm kind of leaning towards the 3 months personally, but I know I will be spending 2016 being in the chair for more appointments like fillings and root canals (sooooo many root canals...).

Cleaning over all went quickly - one spot hurt but I think she touched a metal filling with the sonic brush and that set it off. Came home and took some Advil to help with any swelling I might get. Totally different from the cleaning in March - I had to take 1 or 2 minutes of rinsing my mouth out to get the bleeding to stop and now there is NO bleeding from what I can tell.

January is planning to be a busy month...
January 11th - 2 fillings in #13 and #29 (was asked if I cared with my whole mouth would be numb, nope don't give a hoot about it - done it before)
January 12 - Prep #14 for a root canal
January 20 - Root canal on #14

Will be having to rely on my care credit to get me through this year. Trying to do the math and it will just add around $50 a month to what I'm already paying - total of $175 a month to avoid any interest fees down the line. Hubby might not be thrilled, but considering that he's dropped $140 already on computer stuff and games (with more being purchased in January), he can't complain about me taking care of my mouth. He doesn't say much more than "okay" when it comes to dental plans for me, which I take it as he's annoyed and upset with me. I think I need to talk to him about it - I personally would love to give up eating out for the sake of being able to eat with healthy gums and teeth.

Since it is a new year, they gave me an updated treatment plan on the work that I have "left over" from my initial exam in March 2015. It went from 2 full pages and 1 page with a few things on it, to 1 full page with 1 thing on the second page! So I'm making progress. (Still owe $7k though... after my insurance covers $1k)

I really would love to finish up everything this year, but that kind of money (an additional $300 a month - on top of paying $140 right now) just is not in our budget I fear. Oh well... I'll make due with what I can and will put in all of that money if I must (if a tooth breaks apart - then I WILL get it fixed).

Today I had a filling on #29. It's on the lower right side towards the middle. Which is exactly where I have a really bad gagging reflex, which makes me nervous. I forgot and didn't mention this to my dentist today - oops. As part of the gagging reflex, my chin will start to shake if I have to keep it open. For about 5 seconds I had no control over my chin shaking - felt so bad, dentist was like "Do we need to stop?". She offered to put something some where to help with the shaking and I told her no - I knew I just had to calm down and get use to them working in that spot. So while I did have 2-3 times we had to stop for a few seconds, she was really nice about it. Ended up having a composite filling added to a very large silver filling (a cavity developed around the silver filling) - dentist mentioned how she first put medicine to keep it clean, then another component to help with sensitivity, and then the filling on top. Took about 30 minutes - nothing long (which is great because I worked all day).

I was expecting to have her work on a filling for #13 - which would mean my WHOLE mouth would be numb, but turns out we are going to do that tomorrow with the root canal prep since the tooth that needs the RCT is #14. She said "I don't want to torture you with too many needles". THANK YOU! I didn't realize that they were right next to each other (stupid me - I even have a tooth diagram labeled with all of my work). I was just trying to limit the number of appointments I would need to go in, so I'm glad they can do both tomorrow. At least there's less of a gagging reflext on my left side.

Also found out March 14th is my new "D-Day" - where the dentist tells me if I can start going in every 6 months and how my mouth is doing. Haven't decided if I want hubby there or not... I don't want any bad news, but I'm not sure if I'm going to get bad news since the hygeneist seemed happy about my progress so far. I'll think about it...

On to the next task...

Three days since my filling on the right side. I deal did with some swelling and pain when I pressed on my lower cheek from the needle. Only started noticeably hurting when I finished up chewing a sandwich. Otherwise there is no issue with the tooth or the gums around it. My dentist said it was deep cavity and was worried it was going to be really sensitive or cause me pain leading to a root canal - thankfully it's been great!

I was happy that I had another dentist appointment the day after since I had pain and swelling there (just on the cheek where the needle went in). I mentioned it to my dentist and after working on the left side to prep for a root canal and do another filling, she checked my cheek - said everything looked good, no needle bumps or anything, so to just give the cheek time to heal from the needle trauma. I knew what it was and I knew with some OTC pain meds I would be fine, so I'm not freaking out about it.

