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A New Day

R

Raz95

Junior member
Joined
Mar 12, 2019
Messages
9
Location
United States
Figured I should go ahead and start a journal. Look at my first post here.

https://www.dentalfearcentral.org/forum/threads/first-post.26262/#post-194836

Just got done with my exam. Good news is it's not as bad as I anticipated. I knew I needed work done and expected as much. In total I need all wisdom teeth extracted (2 impacted soft tissue) + 1 molar extraction, 4 crowns, 1 root canal, and multiple fillings. Going to get this done over 9 different visits. Getting wisdom teeth and molar done first since it's causing me the most pain. Scheduled for April 1st under IV sedation

Everyone at this office was just great. Not once did they comment on how bad my teeth were or criticized me, they just told me what I needed to have done and went from there. They made a good first impression, so I think I'm going to stick with this dentist even though I could probably get this done cheaper elsewhere. Insurance covered my exam today and is covering the extractions and 1 crown + sedation. I'm on the hook for the rest. Good news is I was told my annual medicaid benefit renews in July so I might have more covered later, I'll see what happens. Total cost after insurance is $2,850. (Medicaid benefit in July may cover another $1,000, I'll see what happens). One thing I'm glad about is my parents continue to put a roof over my head after college, otherwise I'd really be SOL.
 
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Just got finished with my extractions. The IV sedation was very nice, not really what I expected. I would kind of describe it as being half asleep. I remember some cracking and the dentist saying "Just a little pressure, you're doing great." It was a pretty short procedure anyways, about half an hour from when the IV got started to when I got out of the chair. Going to follow-up next week to get stitches out and then discuss my first crown. Again everyone was very nice and professional, felt like I was in good hands. A little anxious sitting down and looking at all the tools and IV bag, but felt much better once the Demerol started kicking in.

Lidocain has weared off completly now, and I feel very swollen, which I am told is going to get worse over the next couple of days. Pain isn't' too bad right now thanks to the Percocet prescription. I bled for a couple 2-3 hours afterwards. I'm really glad I'm finally getting my dental health taken care of.

I have a 8 more procedures left, but I feel really confident. I think I'll finally like my smile again for the first time in almost 5 years after I get my crowns in.
 
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Just got back from having a root canal with crown buildup on upper right bicuspid. Total procedure time was about 90 minutes. Pain wise the hardest part was the local injections (Lidocain), I hate those heavy gauge needles. The mild discomfort from everything else I can put up with.

I can feel where they bore down the tooth for the crown prep. Now they said they have to get pre-approval from insurance for the crown and it will take anywhere from 1-3 weeks (I used most of my annual benefit on wisdom teeth extractions so maybe I should've just offered to pay for it out of pocket). I'm already pretty self-conscience about my smile and I don't like having the worn down enamel waiting for a crown to be put on. I guess I've waited this long though so what's a few more weeks.

Dentist said the procedures went great, and that I would have hot and cold sensitivity for a few days and mild pain, and they would give me antibiotics prescription if there was any swelling but that there usually isn't. I still have some percocet from my wisdom teeth extractions so the pain shouldn't be a problem.
 
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Hi,

Glad to read it is going well. The injection should not be painful if the dentist injects slowly and gently. Unfortunetly some dentist do it fast even for good intentions (shorten the anxiety) but it is by far recommended to invest time in slow injection.
I talk about it in my video about fear of pain.

I have a question for you Raz: what motivated you to take care of your teeth? Was it for a specific reason or trigger?
 
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