Mars Life

9.13.2005

Teeth removal - Recommended!

So, here I sit, about 4 molars lighter than last wednesday. I don't think I've mentioned it here, but I had my wisdom teeth taken out on Thursday. I feel no less wiser, in case any wisdom teeth extraction virgins out there are wondering/worrying. I was a bit nervous going into it, as I opted against the intravenous anesthesia, and listened to all the crunching glory as nitrous oxide continuously froze my brain. Nevertheless, it turns out I'm a lot less queasy when the medical professional is performing surgery on me, as opposed to when I'm watching it on television, where squeamishness prevails.

So, it turned out the whole procedure wasn't that bad, as long as you don't mind being utterly submissive to a dentist for an hour to an hour and a half. Of course, this is coming from someone whose wisdom teeth weren't impacted, and were merely decaying away due to the inherent difficulty in cleaning them. The crunching sounds were therefore minimal, and the weirdest ones were the small sounds. There are little sounds, like the first yielding of a tree branch, or the first crack in a dam, that are small to the ear, but signify big progress down the line. These sounds I would think were inaudible outside my mouth, but extremely audible inside my head. And weird.

Luckily, Dr Coleman Spector is funny, and enjoys throwing his schtick around. This is why I say it was so entertaining, though I don't know how much of that was the NO2 talking. However, the worst part is when you want to join in the fun, but then realize there's three people and a buttload of novacaine in your mouth. For instance, they wanted to try to guess my middle name as a little game (after I somehow garbled a little clue with the initial F), and the two helpers had a couple of wrong tries before Coleman correctly guessed Francis. I kept wanting to say "but you've seen my charts! You already know!" Not one to let something like that die, after the operation was over, I tried to ask if he'd surmised my name from my charts, and he said no. So, he's an honest dentist too! Honest to the point that he tells you how he's in it for the money. Over and over again. He'd like you to pick the IV anesthesia, by the way. It costs more. Of course it can kill you and you get an anesthesia hangover, too, so there's that.

Anywho, I'd like to tell you all so much more, but alas, BCBS is a callin.

More to come.

4 Comments:

  • you know...i hate the dentist. i don't care how funny they are or how much NO2 they pump into my system. I just hate them. And this is exacerbated by the fact that i HAVE to get my wisedom teeth out, for the same reason you did Marsden Francis. If I have the dough I am all about going all the way under and hope against hope that the painkillers they send me home with kill the anesthesia hangover along with everything else.
    sigh.

    By Blogger Vegas, at 9/13/2005 3:06 PM  

  • so you're getting them removed because you can't clean them? That's not really a "HAVE" to, that's more of a "better do it now while I have dental insurance."

    Looking at it that way, applaud yourself, you're making a conscious choice to improve your health!

    Huzzah!

    By Blogger mars, at 9/13/2005 3:09 PM  

  • From over here in the Impacted Tooth World...three words:

    Liquid Valium IV

    I giggled with glee as he wrested that awful tooth from my mouth.

    Oral Surgeon: I'm afraid I have to apply the drill again, Megan.

    Me: TEE HEE HEE HEE

    It's worth the extra c-note.

    By Blogger Mego, at 9/13/2005 11:48 PM  

  • My wisdom teeth were removed for the same reason, "might as well"

    Same for my tonsils. They were in there to take my adenoids out, and said "might as well take out the tonsils while we're in there"

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9/15/2005 7:45 AM  

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