This dentist is the one that I wrote about a few entries ago making me feel like my mouth was a lost cause - "Well we're going to try to save your remaining teeth...", leaving me feeling awful about myself and not sure if I wanted to see her again. These last two times she's been really gentle with me and seems to be kind of anxious about making sure I'm not anxious - any twitch or movement from me and she's asking if I'm okay and need a break. (So I am pretty sure that a note was made in my file about having dental anxiety) But it's going to take a bit more than a filling to make my heart go crazy - I'm still anxious, I still have a raised heart beat (I'm so thankful they never check my pulse before a treatment), I still hate having all of those fingers and tools in my mouth, but I'm good enough to know I just need to get settled and have them work as quickly as possible.

I talked to husband about figuring out a way to afford more of my dental work to be done now and not have to use the Care Credit. I'm kind of unsure about what I want to have fixed next:

- I have a molar tooth that needs a root canal. It has a big chunk of it missing around the gums. I'm scared it will break and then I'll need to have the tooth removed/they won't be able to do a root canal to save it.
- I have another molar that just needs a crown, no root canal. If I get that done it will save me $800.

I can only really afford to choose one of those this year, but I'm pretty sure if I put my crown off for another year it will need a root canal. Might post about this at the forum and see what other people would recommend for my situation. My plan for getting some "extra" money right now is to sign up for a $2500 loan from my job - they would take it out in 10 monthly installments from my check interest free. That will cover a root canal and part of a crown. I have to run the numbers, but I may be able to then afford to do both. I can afford to do all of the stuff I still need to or I would end up with $500 monthly payments, which I can't afford. We could afford it if my husband got a part time job like he promised me he would... but... how can I justify him working for my "stuff"? My salary is twice as his and I've taken on at least 3 more roles at my job to earn a bit more money - still never enough to cover my dental work.

I gave myself 24 hours to settle down before updating my dental journal. I needed it, but let me start from the beginning.

Had my root canal on #14 yesterday. Saw that it was the same dentist who do the RCT on #18 where I was nearly sleeping I was so calm, but the assistant was different and it was the first time I was meeting her. Really sweet, into science, wanted to be a science teacher but ended up in the dentist office. Great, wonderful! Dentist has everything really quiet in his room - tv is turned down, no music on, just him and this assistant working at 3:00 pm.

So let me start with the list of what the hell was he thinking!?!
1) He numbed me up in my cheek using the topical, took his time like he did last time. Cheek needle was great, minimal pain, did not hit any nerves (which is my BIG thing about needles - DO NOT HIT THOSE DAMN NERVES). He did NOT numb up the roof of my mouth though and basically said, "This will hurt a bit" stuck the needle in and 5 seconds later it was done. I'm okay with those types of shots in the roof of my mouth - feels like a really bad sinus headache/pressure, which makes me want to sneeze and I tear up a bit in my eye. Then suddently he was putting on the dental dam, rush rush rush. (Totally not like how he was the last time)

2) He never took of my temporary. This is my 4th root canal - every time they have taken off my temporary crown. I thougth maybe I missed that step some how (!?!), so he quickly puts on the dental dam and I swear I hear and feel a "crack". He didn't say anything, so okay, I go along with it.

3) During the disinfecting stage (where they use bleach to clean out the roots), my dental dam apparently had a hole in it and the bleach ended up in my mouth, burning the back of my throat. They had no clue until I was waving my hand about it. Dentist stops right away, assistant was like "Oh does that taste bad?"

...

Are you freaking kidding me? BLEACH DOWN MY THROAT? YES IT TASTES BAD AND IT IS BURNING MY THROAT AND I NEED TO COUGH AND YOU HAVE THIS DAMN DENTAL DAM OVER MY MOUTH WITH GOD KNOWS WHAT ELSE IN MY MOUTH SO I CANT COUGH OR TELL YOU THAT IM IN PAIN.

