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2 wks. after extraction & things are not peachy keen

S

Sunny78

Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2012
Messages
38
I've decided to delete my post.
Sorry about that.
 
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Awe... what's happened, Sunny? Did you get them to answer your questions? Does it the extraction site still feel strange? I hope you are not still having trouble.
 
Awe... what's happened, Sunny? Did you get them to answer your questions? Does it the extraction site still feel strange? I hope you are not still having trouble.

Thank you, Tabatha7. I wrote a long whine, then yanked it off. Don't know if you saw it. I don't feel any better at all after two weeks. No pain. But the site feels weird, like something is caught up there and I can't dig it out. I don't try to, of course. This second molar site is way up in the back of my mouth, and I can't even see the darn hole. I have tried to peek at it without pulling the lip much, but can't. I can't imagine what the heck is up there that feels so odd. I don't know if it's normal. I have a horrific taste in my mouth most of the time, too; and now, a yellow-ish-green fuzz on the back of my tongue. Surely that's not right. My course of antibiotics and the 5-day rinsing with Chlorhexidine is over; both of which caused their own horrible taste in the mouth. But this one I've got now is new. NO clue what is going on. Hard not to think something is wrong. I guess I'm on the fence about this oral surgeon, too. I have called a few times with questions because I wasn't even clear about the basics. I don't think it's all my fault, either. I get more specifics from reading the websites of other oral surgeons. I will see him next week for a quick check that it's healing okay.
I don't even think I'm doing the salt water rinses right. Honestly, I never see any food particles when I spit out the water. He never mentioned that bulb think every one says to use. I asked him about it and he said no, don't do anything other than salt water rinses after I eat. Before that, his assistant told me to do the rinse twice a day for five days. Then what???? I had to write and say, okay, day six, now what? See, this is what I'm dealing with. Maybe they think my little molar extraction was so "no big deal," compared to their major patients, that I'm too ridiculous to deal with.

I'm scared also about the condition of other teeth. They all seem to twinge. I am overusing my other side, which has a molar that I was told would have to be extracted at any time. For all I know, it is brewing silenty just like this molar was. I don't feel comfortable going to the dentist NOW, though, and having a bunch of new procedures on the other teeth while I'm trying to heal from the extraction of the other tooth.

I am very very overwhelmed by the upcoming expense (no payment play at all with the oral surgeon; he wants the money upfront, all of it; my dental ins. will NOT pay for implants or any of that) of this and other work.
As I experience more and more things dental, I do not get reassured. Because my experience has been you can have trouble brewing and not really know it. Then, boom, you've got a hot tooth and can't get numb. Or, like the recently departed molar, you can not even realize how loose it is and how lethal it has become.

Yet I read story after story here and elsewhere about people who don't go to the dentist for decades and then have to have a whole mouth full of extractions or other things, and they seem just fine. And I don't know how they do it. I don't know how they pay for it. I don't know.

Well, I ended up ranting after all.
Sorry about that. I hope this site doesn't get annoyed because I'm not posting a "it's all just dandy" success story. I'm a gal who needs info. If that dentist says, "Hey, it's healing just fine and that funky taste is just normal and that yellow fuzz on the tongue is just normal and you're doing it all just the way you're supposed to, "well, THEN I'll feel okay. But I can't in my head just pretend it's all "good" when I don't know that it is and when it doesn't feel like it's all good.

Maybe I have read too many horror stories on the Internet.

Thanks for caring.
 
Hello Sunny

Just thought I'd :poppingin: and add my thoughts for you. I think that when there are things 'niggling' us, or different to how we are used to, and we are worry wort's anyway, then there is nothing else for it other than our heads to think up all sorts of things, some sensible, and some not so.

