deviating from the program

[cellio]

My dentists' office has the slogan "we cater to cowards". While I do not consider myself particularly cowardly, I won't object to gentle handling and I do squick easily, so I count this as a bonus. And thus far the dentists there have lived up to that slogan.

When I was there two weeks ago for a checkup the dentist noted a loose filling, so I went back today to have it replaced. ("You don't want novacaine, right?" "I don't want it; will I regret not having it?" "You should be fine." I was.)

During the checkup the dentist had also noticed that one of my teeth was a little darker than the others. (She says; I hadn't noticed anything.) My teeth are stained in various ways (due to things that happened in childhood), so I shrugged. But she said she wanted to have the oral surgeon look at it today just in case. (He wasn't there last time.)

Aside: I have very thick, very strong mouth bones for a woman. Figures; I got almost all of my other genetic factors from my father, and I have big bones in general. Anyway, I'm told this is good.

So anyway, the oral surgeon poked around and then applied cold to that tooth and the surrounding ones. Sure enough, this one isn't sensitive to cold. The following conversation then ensued:

OS: It's dead.
Me: Mmmrf? (mouth still full of implements)
Dentist: Don't worry; it's not infected or anything.
OS to dentist: Are you going to do the root canal?
Me: Mmwrff!!
Dentist to OS: We're going to discuss it.

The dentists know how to cater to cowards, but the oral surgeon needs to get with the program.

According to the dentist, there is no harm in ignoring it. If it becomes a problem later, the process of dealing with it will not be any worse (or any more painful) than it would be now. So, I said, this is a no-brainer, right? She agreed.

I asked how a tooth can become "dead" (that is, dead nerve inside). She said trauma. I cannot think of any trauma that has occurred to my mouth during adulthood. The only possibility I can imagine -- a car accident from which I do not remember the half-minute or so after impact -- did not involve any head injuries. And I've seen dentists since then anyway. X-rays show nothing special, and she had already put me on a small round of antibiotics against the possibility of infection last time (when she thought she saw some swelling), so that's ruled out. It's a mystery.

There is one bright spot, though. I said to her: "So if I understand correctly, what makes a root canal excrutiatingly painful is interacting with that nerve, right? The nerve that's dead in this tooth?" She confirmed my suspicion. So if I ever do need to have this done, it should be less traumatic than normal. But I'm trying an avoidance strategy anyway. :-)

Comments

[hobbitblue.livejournal.com]

One of my mum's teeth did that, the nerve died.. it didn't cause her any trouble but it was one of her front teeth and gradually turned a deep icky yellow colour after a while so needed dealt with for cosmetic reasons at least.

[cellio]

Nothing a good paint can't handle, right? :-)

[kayre]

Even something as simple as sneezing hard enough to clack your teeth together, or missing a step and simlarly snapping your jaws together as you land, can do nerve damage. I've never "killed" a nerve, but twice I've bruised a nerve badly enough to tingle for days, doing the sneezing bit. So the fact that you can't remember the trauma isn't necessarily surprising.

And I agree, a dentist who really understands is a great blessing.

[siderea]

I just had a root canal (Oct.). It is truly no big deal, pain-wise. Check out my LJ, some of my very first posts. EAT FIRST, because chewing when half your face is out on local anaethesia -- heck, even just managing a straw -- is pretty challenging. It took me 6 to 7 hrs to get control of my jaw back, so it's a good thing I ate first.

However, note that there is a spectacular hidden cost: you will probably need a crown after a root canal, and I'm told those can be both very expensive and not always covered by insurance.

[cellio]

Thanks for the information. A sneeze? I had no idea the suckers were so fragile. :-) Ok, it's probably something like that, then.

[cellio]

I remember your entries on the subject, though now that you mention it, it seemed as if you were done in by the anesthesia more than by the procedure itself.

[mrpeck.livejournal.com]

How odd. At least it doesn't hurt or anything.

[ladydragonfly.livejournal.com]

my dentist just froze me up good;) I have had..ummm 5 or 6 now. And am in the process of getting a crow. My root canal with this DR was a 2 session thing..other Dentists it has been a one shot deal. Yes tooth can be britle afterwards as there is no blood supply to the tooth.

good luck
(I would have had them pulled like my parents who gave me soft teeth, if it wasn't for husbands dental plan)

[cellio]

Nope, no pain at all. I wouldn't have known anything funky was going on if the dentist hadn't said something.

I wonder how long it's been like this. I forgot to ask her if she could offer any hints about that. Either it happened since my last dental appointment or my new dentist is more perceptive than my previous one.

[cellio]

A 2-session root canal? That sounds inconvenient. Did they run into some complication that forced this, or did you know up front that it would be two sessions?

(I'm reminded of the discussion we had when my wisdom teeth -- all four -- had to come out. The oral surgeon said we could do this in one session or two (one side then the other). I said I'd rather go through the pain and inconvenience once, thank you, not twice. I never did learn the alleged benefit of doing it in two rounds.)

[ladydragonfly.livejournal.com]

according the dentist who did this one(new dentist) that certain teeth can take two trips..of course he forgot to mention that until I surfaced dazed from the chair. My old dentist would freeze me up so that I had freezing for almost 24 hours, never any pain , this new one is a little stingy with the freezing..of course I am not complaining as our insurance is only paying for a metal crown..porcelin is considered cometic?? so he is doing a porcelin one for the same price.

my old dentist also catered to cowards..I might try a dentist in a nearby town that advertises having laser..that might be neat..and less painful.

What dentist?

[moose]

Which dentist do you use?

I'm completely and utterly terrified of dentists, and my teeth are literally rotting away in my head. I really need to see one soon to save the last few, if possible... but as I said, I'd rather go lick a running chainsaw.

Re: What dentist?

[cellio]

Katsur Dental & Orthodontics. They seem to have a bunch of locations; I go to the one on the south side (next to the Wharton St. Giant Eagle, a couple blocks from the Birmingham bridge). The specific dentist I see is Dr. Catherine Ghaffari.

This location appears to be the one closest to CMU (the only one in the city proper); the phone number is 381-0100. (I forget where you live so can't comment on proximity to home.)

No licking of running chainsaws, ok?

Re: root canals

[cellio]

Hi and welcome to my journal.

Thanks for the information! I have ok dental coverage, so with the ability to delay some aspects of this to get favorable financial treatment, I'm not worried.

Knowing that the trauma and the apparent effects can be separated by decades certainly opens up possibilities. I mean, I had a normal childhood with its bumps and bruises and snowballs in the face. :-)