I was sooooo scared and so angry. If she had been paying more attention to where the liquid was going it wouldn't have happened. She poured some water down my throat, I used the suction tube to get as much of it out as I could (but I swollowed most of it) - I have NEVER touched a tool before but I couldn't wait to get it out. Then I sat for about 3 minutes taking deep breathes to deal with the burning and the need to cough.

Well that was it. That set off my nerves and I think the dentist could tell that he needed to hurry up and have this procedure be over. The hard part was that this tooth was really infected in one of the roots and he had to be really careful to not break the root, but get all the infection out. That's why I like him so much because I know he's trying to be careful and thorough with his work. However, once something sets me off - which doesn't happen very frequently thankfully - I start tensing up and shaking and I have a super hard time of keeping my mouth open. So I tried really hard to do my best and nobody said anything about my tense muscles, shaking, or heavy breathing, though I'm pretty sure they could see that I was done with this whole dentist nonsense.

Took an x-ray. I then told the assistant that my bite was completely off. Like I couldn't put any of my other teeth together besides the temp crown and the one below it. Dentist isn't sure why that is happening since he didn't take off my temporary crown, but he does his best to reshape the tooth for me.

I'm now on antibiotics for a week - which tells me I had a pretty bad infection, but I don't have any major pain, besides some swelling (which is just from them dinking around in the area and from the needle) and gum irritation (from the dental dam clamp around the tooth). I was there for 2 hours and even my husband was worried about how long it was taking me.

Get into bed around 10 pm (about 5 hours after I'm done) and I feel the tooth wiggle. "Oh crap...", head to the bathroom, use my fingers to poke it, and yup there's a gap between the tooth and gum and it's loose.

I emailed the dental business about needing to see them to get it tightened up and that I was going to be off the next day so I could come in when ever they could possibly fit me. Then I texted the person who finds subs at my job and let her know that I wasn't feeling well after my dental appointment and that I would be out. (I have plenty of sick days still - let me use a little me time for once)

Then the terror kicks in... what if it falls out and I swollow it? Or I can't find it? Will I damage my root canal? Will my tooth hurt? What if it is really my tooth falling out and not the crown? <-- makes NO sense but that's where my brain was going.

Slept maybe 3-4 hours last night.

Business opesn at 9 am. Hubby keeps telling me to call them right away, but I keep telling him no because they will see my email and call me right away. 9:01 am comes around - and they are calling me! (That's another thing I love about my dental place - I can email them out with everything that I want to tell them - when I'm on the phone or in person I can get nervous and can skip stuff - and they always get back to me.) I can come in at 3:45 pm to get it taken care of with my regular dentist.

Now about this regular dentist... I wrote about her a few months ago being the one that really depressed me. She didn't really encourage me to be hopeful about my mouth - we are basically just trying to save my teeth. But lately, I've been seeing her a lot and she's been really kind, patient, and listens to everything that I have to say. She's diligent about her job and doesn't mind if I'm being "picky" about how my tooth feels - she'll keep working on it until I'm happy.

I come in and she asks me how the root canal went. I said okay, although I did mention the bleach incident since that set me off. My crown came right off when she put her fingers around it and I started explaining that: 1) he did the RCT right through the crown (which I know you can do, but I have never had a dentist do it like that), 2) I did hear a crack when he put on the dental dam. She told me: 1) Yeah he should have taken off the temp crown, 2) he probably did break it when he put the dental dam on. (She mentioned the dental dam thing first so I told her that I did hear/feel a crack) She didn't even bother trying to fix the old one since I don't think she liked how he shaped it, so she made me a new one, shaped it perfectly on the first try, cemented it well, cleaned it all up, and I was in and out in 15 minutes. No charge!

So I am feeling better about the ordeal since she fixed up my new temp crown, although I'm still ify about using the tooth and freak out a bit when my tongue touches it. I'll give myself a few days to calm down.

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As for paying for things, I recalcuated how much I'm going to be paying for the next few months to cover my Care Credit. I have to bump it up to $180 to stay on track - about $50 more a month. Doable - just have to be mindful.

