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[elrhiarhodan]

It was a very brief trip. Left yesterday, caught the 9am ferry, was at my sister's office by noon.

Got the bad news at 12:10.

I cracked my left lower rear molar so badly, that I'm going to need (1) a root canal, (2) gum surgery, and (3) a crown.

Yeah, I'm 47 years old and these things should be expected, but the last new filling I needed was when I was 23. My teeth, my gums and my bone mass are better than your average 16 year old (my sister showed me comparative x-rays, it's true, it's true).

The problem is that I grind - it's not a stress thing (though I am stressed), but night time bruxism is caused by a misalignment of the upper and lower jaws. I should wear my nightguard, but I have small and low palate and a larger than average tongue.

Which is geographic.

Okay, way too much information.

So, anyway, teeth are cleaned. 37 year old filling replaced, dinner and dessert accomplished.

And we watched the most awful movie ever made - The Immortals. It wasn't that it just felt like an extended cut scene from a video game, it was pointlessly violent, totally ahistoric, badly acted, and just plain STUPID.

Took sister and b-i-l out for breakfast, gathered up my stuff, and headed home. Caught an earlier ferry, made the expensive mistake of stopping at the Cole Haan store at the outlet center (I had a major coupon) and got home about an hour ago.

Need to sort dinner and make it an early night.

Love to you all!

Comments

[ladyrose42.livejournal.com]

Glad your home safe if poorer! Ugh to root canal etc.

[elrhiarhodan]

Thanks - at least the root canal, etc. is not urgent!

[tj-teejay.livejournal.com]

You have my full sympathy. Unfortunately, I seem to have inherited the sub-par tooth condition from my dad. I have a ton of fillings (not lastly thanks to the fact that I stupidly neglected my brushing technique as a teen -- hindsight is 20/20, right?), got my first (and so far only) crown at the age of... uh... I don't know, 33 or something, and I've just had my second root canal last Friday. I have another appointment tomorrow afternoon to get the canal filled. Happy times. (Not.)

Luckily I have a good dentist who (I pray) knows what he's doing. I'm not actually loathing my dentist visits. Sure, it's never pleasant when someone pokes and drills around in your mouth, but at least I don't usually associate it with a painful experience. Fingers crossed that everything's gonna go smoothly for you!

[elrhiarhodan]

I should, genetically, have terrible teeth. Both my mother and father and my maternal grandmother had terrible dental problems - but many of those were probably caused by years of smoking.

I never smoked, I drink a lot of water and seltzer, no cola or sports drinks, and I do brush/floss.

BUT - I had head and neck radiation which damaged my salivary glands and logically, I should have terrible problems. 75% of people who have the radiation I had end up loosing a lot of their teeth within 5 years. It's been 12 years, and I haven't had as much as a cavity.

So - this impending surgery is something unexpected.

Thank you for your good wishes.

[doctor-fangeek.livejournal.com]

His Imperial Majesty and I say, "Welcome home!" :-)

Sorry to hear of your dental woes! Hope all the needed work goes smoothly and isn't too unpleasant.

Have a relaxing evening!

[elrhiarhodan]

Thank you and thank his Imperial Majesty. All good wishes are greatly appreciated.

[damietta.livejournal.com]

Arg. Ouch. Damn.

[elrhiarhodan]

Yeah - but the timing of surgery can be deferred until I am in pain. Apparently, even though I sheered off a lot of tooth, I didn't expose the nerves.

The only reason why I realized I had a problem in the first place is that my tongue kept getting caught in the rough spot. I thought I lost an old filling.

[monkeyonthelam.livejournal.com]

I am 27 and I have had three root canals. I am certainly in no place to judge (and please don't judge me either). I have seemed to have gotten better at brushing though, no cavities last visit!

Root canals aren't as painful as some people make them out to be. It is more about being uncomfortable (because of the placement of the back teeth) than anything else. As long as you have a competent dentist, take a few tylenol, aleeve or advil afterwards and you should be fine. The expense however, is an entirely different matter. :(

[elrhiarhodan]

Thanks for the best wishes.

My sister is an excellent dentist and I trust her implicitly.

[monkeyonthelam.livejournal.com]

Heh, my dentist is my brother. It also means that I can never skip an appointment.

[photoash.livejournal.com]

*hugs* :( ouch!!!

You had asked about me so it fits here to say I've been awol a lot - been having a really rough time with my own tmj getting worse :/ My mom has been having two bouts of gum surgery and it wasn't as awful as it sounded (well i mean yes it sucked and hurt but she was able to eat more normally again after a week or so)...

good luck!

[elrhiarhodan]

Thank you, darling.

This is a problem definitly brought on by my TMJ, so I know how you feel.

At least, right now (especially since the rough spot was smoothed down), I am not in any specific tooth pain (as opposed to the general ache in my jaw and neck from the grinding).

Solidarity

[dizzydrea.livejournal.com]

This sounds like a total drag. How about a little sympathy pain from your favorite con man?

~o~

Neal moaned, the resulting vibrations surprising a gasp out of him as pain radiated along his jaw. Frozen in place sitting on the Burke's couch, he tried to breathe deeply as he rode out the pain.

"Easy, there," Peter said. He laid something cold—shockingly so, yanking another gasp out of Neal—along his jaw, lifting Neal's hand to hold it into place. "Just hold on; it'll kick in soon."

Neal pulled back the compress, his eyes bugging out as Peter guided it back to his cheek. "Peas, Peter? You're using a bag of peas on my jaw?"

