It's Like Pulling Teeth!

Now, I know where that saying comes from! Today's post is going to be about my visit yesterday to the Oral Surgeon to get a tooth pulled.

10:00am - Arrived at the Oral Surgeon's office early to fill out paperwork. I was so nervous, I messed every line up and without exaggeration, had to cross off and redo 90% of it.

10:30am - Went into my 10:20 appt. Not bad. By the time I finished messing up the paperwork, I only waited 5 mins or so. (That purple tooth above is the one pulled).

10:35am - A blood pressure sleeve was applied. I was notified that would stay on the entire procedure. That freaked me out some. Why again did the assistant say he liked to keep that on? What were they going to do in the middle of the procedure if it starting dropping fast? Hum, I don't want to think about that now.

10:40am - The surgeon came in. He was a very nice man. He told me what he was going to do and proceeded to give me Novocaine. He left for a few giving it time to work. When he came back and said he was going to test it. He poked some instrument in my mouth on one side of my tooth and asked me if I could feel pinching. I told him no. Then he poked the other side of that same tooth and asked if I could feel the pain. I didn't, but told him yes. Is that bad? Hey, what's a little more Novocaine going to hurt? He gave me more and left again.

His assistance was really sweet and kept talking to me. She knew how nervous I was. I am kind of a baby about this stuff. Okay, I am really a baby about this stuff. Where is my mother when I need her?! Oh yeah in Florida, STILL!

10:50am or so - He came back in. He stuck some rubber thing on the other side of my mouth that I was suppose to bite down on to offset the pressure as he janked my tooth out. He told me it might take awhile if the tooth kept chipping. He stuck an instrument in my mouth to push the gum away from the tooth and then grabbed some black thing that looked like pliers and told me that I would feel A LOT of pressure. You should have seen the way he gripped those "pliers" and started twisting my tooth out. It was like he was working a 4-inch nail out of a 2x4 that had been in there for years! Oh wait, that is exactly what it was like. I closed my eyes and waited for that pressure......

Not 5 seconds later he told me my tooth was out! It was so easy! I felt no pressure, no pain, nothing! I had myself so worked up by the time I got there, that you would have thought I was having a limb removed. It was easier than a 6-month cleaning.

It's 11:30 now and I have to get to work. Working from home today (remember, this is yesterday), so will keep posted on my progress. The way they were talking when I left, I should be in some pretty decent pain when this Novocaine wears off. They gave me some vicodin, but I don't plan to take that if I don't have to.

11:40am - I am starving now. My advice to you if you have teeth pulled. Eat a big meal first. The banana I had at 8am is just not cutting it anymore.

2:30, 4:30 - No pain still. Thank God for Novocaine!

6:00 - Sat in three Spring sports meetings at school for the kids. The pain is raging now and I am still swallowing blood.

8:00 - Stopped at McDonald's, picked up a milkshake and went home to bed.

Next day - 6am. Pain is mostly gone. Just a dull throbbing pain in the hole that you can fit a nickle in. I know this is going to annoy me the entire day, but at least it will remind me to eat on the opposite side. Boy, am I hungry!

Overall, not a bad experience. I am not sure how I am suppose to handle this huge space where the tooth is now missing for 3 months! That, I am told is when I will be able to get a post and crown. That ought to be exciting. Maybe I just won't smile......NOT!