I also decided that I'm going to get the root canal treatment for #15 done now instead of waiting until May when I could get my "bonus" check for $2500 to pay for it. There's a big chunk of tooth missing from the gum down on #15. Food gets stuck in there and causes cheek infections unless I clean it out right away and brush 2-3 times a day. (I'm dealing with a cheek infection right now because of my laziness recently with cleaning it)

So I'm going to suck it up, get it done, pay with it on Care Credit, up my payments for March, April, and May. Once I get my check it will go straight to my Care Credit, which means I can then lower my monthly payments after May.

I already told my husband that is how I'm using MY check. Normally it goes to something we both want or our credit cards, so I'm a little hesitant with spending it on me, but I have to - I don't know how much longer #15 can hold on to and I'm sooooooo tired of these cheek infections.

After #15, I will still have a bunch of work to get done, not sure when though...
#30 needs a root canal ($1794)
#19 needs a crown ($927) <---- I will have some left over month from my $2500 check so I might use it to cover this procedure.
I have 2 upper wisdom teeth that need to be extracted ($334)
And I have to keep up my gum check up's if I don't get a green light in March to start coming every 6 months.

Maybe I'll do 1 more root canal later this year once I finish paying off one of my earlier treatments. Not sure...

Back for another update! The tooth calmed down nicely after 4-5 days and there is no pain when I press on the temp crown from any sides and no pain when I press on the gums around the tooth. It was painful for a few days when biting - I couldn't eat any side on it from the pain - so I was thrilled when I could start eating normally again after a few days.

I was put on antibiotics for a week, skipped some dosages though, so it took longer, but I had to stop around day 8 because I broke out with a horrible rash on my legs and arms from the meds. To the point of where I had some swelling in my throat but could still breath fine - I have asthma too so I'm careful about having allergic reactions. Never had problems before with these meds, so I will be crossing that off the meds that I can take.

Today they did the last part of the root canal procedure prior to having the permanent crown on (dinking around withe posts and making sure everything will fit well). Since I had the root canal done, there should be no pain, so no needles to numb me up (yay - the wound they cause makes my cheek slightly painful and sore with days afterwards).

They had to file down the base a bit for the crown to fit so there was gum bleeding and some gum pain. I took pain meds as soon as I came home, but it's achy. This is on the same side that I have bad gum issues so while I don't usually have any bleeding problems while brushing or flossing any more, any major work with the gums pisses them off.

I'm assuming this will be addressed in my March check up - not sure what else they are going to recommend to fix the problem. (I have been lazy too and I need to start back up with my water irrigation. That helps my gums very much, but adds a lot of time to set it up, do the procedure, and clean it out properly.)

Dentist didn't mention anything specific to me about the bleeding gums, so I'm not really sure if it's a major problem or not. I just remember not having any bleeding gum issues with any other root canals though...

In 3 weeks I'm getting my permanent crown put on and then I can cross this tooth off the list. I've had such good results from my 3 other root canals, so while I know this is the "last step" for this tooth before it will have to be pulled out, I'm really hopeful.

As for future work, I'm flip flopping, but I have decided to wait until I can get a confirmation that I will be rehired next year at my job. I'm sure I will - I haven't heard anything about not being hired, but who knows. I'd rather have a guarentee that I will have a job next year before doing more work - just in case. Once I have that confirmed I will schedule the crown to be done. I know my other tooth is falling apart but I know a crown will save me a root canal procedure and $1000. So I'm just going to deal with a crappy tooth.

Having a rough morning after going over our bills and seeing how very little money we have (I need to figure out how to make $100 strectch for 9 days - I need to buy food, gas, and some other supplies without touching the credit cards). Bills just keep growing and growing and we're not bringing in any extra money. Hubby said back in October that he'd get a part time job too, but October has come and gone and he's stating that his current schedule is too difficult to work around - so that promise he made me is pointless. I picked up 4+ extra jobs at my school to earn more money - hubby thinks I do too much (and I do agree) but I have to or there would be no way we can afford to pay our bills and have any spending money left over.

