Ouch!

July 6th, 2007

Today is my first appointment in Kansas City to start pulling my teeth. I got up at 3:45 to get ready, leaving my house at 5:45 am to pick mom up. We jumped on I35 for the three hour trek to K.C.

About a half hour before reaching the hospital, I was so nervous, I felt nauseated. My general doctor prescribes Xanax to help me deal with the stress of my mouth, help me relax, and for coping the recent loss of my grandpa. The first family member that has passed my entire life.

So I decided to take a Xanax to help calm my nerves. Only .5 mg, so thought it couldn't hurt or interfere with my driving.

We arrive for appointment, register as usual, then wait to be called. They finally call me back to a dental room. Yet, another doctor, comes in to see me. Each time I've been there, it's been a different doctor. That unsettles me, as I feel like they don't know me or what's going on. We inquired why the doctor we had spoke to last week wasn't here to pull my teeth. He says it's not uncommon to have a different person each time you come in.

My nerves kicked into high gear. I was rocking back and forth in the chair. I was in pain and ready for the teeth to come out. Although the anticipation of the numbing shots, were making me shake.

We wait, wait, and wait. We see the finance lady pass by in the hallway. Mom stepped out to grab her and ask why she had never called with the list of costs. The lady admits that she forgot to even work it up. She would go work on it right then.

So we wait and wait again. Mom goes out to see if there is a problem holding us up. The lady tells her she's checking with my insurance company. Huh? She already told us insurance would not cover anything because it's out of network and would probably be considered a pre-existing condition.

Now the lady says, payment for all services must be paid up front. What??? No one told us that! Why are we here? We don't have $8,000 on us! Mom argues with the lady, reminding her that she had said we needed a very close cost total so Dad would know how much he needed to apply for, yet she had never called with the amount. Mom says, "Do you have a 401k? Do you think if you borrow against it, they give you a check on the spot that day? NO they don't! It takes at least two weeks for the process. So how did you expect us to have that kind of money in less than week?"

By this time, several staff are gathered around listening. The lady insists she told us payment was due before services began. Absolutely not true. I was hysterically sobbing. I thought to myself, here we go again. Drove all this way for nothing. Something is about to happen and once again, I will be searching for another doctor.

The lady leaves and comes back shortly. She says, "Ok here's what I found out. Your insurance will cover some of the costs, but not all. You will need to pay at least $130 today in order to pull those 5 teeth."

I had about $200 in my purse that I had not had time to deposit into the bank for bills yet. So I grab all the money from my purse and lay it on their desk....."here take it, that's all I have."

She tells me I have to come to her office to pay. I grab the money and follow her. She runs down a list of costs, which wasn't sinking in with me. I was still crying and upset. All I know is she needed $130 right now to continue my appointment that day.

I pay and go back to the dental room. The lead doctor of the floor comes in to ask what's happening. I was still crying so hard I couldn't speak. Mom tries to fill him in, but the doctor that was going to pull my teeth came in and said he was ready to start.

Mom and my daughter had to leave the room and wait in the lobby. My daughter gave me her MP3 player to help take my mind off the procedure. I asked the doctor if I could listen to it, and he said sure.

They hooked me up to the laughing gas and start to feel more relaxed. He asks who is on the radio right now. I don't recognize the artist. Then he puts the cotton swab of numbing gel inside my mouth and cheek. By, now I'm telling him the artist and song title. Feeling pretty good.

Now comes the shot. There is a long nerve that runs the length of your jaw bone, so he sticks the needle in my mouth and gives a good shot in the corner of my right jaw, right into the nerve. Oooooh, that smarts!!! A couple more shots in the gums. Uggghhh. Please be done, please be done.

A few minutes later, he begins to dig and pull. I feel pressure, but not pain. I'm focused on the music playing in my left ear. I sort of hum the song with my throat.

Four teeth and stumps are out. Just one more tooth to go, the one that's front center. He starts to pull on it, but I feel something. I quickly say "Uhhhh!" He says, "Is is pressure or pain?" I say, try it again, not sure. He pulls slightly, but that's not pressure. That is definitely pain. I can feel the roots pulling. He gives me two more shots directly around the tooth, then tries again. "Uggghhh! I can feel that!"

He leaves the room and grabs another doctor. That doctor tells him to give me another shot, but instead of straight into the gums below the tooth, to come in from the side of the gum. Wait a minute, then tries a slight tug again. "Can you feel pressure or pain?" I say, "Its pain, I can feel it all." The second doctor takes over. He gives me two more small shots, explaining this is why dentists put you on antibiotics before they pull an abscess tooth, because the infection prevents the Novocaine from working.

After waiting for those last two shots to take affect, he starts to pull on the tooth. "Owww! I can feel that!" He starts telling me something and in mid sentence, he does one quick yank! "OUUCHH!!!" He apologizes, but it's out. They had no choice but to just pull it fast, the Novocaine wasn't working. I had a total of 9 shots, plus two the last doctor gave me.

He puts stitches in my mouth to hold my gums together. This will help them heal quicker and smoother. They will dissolve on their own, but for now, they are still there.

I was hurting pretty good the rest of the day. Saturday morning I woke up, expecting to be very swollen. I actually looked pretty good. Not much swelling at all. I can barely open my mouth, as its very tender. Yawning or coughing makes it feel as though my stitches will bust apart.

Eating has been minimal. Friday night I had a shake. Saturday I had a small bowl of oatmeal. Sunday I attempted to eat some potato salad, but had to pick out all the potatoes. Monday's cuisine consisted of half a can of Spaghetti O's. Ick.

My next appointment is this Friday, when they will pull the remaining 4 teeth on the bottom.

On my way out the door from my appointment, they gave me a break down of the costs. I will list them in a new posting. For now, I will close this entry. My next entry will show photos of my anxiety riddled day, and photos of my jaw now. I'm also going to post a new photo of my roof.

Stay tuned for Part 1 of my photo journal.