My Dental Health

If you've been around for long, you probably know that I've spent the last dozen or so years trying to get my dental health sorted out. I spent a lot of years without dental insurance / as a single mom struggling to make ends meet and unfortunately, there was never money to do what I needed to do with my teeth. About fifteen years ago I got an estimate that it would take $13,000 to completely fix my mouth and to be honest, that was pretty accurate.

Once I got my Social Security Disability lump sum payout, I got busy sorting out my mouth. Things didn't go well. I had a lot of complications... it ended up being more expensive and more painful than I could have ever imagined. I LIKED my dentist but there were some decisions he made that probably weren't the best for me... things that probably should have gone to an oral surgeon instead of being done by a regular dentist.  We had discussed my pain situation at length in advance and he was fully aware of what medications I was taking. He called and talked to my pain doctor and they sorted out what meds I could take for the dental procedures. I confirmed with my pain doctor that he had talked to the dentist and that the dentist had permission to prescribe additional pain meds as needed. This is very important since I am on a Narcotic Agreement with the pain doctor. I literally cannot take anything for pain without his permission.

Then in the middle of a very painful complication from an extraction, when my pharmacist called the dentist to verify the prescription he had written for me, he told her that he had "no idea" I was on the other pain meds. This was a complete lie. I was so frustrated... it's hard enough to keep from being labeled a pill seeker when you have chronic pain and then the dentist makes me look like a drug addict... so I stopped working on my mouth for awhile because I honestly just couldn't face the pain and worried that it wouldn't be treated appropriately. I was afraid to be in pain and not be able to have it treated appropriately - or be refused at the pharmacy. Then my mom got sick and I just flat out didn't have the time to spend recovering from the next dental procedures.

SOOOO... finally last October I got my wits about me and went to a different dentist to get things finished up. I had one more major procedure to go through before I could get fitted for partials and finally, after all those years, have a mouth full of teeth. My dentist recommended an oral surgeon because I had so many complications in the past. I did my pre-op visit, we were all ready to go and.... two days before my last procedure was schedule... the oral surgeon was in an accident and broke his femur. He was out of work from October through February! You really can't make this stuff up! I struggled for a while trying to decide if I should go with a different office but... I trusted this guy. I had already gone through all the preop (and more importantly, PAID for the pre-op) and by the time I realized it was going to be such a long wait, we were already close to Christmas and then our trip to New Orleans. The LAST thing I wanted to do was go to New Orleans while recovering from oral surgery!

At any rate, in March I was finally able to get an appointment and have the last bit of surgery done. The Oral Surgeon was UH-mazing! The procedure was so fast that it was over before I realized he had really gotten started. The pain was completely bearable, I had no infection, no complications... it could not have gone better. I probably had about 3-4 days where I was uncomfortable but I was well enough to go to Marvin's the very same day as the surgery.

I have about half the teeth I should have so it is not easy to chew... I'm living on yogurt and softer things but I can manage just about anything... it just takes longer. I went in two weeks ago and had a mold made for my partials... I went in this past Monday to have the next fitting and in two weeks they will have the whole thing completed. I CANNOT wait to go out for a big, thick, juicy steak! I will probably gain twenty pounds in the few months after my teeth are ready and I don't even care. I'm just so glad to be past this. Now... of course, I still have some teeth that need work and there is still some additional expense (and pain) ahead. Chewing with half a mouth puts additional stress on teeth so there will be more work ahead, it's inevitable... but I'm glad to be past the worst of it.


So be prepared for lots of selfies with big toothy grins! I'd love to hear about  your dental experiences, bad and good, especially with partials since that is a whole new world for me. I also wanted to sort of set aside the stigma involved in all of this. I wasn't able to take care of things when I should have and there's no shame in that. I did my best to get my boys raised- mostly on my own- and I prioritized their well-being over mine. I'm sure I'm not the first mama to do that. I also imagine I'm not the first person to be terrified of dental work. It has taken me a long time and I'm really glad to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Shop around, the second dentist was far less expensive than the first dentist I used in my town. He also made me feel more confident. Be honest with your dentist about your fears and past problems. That made a huge difference for me. And if you can't afford it all at once, just keep plugging away. That's what I had to do and I'm glad now that I did. I'm also grateful for the support from my mom and dad along the way - driving me to procedures, helping with expenses I couldn't afford, etc. And to my fella who helped me recover from this last procedure.

I hope you're enjoying my return to blogging! Thanks for your support, it makes me WANT to blog!