This is leaving me a mess about getting MORE dental work done. I look at the list that I left over and there's just no way I can get through it all in 2016. The dentist will keep urging me to get more done and I get why (my teeth will only get worse), but I just can't afford MORE. I would happily work through my dental phobia, but I'm already paying $180 every single month to stay on top of my dental bills.

*sigh* Not a good day....

Sorry to hear you are having a bad day, money worries can really drag you down. I've been there myself and it sucks but at the same time it is important to make sure you prioritise your health.

If it helps any I find the following website useful - feed your family for £20 a week

It's also important to ensure you let your hair down every now and again too though and I find things like gallery openings and museum events are really good for this as they are usually free and fun as well as simple things like having a games night with friends.

I hope that helps some, I know the idea of spending more money when you are skint can seem frightening but the debt won't last forever, you will come out the other side of this eventually.

#14 is Finished! (RTC)

This is visit #6 in 2 months - visit #7 is in 2 weeks. I think being at the dentist so frequently is just wearing me down, even though I know a root canal treatment requires 4 visits. #1 was for fillings, #2 was for fillings, and #3, 4, 5, and 6 were for the root canal treatment on #14.

I started with $11,455 worth of work a year ago, I'm down to $4,493 as long as I don't need any additional work done. Granted the difference (around $7,000) is going to be paid off over about 2 years. (A huge chunk of it will be paid after May - about $2500 - if everything goes well)

Anyways, I was about an 8/10 anxiety level getting there and sitting for a bit. I have a real issue with them doing dental work with no pain numbing stuff. I get why they have to do it, it's stupid to numb up a dead tooth, and I need to be able to feel my bite correctly - but just the thought of feeling pain during dental work is sometimes too much. After some venting/ranting to my husband via text, I went in, sat down, said hello, and was called in after 3 minutes.

I know this dentist - she knows me pretty well at this point (or at least my mouth) - still, she can be negative sometimes so I'm cautious around her. Still it is nice to know it's usually her working on me.

Crappiest part is when she was trying to take the temp crown off because 1) I'm not numb and might feel pain, 2) she tried yanking it too quickly and the tool slipped off and whacked me on my lip (I'm sitting here about an hour later with a half fat lip that is cut and hurts). She apologized over and over again - totally an accident - and I'm honestly okay but with my anxiety towards pain, it doesn't help. Not her fault, it was an accident, but I'm left with trying to calm myself down through it.

I also don't like how they use cement that needs to set - so I leave the building with a mushy tooth that is drying. I keep thinking they didn't use enough, it's not going to set right, etc - all bad thoughts. Dentist says to wait 30 minutes - I always wait 2 hours at least and I don't touch that side of the mouth for 24 hours when it comes to cleaning my mouth (even though the dentist says I just can't floss for a day).

The permanent crown is setting perfectly fine (shut up brain - you're worrying and trying to find something wrong). My lip honestly hurts more than my tooth/gum from being yanked on - which my brain needs to shut up about too because I know it will all calm down after a day or two. I'm worried my bite will be off - shut up brain, you know (because this is my 4th root canal and crowned tooth) that it will all settle down and if not, your dentist is awesome at getting you in for adjustments.

SHUT UP BRAIN SHUT UP BRAIN SHUT UP BRAIN. I have enough common sense to know these worries are stupid. But... oh that but that is always there... what if...

Moving along - the BIG check up is looming in 2 weeks. March 14th I have my 1 year gum check up to see how my mouth is progressing and how my gum disease is doing. Over all I think I'm a lot better, I don't think my gums or bone is better necessarily, but I don't think I'm worse. I still think I have some damaged spots on my upper left side of my gums - they sometimes bleed, especially when having dental work done on them, no matter what mouthwash, flossing, tooth paste, treatment I've had so far. The gums still bleed. Not sure what my dentist might suggest about that, but I know it is not my fault at this point: I do floss, I do brush, I do what I can to make it less bad. I'm pretty sure my anxiety level for that day will be around a 9 or 10/10 - like my first visit.

