Aghhh...The Dentist

I went in for my routine every three months deep cleaning at the dentist yesterday afternoon. I have whatever the heck the gum disease is called where your teeth eventually will fall out because your gums aren't holding them in anymore so I have to have the cleaning done four times a year in the hopes that they won't fall out for a few more years at least. I had gum surgery a couple of years ago to replace some of the bone and clean all the crap out that the deep cleaning couldn't get and it was really really expensive and the insurance only paid a little bit of it so I'm constantly going to the dentist because I can't afford more gum surgery. I absolutely HATE going to the dentist and as soon as I get in that chair my body goes entirely rigid and I'm sure my blood pressure shoots up to dangerous levels. They use that high powered water jet thing first and then scrape scrape scrape and dig dig dig and my fingers are tightly clenched onto the armrests the entire time.

This is not because I don't brush my teeth, I'm always brushing (like five times a day) and flossing (twice a day) and he did say that my hygeine looked good, some people just get gum disease.

Anyway, it turns out that I need a crown put on one of my molars that the filling has broken on and there's not enough real tooth left to refill, so crap, I am not looking forward to that experience at all! The dentist office has to check with the insurance to see what they will pay on it first and then we'll schedule the torture appointment. Ugh.

While I was there I had them check on when Keith was due for a checkup and somehow he has managed to slip by for over a year with nobody at the dentist sending a little reminder card or anything, so he gets to go in for his scraping and digging, but not until April because they had no late day appointments until then. He had a crown put in last time he went so I'm hoping he doesn't need another one or any other major thing right now.

At least I don't have any cavities, ha ha.

And, in other news, my new etsy shop has gotten off to a pretty good start. It's only been open for 2 weeks and I have 8 sales, which to me is excellent for a new shop. I'm just hoping it keeps up!

The Marquis de Sade School of Dentistry

Yup, I'm positive that the dentist I went to today graduated with honors from that particular school. I really think she totally enjoyed watching me wince at each jab and scrape.
I have to go in every three months for a periodontal cleaning since I am having periodontal issues. The last time I went in I had my teeth cleaned by the hygienist and it was relatively pain free.
Not this time.
The hygienist is out on some kind of medical leave-stress related maybe?-so the regular dentist had to clean my teeth. I had never seen this woman before, the dental office we go to seems to change dentists about as often as I change my underwear, and I don't think she was too happy at having to do hygienist work today. She used that supersonic water jet thing and when you have sensitive teeth and gums anyway, that is like having little tiny needles jabbed into your gums. And then after she was done with that, she scraped the heck out of some of my teeth, jabbed my gums some more, and then told me to come back in three months for some more torture. Can't wait.
Remember the Dustin Hoffman movie 'Marathon Man', where he is being tortured by having holes drilled in his teeth while being asked 'is it safe'? That was me today, I kept wanting to yell out 'it's safe, it's safe!'

Tomorrow Bear goes to the vet to get her teeth cleaned. They use general anesthesia. So, next time I think I will just go to the vet to get my teeth cleaned. It sounds much more humane.

So Sad and Be Sure To Floss!

It was so sad yesterday. I went outside in the early afternoon and noticed a big grey tabby cat doing what I thought was sunning in my neighbor's front yard. I said 'hi, kitty' and went on about my business. A few hours later Keith and I were getting ready to go out to eat, it being payday and me being chronically too lazy to cook. The little girl next door was out front with her friend getting real close to this cat. She was saying that there was something wrong with his paw, and sure enough as we got close to the cat he was kind of limping and crawling along. He looked up at our fence like he was going to jump up and make a run for it and then laid back down. We told the girls that there was something wrong with the cat and not to touch it. Keith called animal control and after a lengthy conversation with having to give them the neighbor's name and phone number since we weren't going to be home, they said they would come out as soon as possible. We went to dinner and got back home and checked with the neighbor, and animal control had come and taken the cat away. We think it may have been hit by a car or something and just crawled up onto the lawn. I was glad we weren't home to see the cat being taken away to be put down since we both have such big soft spots for kitties.

Now, on a different note, everyone, be sure to floss your teeth! I am a very lazy flosser but I do brush after every meal. At my last dental visit, no cavities, but 'deep pockets' in my gums, so was advised to see a periodontist. Well, I had my appointment yesterday and now will be having gum surgery to clean out those deep pockets in my gums and also have synthetic bone replacement inserted to replace lost bone. The periodontist explained it really well what happens and why the surgery is necessary, so I'm okay with that. What I'm not so okay with is that even with dental insurance it will cost over $3000.00. Eeeek!

So, this holiday season will be a very lean one, we are going to limit gifts to 25.00 each and that's it. Like my husband says, my gift will be my dental bill getting paid.