And with all that goes the fact that we are given a whole host of information, some of it easy and some of it a bit more complex. And if you are anything like me, you will sit there and appear to take it all in, and as soon as you are out of the door, you have been robbed of the majority of it ;)

My dentist was explaining to me the other week about how most people's tongues work when they have a denture - but mine doesn't work the same way. He did tell me the technical term for it, but I can't remember that, so as far as I'm concerned, I have a 'dodgy' tongue that doesn't behave itself the same way as others :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: That's my version of techy talk :giggle:

Anyway I think that as you don't think things are quite as they should be, then it is only right that you seek the help and advice of your dentist. I certainly would hope that he doesn't try to brush you off because he has other more complex cases to deal with. So until you are satisfied that everything is alright, then you need to keep asking the questions. If he is worth his salt, he will be more than happy to put your mind at ease.

I hope you get on ok.

Take care.

Kim
 
Hello Sunny

Just thought I'd :poppingin: and add my thoughts for you. I think that when there are things 'niggling' us, or different to how we are used to, and we are worry wort's anyway, then there is nothing else for it other than our heads to think up all sorts of things, some sensible, and some not so.

And with all that goes the fact that we are given a whole host of information, some of it easy and some of it a bit more complex. And if you are anything like me, you will sit there and appear to take it all in, and as soon as you are out of the door, you have been robbed of the majority of it ;)

My dentist was explaining to me the other week about how most people's tongues work when they have a denture - but mine doesn't work the same way. He did tell me the technical term for it, but I can't remember that, so as far as I'm concerned, I have a 'dodgy' tongue that doesn't behave itself the same way as others :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: That's my version of techy talk :giggle:

Anyway I think that as you don't think things are quite as they should be, then it is only right that you seek the help and advice of your dentist. I certainly would hope that he doesn't try to brush you off because he has other more complex cases to deal with. So until you are satisfied that everything is alright, then you need to keep asking the questions. If he is worth his salt, he will be more than happy to put your mind at ease.

I hope you get on ok.

Take care.

Kim
Thanks, Kim. The thing is, I'm not making things up to worry about. Two weeks out and I'm told oh you should be just feeling better and better. And I'm not. If he says, there should be no improvement after two weeks, then okay, I'll accept it. Well, thanks for listening. I appreciate it.
 
Sunny, I could be wrong but the feeling you are describing like something is stuck in there sounds like when they say a little shard comes out sometimes and sometimes it takes a while for it to work its way out. You may have something like that and it will take a little while for it to work its way out. I'm thankful you are not feeling any pain. I'm sorry your oral surgeon is not answering your questions. I hope your appt gets here quickly so he/she can look at it and make sure all is ok. If you need further dental work maybe you can look for a different oral surgeon this time? Hoping you feel better quickly. Hugs!
 
Hi I understand how you feel it's like being on a treadmill, you get treatment and look after your teeth but still have something wrong.

Kim didn't mean that you were making things up, but what a dentist or oral surgeon knows is normal is nothing like normal to us. We don't know how things should feel or be after a lot of the treatments.
I think your oral surgeon is not being very helpful at all, and he could so easily put your mind at rest or treat you if there is something. I would do the salt water rinses for a while longer, when I had a tooth out I didn't gets bit of food when I rinsed either. It does sound like a bit of bone that is in your gum, and as tabatha7 has said they can take quite a long time to work their way out. Kim can confirm that, she had a bit of bone that long after having teeth out we held a ceremony for it when it finally came out.

I understand you are worried I would be too, could you find another dentist after this to look after you, that would explain things to you.

Don't worry about ranting we all do and me more than most a while ago, I still don't understand how I can go and get treatment and things are not right still, so I really do understand how you feel. It feels like there is no reward for looking after out teeth.

This forum is not just for success stories, it is based on personal experiences good and bad, we can't all be skipping after treatment and things do sometimes go wrong. You see your post may help someone that is experiencing problems like you are after treatment. It doesn't feel like it now but at some point you will feel better and you can help someone feel normal for feeling how you are feeling, and describing that all is not sweetness and light.
They will also not feel as paniced if someone else has felt the same as you are feeling.

