My tooth has been bothering me for awhile.This weekend it worsened. I knew I would have to address it at the dental ER today. I have been living on pain killers, not a great option. Filled with angst, I head to the dental clinic. I have not been in awhile, mostly because the dentists keep telling me to get root canals and caps, to the tune of $4000 per tooth. At that rate, I would have to come up with about $20 grand and I just can't justify that amount of money for my mouth. I have repeatedly suggested dentures, but that brings a tidal wave of objections. I will not be happy with dentures. I should hold on to my own teeth as long as possible. I have no idea what a can of worms that will open (I keep thinking of all the people I know who have had dentures for years and seem to be OK with them). Unless of course I am open to the idea of implants - which would cost even more than the root canals and caps. Its all a racket as far as I am concerned. And in my passive aggressive way of dealing with these disagreements, I have done nothing, for which I am now paying.
I am ready for an argument. What I discover is a whole new ER. No all day waiting. No mixing in with the regular patients. I am checked in and being examined in less than a half hour. Amazing. The technician takes an x-ray. Then the dentist enters. She asks me right away about my radiation treatments. I describe what I have been through. She tells me that she knew it had been extensive because the damage is very apparent on my x-ray. I ask her to tell me more. She explains that now there is pre-treatment for all cancer patients undergoing radiation. What I have been through has made my jaw bone shrink, the vessels supplying blood to my teeth to narrow. If I go ahead with root canals, the only thing still supplying my teeth with life, the nerves, would be taken away as well. For me, she suggests that when I reach the root canal point, I ought to have the tooth pulled. There is nothing they can do to halt the damage, which will continue to progress.
I ask if I should get dentures. She says she is not here to do an assessment, but to address the emergency. I should make an appointment and get a plan. It might not be an all or nothing proposition. I am both relieved and depressed. Relieved to know I have not been all that off in my assessment. Depressed to know that the damage will be ongoing, and frightened a bit to think that if my jaw bone is shrinking, other bones are being affected. Don't even want to think what that might mean. It is challenging to listen to oncologists tell me how wonderful I am doing, all the while underneath the surface there is destruction happening.
Today, I will just deal with the bad tooth. The dentist suspects the cap will come off before the roots come out, and she is correct. Still, she is competent and gets the whole thing out fairly quickly. No stitches though. Just go home and ice it. Take an Advil if it bothers me. Sigh. Baby steps. But steps nonetheless.
I am ready for an argument. What I discover is a whole new ER. No all day waiting. No mixing in with the regular patients. I am checked in and being examined in less than a half hour. Amazing. The technician takes an x-ray. Then the dentist enters. She asks me right away about my radiation treatments. I describe what I have been through. She tells me that she knew it had been extensive because the damage is very apparent on my x-ray. I ask her to tell me more. She explains that now there is pre-treatment for all cancer patients undergoing radiation. What I have been through has made my jaw bone shrink, the vessels supplying blood to my teeth to narrow. If I go ahead with root canals, the only thing still supplying my teeth with life, the nerves, would be taken away as well. For me, she suggests that when I reach the root canal point, I ought to have the tooth pulled. There is nothing they can do to halt the damage, which will continue to progress.
I ask if I should get dentures. She says she is not here to do an assessment, but to address the emergency. I should make an appointment and get a plan. It might not be an all or nothing proposition. I am both relieved and depressed. Relieved to know I have not been all that off in my assessment. Depressed to know that the damage will be ongoing, and frightened a bit to think that if my jaw bone is shrinking, other bones are being affected. Don't even want to think what that might mean. It is challenging to listen to oncologists tell me how wonderful I am doing, all the while underneath the surface there is destruction happening.
Today, I will just deal with the bad tooth. The dentist suspects the cap will come off before the roots come out, and she is correct. Still, she is competent and gets the whole thing out fairly quickly. No stitches though. Just go home and ice it. Take an Advil if it bothers me. Sigh. Baby steps. But steps nonetheless.
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