|
Post by bjd on Jan 4, 2016 8:40:52 GMT
Well, I'm back. I got there at 8:30 and the first appointment was at 9:30 so the dentist took me right away. Fixed the filling, cleaned my teeth and talked for half an hour! I didn't have to pay anything, but it's true that our health payments increased this year. (The payment goes through automatically since it's a service run by the social security system, "dentiste mutualiste".)
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2016 8:58:34 GMT
Lucky you. Since I go to the university dental school at the Hôpital Rothschild, I never pay anything (except for my implant), and they have a no waiting system for any dental "emergency." The only inconvenience is that it's on the other side of town from me, but that certainly isn't worth complaining about. I was much more uncomfortable when it was right behind Saint Sulpice and I had to go to Saint Germain des Prés to get there.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Jan 4, 2016 9:59:25 GMT
Well, I do pay, just don't have to fork over the money at the time. The university dental school is very close to where I live but so far I haven't had anything major done. Although the dentist warned me that there was not much tooth left there to keep patching up.
The dentist actually explained that there is no such thing as a "dental emergency". As an example, she said that if there is an infection that spreads from an abcess and goes into the rest of the body, it's treated at a hospital emergency room as septicemia or whatever. The "dental" part of it is treated later at a dentist's office. She said a toothache is not an emergency, no matter what patients think. Also told me that if you lose a filling and feel pain from hot or cold food, to stick a little piece of cotton wool into the hole until you get it treated.
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on Jan 4, 2016 15:02:23 GMT
American dentists keep a couple slots in their schedule free for dental emergencies. If you want a cleaning/checkup, you'll wait weeks.
|
|
|
Post by chexbres on Jan 5, 2016 22:22:58 GMT
If you can find some oil of clove at the pharmacy, put that on the cotton and wipe your gums with it and you won't feel any pain at all. Works a lot better than any toothache drops, and is the main ingredient, anyhow. If you can't find oil of clove, just chewing on a whole clove works pretty well in an emergency.
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on Jan 5, 2016 22:48:38 GMT
It keeps getting ridiculouser and ridiculouser: beyond the $4500-5000 I will have to pay the oral surgeon to remove the broken molar and prepare the jaw for the implant, the actual "tooth" that gets attached to the implant is made by my regular dentist and will cost $2150!
I am seriously considering just having the tooth pulled and NOT filling the space up. Has anyone else gone this route?
A retainer can be made for $89 to wear at night to keep my teeth from migrating, so my pretty smile won't be impacted. ;-)
|
|
|
Post by htmb on Jan 5, 2016 22:51:57 GMT
I have issues with my sinuses. I was missing a permanent upper molar so, once my "baby" tooth fell out at 40, I had it replaced with a permanent bridge. It's has its problems, and I would have gotten an implant if I could have tolerated it. I have three on the bottom where the other baby teeth had been.
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on Jan 5, 2016 23:09:10 GMT
A bridge will cost me $3440, and will require crowning the teeth on both sides of the gap. I'd rather spring for the implant.
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on Jan 7, 2016 5:49:15 GMT
Oral surgery at 7:30 AM tomorrow. Extraction, sinus "lift" and bone graft using cadaver bone mixed with my own platelets. 1 1/2 hours, if all goes well. Yippee.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2016 6:17:33 GMT
Yuck. With all that stuff behind me for the moment, I shudder at the thought. My extraction lasted two hours because the tooth absolutely refused to go. They had to shoot me up at least six or seven times when I could start feeling what they were doing. Way too much blood, too.
I shouldn't write such things just before you go to the dentist.
|
|
|
Post by htmb on Jan 7, 2016 11:43:01 GMT
Your extraction was difficult because you're so hardheaded, Kerouac.
Kimby, you'll be fine, and I'm sure you'll be happy when it's all over. Best wishes!
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on Jan 7, 2016 13:05:50 GMT
The surgeon says he likes to "section" the tooth, and take it out in pieces, to lessen the damage to the jaw and adjacent teeth. Hoping it goes a bit better than your nightmare, K2.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2016 13:15:20 GMT
Well, actually, they had to take the tooth out piece by piece and sometimes it seemed that they were using a hammer and chisel (since there were two people working on me, even though one of them was there mostly to suck up the blood and small fragments with the tube).