People do worry about putting negative posts on here, but they should put the bad with the good because even if things don't go to plan it shows others that you can get through these bad times and live to tell the tale.

I hope this makes sense to you. You come on here and rant and rave as much as you want and if we can help in any way we will, and be more than happy to do it.

Please don't stop posting because you think you have to put a success story on here, you don't, it is how you feel and your fears and they are just as valid as any success story. So thank you for putting your story here and I hope you can get some answers from your oral surgeon when you see him. The antibiotics could have given you thrush on the back of your tongue, you could ask at a pharmacy and explain that you have had antibiotics and tell them how you feel and about your tongue and they may be able to help.

I wish you well :grouphug::hug5::grouphug::hug5::grouphug::hug5::grouphug::hug5::grouphug::hug5::grouphug::friends::friends::friends:

Let us know how you get on please.
 
Hi, Sunny
I agree wholeheartedly with Carole!!
This forum isn't just about "success stories". It's also about sometimes venting your frustrations and fears. I'll be the first to admit that my journal isn't full of happy dental visits.......quite the contrary.......I tend to post more about my bad experiences than my good ones because I need a sympathetic soul to give me some support or advice.
If it helps to post about a negative experience, then do!! Someone will always chime in to give support or advice and I know that helps me quite a bit.
I also agree with Carole about maybe getting a second opinion about what's going in your mouth. We know our bodies best, and if something doesn't feel quite right to you, then there's a good chance that it isn't right. At the very least, it sounds like you need a better explanation of what's going on, it doesn't sound like your current dentist is doing a very job of explaining things to you.
Many :hug4:'s.
 
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A big THANK YOU to everyone who has "talked me off the ledge." I really do appreciate it more than you know.
I'm trying to give my fears a rest this weekend, since I won't know a thing till Monday, anyway. The funky taste in the mouth continues to come, and stay with a vengeance; then, inexplicably go. The odd sensations of the surrrounding teeth come and go--I will ask my dentist about this, too. And the "saran wrap" feeling in my cheek area near the site never goes away. Perhaps it is some bone wanting to come through, but it doesn't feel sharp or painful at all. It feels like a big wad of gauze or saran wrap--something soft--is up there and I cannot get it out. It has felt this way 24-7 since the extraction. Will this ever go away? Who knows.

As for going from dentist to dentist to dentist for second and third opinions, and hoping "this time" I will strike gold ... I am overwhelmed. I have been through SO many dentists. They all claim in the beginning to be sympathetic and eager to answer questions. Then, they all, all of them, show signs of irritation with me because I give off some scared, tense vibe. And I don't even cry in the chair, I don't have to be led to the chair. I don't exhibit many of the phobic reactions other people do. I do my best, in other words. I do speak up and tell them I am fearful of Novocain wearing off. I don't pretend to be tough and strong. I have often felt my body tense up. I try hard to not do that. I get irritated at the thought that whatever I am doing is so annoying that it has made every dentist make a snarky remark about how tense I am. I keep thinking, "SURELY I am not the worst patient they have ever had." But I have "broken up" with dentist after dentist when they have ultimately become insensitive about my fears about the Novocain not being enough. So I have done my best to (a) give them more than one chance; sometimes, several years' worth of chances and (b) "find another dentist who is more sympathetic." And I keep striking out. So ... it's hard for me to conclude that ALL of these dentists are the bad guys. For all I know, some or most of them might have been pretty decent technicians. And the problem lies with ME, not them. But, as I said, I also get annoyed.

