Extraction

A couple of weeks ago, I had my teeth cleaned at the dental clinic at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College  in Green Bay. For $30, I got the cleaning by a second year student, a checkup by a dentist, and X-rays. The whole report was sent to my dentist, Dr. Kraft.  I knew it showed decay under the cap on one of my molars.  A week later, Dr. Kraft's office called and set up an appointment. 

I had two options, have work done and get a new cap for $900 or have the tooth extracted for $150.  The molar was at the very back of my mouth and wouldn't be noticeable if it were removed.  I decided on the extraction. 

I don't usually take any painkillers when I go to the dentist. I'd rather have ten minutes of pain instead of hours of a numbed mouth.  But an extraction of a tooth sounded like it could be painful and take a long time and as it turned out I was right. It seems I have very solid bone in my jaw. (Gary says he always knew I had a hard head.) Getting those roots out took 45 minutes which gave me lots of time to go into the dream state I reserve for dental work.  I took my mind back through years of extractions.  

In my childhood, it was my father who removed teeth using the string tied to a doorknob with the other end tied to the tooth. Slam the door and the job was done.  

In 1969, I had my impacted upper wisdom teeth removed in Los Angeles, California.  I got a pain killer that put me in a state of euphoria so fine that I decided I could take the bus to go to work afterwards. The painkiller wore off and I was in agony. My then husband had to pick me up in downtown L.A. and take me home. We stopped at my doctor's office for something to knock me out until the next day. 

In 1971, I was in Vermillion, South Dakota.  The president of the South Dakota Dental Association was doing a root canal removal using an interesting technique involved a rubber insert to keep the area free of saliva so he wouldn't need an assistant.  It didn't work well at all. I kept gagging. I've never seen the insert used since. Since he was in there, I wondered about having my lower impacted wisdom teeth removed, using the insurance I had as a university student. That's when I found out the insurance would only cover if four wisdom teeth were removed, and I only had two to give. The insurance company would not budge so the teeth are still in my gums to this day. There is a chance one of them will move into the spot vacated by the removal of that molar.  I could wind up with a new tooth at my advanced age! 

As it turned out, an adjacent cap was cracked during the extraction.  Three weeks from now, Dr. Kraft will replace it at no cost to me.  Everything worked out in the end. 

Tonight, I wait until just before bed to take ibuprofen to once kill the pain.  Until then, I remain in a dream state, putting my mind somewhere else.  

I told Dr. Kraft having the extraction would give me a post for this blog.  And so it is.