05/10/2010- Molar Extractions

I just wanted to write a little bit about my trip to the dentist. So I will in the future NEVER forget the pain that I am in right this moment.


The first week of May my back teeth started to bother me a little bit. When I brushed I noticed my back bottom teeth (more specifically #18 and #31) were really sensitive to the toothpaste I was using. Being the explorer I am, I took a gander back there. Noticed a small hole in #31 and a huge hole in #18 that wasn't bothering me as much as the first one. It was more an irritation then a pain. Told Eric but...(maybe my worst mistake) even though we have dental insurance I still wanted to wait. Because Eric (my husband) works for CCSD and stops working June 4th. So I know we need to save all the money we can for the couple of Months he's off for work. I decided to not worry about my tooth and just make sure I keep any food out of there and brush. A LOT more.


A few days later Sunni had a bowling Birthday party to go to on Nellis Airforce Base. So we ran some errands that day and since I didn't get the boys until later after the B-Day party. We decided to eat at In-n-Out. Now I haven't been there in quite sometime. And I was really kinda thrilled to be eating there. We got our food and sat down. Only 40min. Until we needed to be at the gate of NAFB for the party. Plenty of time.. I take my first bite.. Then go to take my second. As I do so Eric asks.."So, Hows that tooth?" Just then my tooth must have heard him. I got THE biggest SHOCK in my jaw and got teary eyed. Told Eric I couldn't eat anymore. He knew what happened.

It only felt like a few minutes passed but, it was time for us to head to the B-Day party. So we bagged up my food (hoping I could eat later when my tooth quit wigging out.) And went to the party.

The party was cute and Sunni was the only girl from school there. She had a ton of fun. I on the other hand could not stop thinking about that pain. What if it came back? What if it didn't stop? I HAVE to go to a dentist now..Dangit!!

We left the party. It was a hit. Sunni's friend loved his gift and i got a bite of a cupcake. So all was good..Or so I thought.

After that food problem.... It was all up-hill. I could hardly eat anything. I went to the dentist that next week. Bad news all around. Almost all the molars I had metal bands on for my braces. (which was back in my Junior and Senior year of high school) had almost all but rotted two of my molars. #31 and #18.. along with that I need a root canal on the #30, 19 and a molar on my upper right jaw.. UGHHH..


A little back story... When I had braces it was all my Mom. I had no choice in the matter of what the dentist was going to do to my teeth. I had two eye teeth pulled on numbing meds only. From the braces and that point on I hated the dentist. In 2005 after my back surgery I had a big problem with my wisdom teeth trying to come in. Luckily I only had 3 but one of the 3 was coming in sideways. Again, I thought I would be a big girl and only try a CD player and sedative pill just to calm my nerves. I heard EVERYTHING over the CD player... And the sedative didn't really work because of all the pain medication I was on after the back surgery. Yet another painful experience.

So, you can see my worry when the doc tells me I need two teeth pulled and 3 crowns cut off, the "pulp" scraped out, and a fake tooth put on top times three.. (To put it simply).


So I told the dentist I was nervous. I had to much done already to scare me to death. He had another dentist look at my back molars and told him to refer me to an Oral Surgeon. My biggest concern? What or how was I going to eat until I went to the Oral Surgeon?? This was Wednesday. I made the referral appt. with the Oral Surgeon for Friday. Hoping I would get it all done.. While also hoping I could be knocked out (General Anesthesia).

When into the very nice office of the Oral Surgeon to only find out the infection is so bad I do infact need General Anesthesia.. (Yay!) The bad news is.. I couldn't eat anything for 8 hours prior and wait until Monday to have it done.. (What??) So I went home.. Still taking the penicillin the prior dentist gave me... And having SHOOTING elecritic shocks in my jaw the WHOLE weekend. Crying, praying on my knees kinda pain.. Hoping it will all soon be over.. Hoping Monday would come quick.. It didn't. The weekend unlike anyother went by soooo slow. Sunni was bummed to see me in so much pain. Michael and Joey didn't understand it. And Eric being the rock that he is, just stroked me hair and told me to "calm down, it'll be over soon".


Finally Monday morning! I got up brushed what I could of my teeth and then with Eric driving headed to the OS in Summerlin. After paying the copay of the insurance (which to my surprise was only $94.00. Eric was lead to a waiting room and I was lead to the operating room. They gave me an i.v. and put a little mask thingy over my nose and I was out..

All good right?? Yeah RIGHT!

Mid-tooth pulling my body decides to WAKE ME UP! I felt it all. The sounds, the twisting the pulling the PAIN.. I start yelling.. "Ow, Ow, OWWW" the doctor tells the nurse, "I think she needs more" then as quick as that I am back out again. Only to wake with a mega ton of gause in my mouth, a sore jaw, major swelling and asking to move into a wheelchair..

Eric brought me home and I started crying.. "I felt it" I cried.. I explained what I remembered. He said the nurse told him. And it's due to the pain medication I am on for my back. It makes me "have a high tolorence" for any medication that puts you to sleep. So good for me.. Ugh.

Today is Friday.. So it's been 4 and a half days of jaw soreness, pain, and feeling like someone punched me on both sides of my face. I read online somewhere that it takes 2 weeks for the gum to heal and about a Month to 3 for the bone/jaw to heal. I am so over this pain. I ran out of my pain medication yesterday and it has made me hate everything.. I hate people eating good food that I can't...around me.. I hate laying there with my jaw throbbing.. I hate trying to fall asleep.. I hate it all. The only good thing that came out of this is that I got 95% of my laundry done, folded and put away. Only because I wanted to do something to take my mind off the pain I was in. I will feel like I got a lot more out of this once my gums and jaw heal. No more "shocking pain" that's good. But, now I am going to be super dooper scared to get the root canals done.. I fear the worst.. I always will..