I've poured so much money into my mouth, with a lot more to go, that I just can't think of having MORE treatments to solve my dental problems. I still have 5 more teeth to be worked on - a crown, two RTC, and 2 wisdom teeth pulled. That's plenty to think about when I have so much anxiety and fear about dental work.

But shut up brain - I've survived oral surgery. Only thing that really bugs me is the thought of hearing my teeth break when they pull the wisdom teeth out. Otherwise who cares about crowns and root canals at this point - because knowing I still need 10 more dental visits to complete work on 3 teeth. Eesh....

Also on the bright side, while writing this all out to who ever comes across this journal (some how I have 14.6k views wow!), that temp crown that my brain was worried about. It's settling nicely and feels almost normal.... I know I won't be able to tell the difference in a day or two. So shut up brain... please.

Tooth is settling down nicely - still having some random cold sensitivity (more to cold air than cold things - I tend to breathe through my mouth more than my nose so that doesn't help), random flare up's of pain. I'm assuming that this is normal and probably caused from the dentist slipping up when yanking off the temp crown. I'm really honest - she did YANK it off - way too quickly and caused the tool to slip off and cut my lip. (Let it be a good lesson to her to slow the heck down!)

I think the yanking may have caused tooth #13 - which had a filling down earlier in the month - to not be happy. #12 and #14 are both RTC and crowned teeth (#12 was my first RTC tooth back in high school). #15 will be joining them as soon as I sign my contract for next school year. Anyways, #13 felt a bit off yesterday (24 hours after visiting the dentist) - a little clicky/wobbly, but it is doing much better today. I think there was some gum irritation and swelling so I'm assuming it's because of that.

Still... I have been noticing my teeth are wobbly more frequently.

I did start using a new mouthwash that is for gum disease with zinc in it. It has helped my gums, but I'm worried it is upsetting my teeth. Might have to do some more research about the ingredients.

I catch myself eating normally on my left side sometimes and I nearly choke/freak out. With the random spots of pain there, the hurt lip (it's fine today but still...), and the permanent crown, I've mentally not wanted to eat on my left side. It totally defeats the purpose of me going through all of this dental work - I SHOULD be able to eat on both sides.

I just remember how easy my teeth dealt with dental work when I was in high school and college. I miss those days. I know I can't go back there, but I at least wish my body was faster with healing and settling the teeth.

Going to try eating a chicken pot pie ever so slowly tonight for dinner and see how my left side fairs. Something a little more solid than I have been enjoying. Probably take some pain meds before I do it though (just not in the mood for a sore face).

Had my 1-year checkup - small progress has been made (no more 6 or 7 mm pockets woo hoo), but I still have to go every 3 months.

Hope all is well, I'm in the same boat now, almost your age. My plaque is what is worrying me now,
Hope it goes good for you

Update 6/25/16

Deciding to pop in and update my journal. I just had a root canal performed on #15 a few days ago - still painful when I bite on it, but I usually take 1-2 weeks to heal up.

Some up's and down's.

I'm still struggling with keeping up with my teeth/mouth care. Not sure why that is, but the idea of having to brush and floss AGAIN is just draining some days. I'm sure it has to do with my depression and anxiety with my mouth, but I thought that as I progressed more and more with my treatment plan that it would get better. Some days are better than others.

I've had a lot of work done in the past year and half - at least 10 visit last year and I'm already up to 13 visits either done or planned for this year. It does and does not get any easier. I have learned to trust the 3 dentists I work with - my main dentist, my hygienist, and the dentist who has done 3 root canals on me. I have started to open up more about worries that I have and ask questions if I'm not certain. A month ago I was having a conversation with my dentist and hygienist about getting my 2 upper wisdom teeth removed. I told them straight out - with them knowing my phobia - I have a really big issue with hearing teeth cracking and how I think I may need sedation to get the wisdom teeth out. They both agreed it should take no more than 5 minutes and it would be a "waste" (my word) to spend the time hooking me up, getting me sedated, for a 5 minute procedure - they know I do better with the "just get this over please" method.

