Saturday, November 07, 2009

A Year in the Dentists' Office

Two weeks before I left Fairbanks, tooth #29 caved-in when I bit a tortilla chip. The pain was excruciating but there was nothing the dentist could do since I was moving. So he handed me my x-ray & told me good luck. Bless Oralgel or I wouldn't of made the drive with the pain. It took till Florida to get it taken care of it. They did a root canal to kill the pain but they couldn't put in an implant because once again I was moving. Finally my sister got me in contact with the Community College of Denver School of Dental Hygiene. I could get my teeth clean & analysis for $25. I thought what a deal!....Only if you're a masocist.

It took three trips to get my teeth cleaning. First trip I drove down from Estes Park so they could simply look inside my mouth to see if it was healthy enough for a student to work on. The second trip was with the student, Pam, for four hours to do the analysis. Like all students, they make you think that your teeth are going to fall out tomorrow. She gave me six tubes of toothpaste, four boxes of floss, a bottle of lysteriene, a bottle of Chlorhexidrene Gluconate, & a tube of Fluoride. I know more about the acid in my mouth than I ever wanted to know. Plus, did you know that Calculus is not just a math but also the technical name for tartar? The third & final visit was the agony. Going to a Dental School does mean that everything is supervised but also still that a student is working on your mouth. Oh the pain! At one point she wanted to use a bite guard so that I would stop trying to close my mouth. You need to understand, I like going to the dentist....this ruined that feeling. If that was the end of it, but then the teacher needs to look inside & work on it. They point out the parts that were missed & then the student is back at it again. Would I ever go back? Probably only because I'm poor.

The beauty of the visit is that they gave me a referral for the UCD School of Dentistry to get my cavities & implant taken care of. I went there at the new Fitzimmons location. I used to eat dinner at Fitzsimmons when it was an Army base for flight school. So I was completely lost with all of the streets rearranged. The facility is nice & everyone is very professional. I will tell you how the service is once my appointment comes up. Thus far all I have to say is I was there for then to see if my mouth was healthy enough to work on (again) & be explained the payment regulations & it cost me $20. I paid $20 for them to tell me how I'm going to pay them?!

Miss you more than not eating or drinking for 20 minutes, V