I had an interesting conversation just this morning, at a breakfast I attended with some neighbors. Dental work came up and naturally I was all ears. Two of the people who spoke were men: "men's men." If you know what I mean. One of them laughed at himself and admitted he hates going, is terrified, annoyed, just despises the whole experience, thinks it does hurt like hell and sucks. And because he owns his own little business, he feels forced to go back to the office right after an extraction. He can't afford to go home and pamper himself. So in that sense he is a macho type. But he confesses his fears. The other guy is also a "man's man" type, but kind of a rebel type. Anyway, he was just the opposite. He kept claiming it's not a big deal, that no one should make a big deal, that if the Novocaine works for him, it should work for everyone. He said having an implant was doable without even a local injection. That it was no big deal to have someone drilling a hole in your jawbone. He was horrible to listen to. I don't think he was bragging, either. I think he just really feels this way, that it's ridiculous for anyone to make a big deal out of dental work. He was not talking to the other guy, the one who admitted his fears. This was a big enough breakfast that they were sitting far apart and there were a lot of conversations going on at once. I had the pleasure of sitting kind of in between them, so I could listen to both guys talk.

Anyway, the macho guy who has not fears just made me feel worse about myself. It will take me a while to get rid of his commentary.

So I am writing here today hoping that I can offer one piece of advice to people here: Perhaps it is not wise to really talk about our fears to others in our life, unless we know they are going to be supportive. Because it sucks when they are not. My own cousin, who is like a daughter to me, but lives far, has been totally mute on the topic. She wrote me a terse one-sentence email after my extraction, and then went on to talk about herself and all the fun she is having. She has not asked one thing about how I am. And I get the idea she thinks I'm a big baby. I've had some work friends who have been mean about it, too. They have the notion that once the procedure is over, it's all over and it's back to business. But they don't realize that some procedures are just one step in a long, stressful, painful, EXPENSIVE process. So ... if you get an inkling that someone is not going to be there for you regarding these dentals fears, my suggestion is don't even try to talk to them and make them see how you are feeling. You wlil get a reaction that will make you feel worse.

Back to you lovely people who have written to me: I appreciate your support and your telling me I am not required to post nothing but succcess stories. And I do hope that something I've written somewhere will help someone else in some small way. I will not be the person who can say "injections should not hurt" or some such blanket statement, because in my experience, with lots of dentists, they often do hurt. Depending on where they are injected (roof of mouth is not fun) and how long they take. But I can offer maybe other things that could help.

Someone here, sorry I don't recall who, said even if we don't feel we have learned anything in all this dental stuff, we do gain experience and that does help. I really agree with this. I know so much more now than I did two months ago.

One thing I learned is this: The written and oral instructions for post procedure care can be vague and not helpful. So ... going to the Websites of other dentists and reading what they tell their patients can fill in the gaps nicely. I am not suggesting that you go to other sites and follow another dentist's suggestion. No, not by a long shot. For example, I did not go out and buy that bulb to wash my site, even though everyone else says to do that. Because my oral surgeon specifically told me NOT to do that. But ... you can find more information as to what to expect and feel and WHY to do or not do something if you read other Websites.

For example, I was given vague and incoherent info about the damn bleeding and gauze procedure after the extraction. It made no sense. Then ... I found a very detailed description on another surgeon's site and it cleared it all up for me. If I had read THAT from day one, I would not have worried a bit.

I also read on this guy's site WHY you really shouldn't be too physical right after an extraction: too much blood flow can increase the bleeding. Well, duh. But my guy didn't say that at all. He just told me I might "like to not go back to work." And fortunately my instincts told me to take the day off and boy am I glad I did. But I did think about taking a nice long walk afterward to calm my nerves. Then, my instinct said, NO. Ride home in the car, don't walk. Then I read later WHY you aren't supposed to overdo it physically afterward. And I'm glad I did.

This weekend I am going to limit my Internet readings about dental stuff to finding a new dentist. As for the oral surgeon who extracted my tooth, the jury is out on him. I suspect he is actually an excellent surgeon. But there is a pattern so far of his and his staff's communication methods not meeting my needs. So I have to think about this. But I do need a new dentist, and thanks to this site I am going to continue to believe that despite my track record, surely there is "the right guy" for me out there somewhere!

Thank you again for your support and letting me vent and whine. I appreciate it.
 
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