"Hey, don't knock it," Peter said, smiling. "My mom used to use them whenever I got banged up as a kid."

"'S undignified," Neal slurred, eyes closing as he waited for the painkillers to take effect.

"Maybe that'll teach you to get in the way of a perp bent on escaping," Peter said, chuckling.

He nudged Neal, who cracked an eye open. Peter was holding a glass with amber liquid in the bottom. Neal raised an eyebrow. "Whiskey?"

"Medicinal," Peter said. "Drink up."

Neal lifted his head off the back of the couch, taking the glass and slamming down the contents in one long gulp. It burned on its way down, forcing a grimace to Neal's face, pain flashing briefly. He handed the glass back to Peter, who splashed some more liquid into the glass from a bottle Neal hadn't seen him holding.

"One more," Peter said, "then you're cut off. We'll get you to the dentist tomorrow."

"I hate dentists," Neal grumbled as he downed the shot.

Peter took the glass, setting it aside along with the bottle. "You like Mozzie," he said as he pushed Neal down onto the couch, loosening his tie and tugging off his shoes and socks.

"Wrong kind of dentist," Neal said, frowning then wincing as the pain flashed again. This time it was duller, and he didn't know if that was due to the undignified peas, the painkillers or the whiskey. To be honest, he didn't care, as long as it went away and forgot to leave a forwarding address.

"You're going to have one helluva bruise tomorrow," Peter said from somewhere above him.

Again Neal cringed, but the pain was even more distant this time, wrapped in cotton and blessedly muffled. "Think maybe the Harvard Crew'll be impressed?"

Peter chuckled. "Probably. I noticed none of them got in the way of our suspect." A pause. Neal cracked his eye open again. "Just, don't do anything stupid like that again, okay?"

"Worried?" Neal asked, half an impish smile forming before being short-circuited by the peas and the faint echo of pain.

"Yeah," Peter said, the burst of honesty warming Neal's chest. "I might have to resort to assigning you mortgage fraud cases just to keep you safe."

Neal groaned. "I promise I'll behave from now on. Just, no mortgage fraud. Please."

Peter smiled fondly. "Okay, no mortgage fraud. Just be more careful. You only have so many molars left."

Neal nodded minutely, still afraid that anything more might renew the pain. He felt Peter lean down, felt the slight brush of lips over his forehead.

"Rest," Peter whispered. "I'll be nearby if you need me."

Neal opened his eyes a slit, surprised to find Peter's face still close. "Thanks."

"Anytime," Peter said, an affectionate smile tipping his lips.

He straightened up as Neal's eyes fluttered closed. He could hear the vague sounds of Peter getting settled in the dining room: papers rustling, a beer bottle cracking open. Finally, the room grew quiet, Peter's steady breathing lulling him to sleep.

His jaw might hurt like a son-of-a-gun for the foreseeable future, but right at that moment, all was right with the world.

Re: Solidarity

[elrhiarhodan]

I love this so much. Will hug it and pet it and name it George.

Oh, wait...it's already called George.

Thank you - I really, really appreciate it.

Re: Solidarity

[dizzydrea.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you liked it. Permission to post it on my journal?

[maiac.livejournal.com]

I hope everything about the weekend except the dental mishap was delightful.

[elrhiarhodan]

It was a lovely weekend. And even the awful movie was sort of fun, if just to have someone to mock it with!

[pooh-collector.livejournal.com]

Boy can I commiserate. I had cavities starting from around three years old and my childhood dentist didn't believe in novacain. I've had gum surgeries, crowns, a root canal. I could have put a down payment on a condo with what I've spent in the last ten years. And, over the next few months I need to have 2 more crowns, a wisdom tooth pulled and a filling. Ugh!

I'm sure your sister will do a great job and everything will turn out just fine.

[elrhiarhodan]

Thank you.

And how could a dentist not believe in novacain????? Especially for a child?????????

I am lucky - because genetics is not on my side. My mother and father, my grandmother had terrible teeth. Though much (most) of
their problems could be ascribed to heavy smoking. And drinking too much cola.

My sister, who doesn't smoke, but had problems with her teeth from babyhood, and is obsessive about toothcare, still has lots of problems. She showed me her xrays - I couldn't believe how many crowns she has. Good thing she's a dentist.

[surreal-44.livejournal.com]

I had to have gum surgery to repair some damage caused by my baby molar snapping in half and tearing out my gum. :/ It wasn't fun, but the procedure itself wasn't all that bad.

I wish you a speedy recovery. -hugs-

[elrhiarhodan]

I'm not really concerned about the surgery - it's just the thought of having to have it done. I've got a good set of teeth and gums and bone, and this will be the first time I've ever needed to have anything like this done.

Thank you so much for your kind words and good thoughts.

[greyminerva]

Hope your dental work goes quickly and painlessly when it happens!

I agree about the Immortals, by the way - I warn everyone about it!
I expected a "Clash of the Titans"-type movie, which was "not very good, but had a few enjoyable bits", and instead I got the worst piece of speculative torture-gore I've seen in... well, pretty much forever.

I'm not overly fond of, but don't really mind ordinarly splatter-gore-type movies of the Halloween/Nightmare on Elm Street/Friday 13th-type movies, but this was just vile, in my opinion. Cruel, dirty and semi-realistic, there's just no excuse for this sort of thing.
Made Clash of the Titans look like an epic masterpiece in comparison.
But then, that's just my opinion. :p