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on Jan 7, 2016 13:18:36 GMT
Now I feel nauseous....
|
|
|
Post by mickthecactus on Jan 7, 2016 13:27:28 GMT
I have to have 3 crowns on back teeth. My back teeth are not in good shape......
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2016 14:59:16 GMT
Although I now have three crowns, my dentist told me that my real teeth are in superb shape "for a person your age." No cavities or other problems.
|
|
|
Post by htmb on Jan 7, 2016 21:49:06 GMT
Teeth can be a real annoyance and certainly a major expense for some of us.
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on Jan 7, 2016 22:04:13 GMT
Now I really feel nauseated. Swallowing too much blood?
|
|
|
Post by htmb on Jan 7, 2016 23:09:37 GMT
That and whatever meds they gave you. Feel better soon.
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on Jan 7, 2016 23:37:23 GMT
The nausea passed, fortunately. Throwing up could undo my stitches. I'm not allowed to sneeze or blow my nose for two weeks. No hot food, crunchy food, large chunks of food...ice cream, it is!
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on Jan 11, 2016 3:34:59 GMT
Day 3 was hump day. Swelling is going down now and I'm not even taking ibuprofen anymore. Tomorrow (day 5) we're going skiing. Follow-up appt with oral surgeon on day 14 to make sure the graft "took" and in 4 months or so, I'll return to get the implant screwed into my jaw. Then 4 months after that, my regular dentist will make me a new tooth. All for only $7000!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2016 11:46:53 GMT
Your extraction is much worse than mine was. I was just told "avoid using that side of your mouth for the next couple of days" and I had no swelling and absolutely no pain even the first day, even though I was given a prescription for pain killers. I must be weird.
I have already forgotten the length of the waiting periods here, but they were not four months. More like three.
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on Jan 12, 2016 19:53:18 GMT
Because it was an upper 3-rooted tooth, it wasn't a simple extraction. The roots of upper teeth come close to penetrating the sinuses, so they do a bone graft and sinus "lift" to strengthen/thicken the bone available for planting the new tooth. To do the bone graft, they cut a flap in the gum tissue on the cheek side, cut a hole in the bone, lift the sinus membrane away from the sinus floor and pump in cadaver bone mixed with your own spun-down platelets. Then a piece of woven material is sewn in over the tooth socket to keep the bone graft in place and to form a structure for gum tissue to grow on, and the flap of gum tissue on the side of the jaw is stitched down. When they're done, you KNOW you've had surgery. However, I didn't need any pain med stronger than Advil, and I'm mostly back to normal today, except for a gaping hole where my tooth used to be, of course.
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on Jan 22, 2016 0:31:45 GMT
Passed my 2-week checkup with flying colors. Apparently I'm a "good healer". I was fearful that maybe the graft had failed as I spit out one of my stitches a couple days ago, so it was relief to hear all is well. Next checkup in 3 weeks to X-ray and see if the graft is taking.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2016 5:33:51 GMT
Does your tongue continually explore the void? Mine did.
|
|
|
Post by Kimby on Jan 22, 2016 5:41:15 GMT
Not so much, at first because it was bristling with stitches, but later because I feel like a gap-toothed hillbilly when I do that.
|
|
|
Post by htmb on Mar 8, 2016 20:17:56 GMT
It's time for my dental check up. I'm dreading it, for no reason other than I absolutely hate going to the dentist.
|
|
|
Post by rikita on Mar 10, 2016 14:41:49 GMT
i have a slight tooth ache for a while now, usually a couple of hours per day (it comes and goes). dentist says it might be that the nerve is irritated from when he replaced a filling while ago, he told me to put that elmex stuff on there to see if that helps, and on recommendation of someone else i am also trying clove oil - but he said if that won't help then the most likely thing is that i need a root canal. don't really feel like having a root canal ...
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2016 16:45:29 GMT
|
|
|
Post by mossie on Mar 12, 2016 20:45:01 GMT
Here you go
|
|