Last night while brushing my teeth before bed something happened. Don’t know what, but something. All I know is that all of sudden I had a LOT of pain on the right side of my mouth both on the top and bottom.
Now, I haven’t been to a dentist in about 3 years – possibly longer. I don’t remember the last time I saw the dentist in NJ but it quite possibly could have been 2004. I stopped going at some point because I felt they were forcing me to have procedures done that weren’t necessary – or were splitting them up into 4-5 appointments so I’d keep paying the $50 co-pay.
So let’s presume that I never did finish whatever work they were doing. Cut to mid-2008 and it results in OUCH last night as I brushed my teeth. The pain was so bad that it took me a long time to get to sleep. And then once I did fall asleep I was fine except Denis came in around midnight and woke me up and I felt the aching again. Took a while to fall asleep, but did – until CootieBoy came in around 1:15 a.m. and woke me up again. I did at some point take a couple Tylenols which I guess helped, but I’m not sure because I eventually passed out again.
This morning I have a steady throb going on the entire ride side of my mouth. I logged into our dental plan website and found a dentist that was accepting new patients. I called and was told they couldn’t even MAKE the appointment until I had four items of information – I only had three of them.
“Can’t I just give you that fourth piece when I come in for my appointment?” I asked.
“I’m sorry – I can’t even put you in the appointment system until I have all the information.”
At that point I broke into tears – a combination of lack of sleep and pain. I hung up and went back on the dental plan website to find that fourth piece of info. It took about 20 minutes, but I found it. Called them back a while ago and made my appointment for later this morning.
I just pray that they can take care of it immediately. I would be really mad if I show up and they just take x-rays and make a second appointment to have the work done. Because that won’t cut it. I need this taken care of TODAY.
And I’ve learned my lesson. No more going 3-4 years between appointments.
Oooo, ouch! I’ll be praying that they’ll get it taken care of this morning!
Be prepared for a root canal. If you don’t mind a local anesthetic, it hurts only in the wallet.
In the meantime, avoid hot drinks or heating pads. That just makes it worse.
Hang in there.
As predicted by Uncle Bill – I’ve been told I need an immediate root canal. My appointment has been made for this afternoon.
I can handle anesthetic – but the wallet part is tough because I can’t afford the root canal. Fortunately, it’s covered 100% by my dental plan. However, so was the appointment I had with the dentist this morning and I *still* somehow had to pay $73 out of pocket.