I'm hoping #15 tooth will settle down - I still need to take OTC pain relievers to help with some swelling/pain and I'm on antibiotics for 10 days. Last time I took these antibiotics, though (to add to my stress and worries), I did break out with hives on my inner thighs and arms - but I'm not 100% sure it was because of the antibiotics or if it was a sweat rash (hives only showed up where I was clothed and I had a long day at work and then a party to attend, never changed). Forgot to mention it to my dentist after the root canal - just wanted to get out of there ASAP - but my husband mentioned it to the pharmacist, who cautioned me about taking it again. A second reaction can be worse - and include breathing issues. 4 days in, no rash, no issues. But I do have a thought that this tooth might need to be retreated - not sure why I think that but I do think it was really damaged and the dentist had to do a lot of cleaning out (although it honestly seemed "better" than #14 the tooth right next to it that also had a root canal done).

Next week I go in to get the posts put in and I'm going to schedule my wisdom teeth appointment. You'd think after having oral surgery, having 2 teeth pulled would be no big deal. But the sound... oh god... that breaking tooth sound. Still with those 2 teeth being crooked, it's throwing off my bite and I think hurting my jaw too. I want them out and done with.

After that I "just need" one more root canal on tooth #30 (it will be my 6th one ) and a crown on #19 that has a huge old silver filling in it and I can't wait to get it out. After that my 3 page long treatment plan will be finished and I will just have 3 month checks up as long as no new issues pop up.

Took 7 full days, but my tooth finally stopped hurting. After about 5 days, it didn't hurt unless I was eating - if I hit the tooth wrong (I didn't even try eating on that side while it hurt) it was such an explosion of pain. Day 7 hubby and some friends invited me out to a bar and I had 2 beers - I didn't drink the whole time since the root canal. Oddly enough I woke up in the morning and no more pain at all in that tooth. Not sure if there was a connection or not.

Today I had the posts put in, so my tooth is all ready for the final crown to be put on. Had a new dentist today - she was real nice and besides nicking a bit of gum that wasn't numbed up, she did a good job. The temp fitting is perfect! (Which I love... I get panicky about the fitting part since sometimes it's not perfect but I can't tell until the numbness wears off.) I took some Advil for pain before going and I'm still on antibiotics for the root canal so that should keep everything clean (no allergic reaction to the antibiotics so far).

Scheduled my wisdom teeth removal for late July - a week before my vacation/second honeymoon with my hubby. Hubby is taking the day off, so he will be with me the whole time, but he is refusing to go into the room when I get it done (he's had teeth pulled for braces, so he doesn't like it). My sister has had her 2 upper wisdom teeth removed (she doesn't know if she does or does not have her bottom wisdom teeth - I don't have mine so I'm figuring she might not have hers) and said it was no big deal, no pain, nothing scary about it, so that made me feel better. Not sure if they will give me any pain meds, but if not I still have some from my oral surgery - I'm not one to take pain meds besides OTC type stuff, but it's nice to know I have something if I need it (they mostly just make me sleepy, which is nice - I can rest while I'm healing).

Just had the permanent crown on #15 put on. Took over 40 minutes, but the regular dentists and assistants were not there (I miss my dentist - the last 2 times I've gone she hasn't been there). Anyways, waiting for the crown to bond (should be fine by 2 but I'm going to wait an extra hour). A bit of pain when she took off the temporary crown, but no big deal (blowing air and water around it hurt worse).

Friday I have my two top wisdom teeth extracted. Sometimes I'm way calmer about it than I thought I'd be and other times I'm freaking out about it. I've watched videos and it looks similar to my gum flap surgery (which was scary) minus a tooth being taken out, so I can't imagine it being any worse than that.

I'm going to have to let the dentist know that my gag reflex gets pretty bad the further back you go. Today I kept gagging on the cotton balls that they had me biting on - but my left side is usually pretty good with the gagging so I'm not sure why it was so much worse today. Need to let them know to just let me get through it - no real need to stop, except maybe to take out tools or hands. (Thinking back it started today when the temp crown fell back onto the spot where my jaw and throat meet. I think that must have triggered a react that stuck with me.)

Hubby is coming with me for the tooth extraction. Don't think I can get him in the room with me though - not sure if the dentist will allow it and hubby doesn't want to be there either (he's had other teeth extracted for braces when he was younger). But he is taking the day off to care for me and I might be able to convince him to stay home on Saturday - 3 days home so he can play nurse for me

I wish I was able to schedule it for Friday morning - I can't stand waiting all day to go to the dentist. Won't happen until 2:45!!!! Maybe some shopping therapy before hand. I'm thinking about getting laughing gas for it but I might wait to decide until I get there (I get anxious about taking new medicines so... not sure if it will just add to my anxiety).

Angeldove said:

Friday I have my two top wisdom teeth extracted. Sometimes I'm way calmer about it than I thought I'd be and other times I'm freaking out about it. I've watched videos and it looks similar to my gum flap surgery (which was scary) minus a tooth being taken out, so I can't imagine it being any worse than that.

Click to expand...

I have to be honest and say that the tooth extraction procedure was probably the easier one I've ever had - even compared to getting fillings. Besides one or two days of swelling and some dull pain, the most troublesome part of healing (because the procedure really was nothing) is food getting stuck in the extraction sites and eating with my front teeth mostly.

I was up front with the assistant about my dental fear as she was taking an x-ray since I've never met her before (I had to go to a different location than I normally go) and she was so sweet and supportive. Like I honestly want to send her a card and flowers for taking me seriously and being so encouraging. She let the dentist know about my fears - dentist honestly didn't say much to me, she assumed I knew what was going to happen or just didn't want to talk not sure, but the assistant helped to go over everything with me.

After a few tears from the needle - from pain (dentist wasn't really great at giving injections) not fear - my heart started racing, but the moment they put into a better laying position I was completely at peace. Thankfully the dentist went as quickly as possible - she was so fast that it took me a moment to realize she was already stitching the first site up (I thought she was flossing my teeth for some reason - the stitching material looked like floss to me). Second site was a bit more noisy, but the assistant talked me through it saying it was totally normal and not to mind the sounds which helped a lot. I think the whole procedure took 5 minutes. It was so fast I didn't even have time to discuss if I should or should not get the laughing gas - I swore to myself that I was going to get it, but I never got that nervous that I asked them to put it on.

I was ready to get up and out of there, but they had me sit, the assistant actually put me back against the chair, which I was glad because within a minute I was lightheaded and dizzy. They gave hubby a goodie bag of gauze and ice packs with instructions inside for my trip home. Was dizzy walking to the car, so hubby walked with me and sitting down helped.

I then just started crying my eyes out and my husband gave me this look like WHA!?! I couldn't talk with all of that gauze in my mouth, but basically it was just a ball of emotion from being worried all month about this procedure, feeling so relieved it was over, being in a bit of pain already, and feeling stupid that I had stressed out so much about it. It subsided after a few moments and it was just something I needed to get out of my system.

I'm at day 5 now, so I should be out of dry socket danger. I am noticing some sinus issues - swelling, stuffiness, and possibly drainage issues so I'm not sure if that's related to the procedure or not taking my allergy nasal spray in over 5 days (I don't think snorting up nasal spray is really needed while I heal).

I'm going back on Friday at 9am (yay for morning appointments ) for a check up on the procedure. I can't see the extraction sites really well, but I think the stitches might be the ones that do not dissolve, so I'm wondering if they will take them out then. Then I'm helping friends move over the weekend and M-F hubby and I are going on a second honeymoon to celebrate 5 years of marriage. So lot's of good things to look forward to.

I'm so thrilled to have 2 more procedures to do and then I'm done with my treatment plan. I still will have 3 month cleanings and a yearly periodontal check up on my gums, but I'm sooooooooooooo happy that I've gone through this process and have learned a lot about my teeth and what I can actually get through.