Tag Archives: dentist

Doing My Best To Stay Calm (or At Least I’ll Have A Longer Break Between Appointments This Time)

I honestly can’t remember a time when I wasn’t dealing with a lot of anxiety around going to the dentist. I’m sure as a kid I wasn’t as bad as I am now, but I don’t think I’ve ever really been ok going in. I know I do what I should do for my teeth, but genetics really haven’t been on my side and I’ve had so many issues with my teeth. And combining that with a few really bad dentist appointments that really went wrong, I think my anxiety is never going to fully go away. I’ll admit that it has gotten better over time, but I’m always so stressed as I’m going into an appointment.

My last appointment didn’t go as well as they normally do. It wasn’t horrible, but things just took longer and things weren’t as easy as I’ve gotten used to. There are a couple of reasons why this might have happened, but after that appointment, I really told myself I needed to be better about making sure I do everything I could for my teeth. I mainly use a water flosser because I do better with that than normal floss, but I knew I needed to try to use regular floss more often. And I’m not always good about brushing my teeth after eating lunch, but I made an effort to try to do that when I could. Sometimes when I don’t really eat lunch, but instead I eat a snack over a long period of time, that’s not as simple to do. But even a little extra effort can always make a difference.

I felt somewhat hopeful when going into my appointment earlier this week, but I was still shaking as I was walking into the building and waiting in the waiting room. And I wasn’t calming down when I got brought back for my appointment. I feel bad because I know I look mean and a bit rude at the beginning of my appointments, but it’s just me trying to stay calm. I know if I talk too much or think too much about it, my panic attacks will hit me. So I just try to stay quiet and get things started so I can get them over with.

Fortunately, I was right and this appointment went a lot better than the last one. It was easy for me to get through and I had to really focus on trying to not shake too much, but at least I didn’t get any bad news and things went quickly because there wasn’t a lot that had to be done. And because of the timing of when my appointments have been, I was almost due to get new x-rays. But I asked if that could wait until my next appointment because I knew I wanted to be a bit more mentally prepared for that since that can also bring up bad news like fillings that need to be done. Since I’m not experiencing any pain or weird symptoms, my dentist allowed me to wait until just after I’m due for x-rays to get the next set. I know that my next appointment will be a bit more panic-inducing because I know those will be coming up, but I’ll just have to deal with that when it happens.

And I’m a little extra nervous on top of that for my next appointment because I’m actually not going back for 6 months. For a long time, I went to the dentist every 3 or 4 months because of the issues I had. But things have been a lot better over the last few appointments, even with the worse appointment last time, and my dentist said we can switch to me coming in every 6 months. I’m a little hesitant about that since I know that waiting longer could mean that things won’t be as good, but hopefully all the effort I put in at home will continue to pay off and it won’t be as bad as I fear. And if that appointment doesn’t go that well, I can always go back to every 4 months to keep things easier on me.

So I’m excited that I don’t have to deal with being this scared again for 6 months, but I know it won’t be the easiest appointment since there will be x-rays and it’s going to be a bit of an unknown. But hopefully, this last appointment going well is a good omen and things won’t be as bad as I think they might be.

A Delayed Dentist Appointment (or Still Trying To Not Panic)

I feel like even though I still don’t do great at the dentist, I have been doing a lot better lately than I did years ago. I still have some tough appointments now that make me feel like I’ve had a setback, but I still think there has been some forward progress for me. So even though I still hate the dentist, I don’t put off going because I know I need to be on top of things. The only time I really was putting off an appointment in the recent past was at the beginning of the pandemic when they canceled all regular appointments and were only seeing emergencies. I did end up having an emergency so I went in for that and the cleaning that I missed. But I think having that appointment be delayed really reinforced the idea of not missing or putting off appointments because that was a much harder appointment than normal.

I was supposed to go to the dentist in November, but right before my appointment was when I got sick. I knew it wasn’t Covid and was likely just a cold, but I didn’t want to expose everyone at the dentist’s office, especially since there’s no way to keep a mask on there. I think that the staff appreciated my being cautious as well. When the rescheduled date ended up not working for me because of a work conflict that I couldn’t move. I didn’t want to have to move my appointment after already doing that once, but I didn’t have a choice. So I finally was able to go to the dentist yesterday for the overdue appointment.

I think knowing that I had this appointment about a month after it was supposed to happen made me extra nervous. I know I try to do everything right for my teeth, but my genetics make me have bad teeth compared to others. That’s why I go in 3 times a year instead of just twice. I have to make sure I get more cleanings than the average person to make up for the bad genetics. I know that this delay wasn’t as bad as the one I had at the beginning of the pandemic, but I was still worried that the appointment would be that much more difficult for me to tolerate and get through.

I also think it didn’t help that it was raining that day so I was dealing with hip pain as well as the side effects from my injection. I tried to tell myself that those would be good distractions, but it doesn’t always work out like that, and sometimes having other pain or issues just make everything else feel worse. But I did my best to not panic as much as I could and went into my appointment with a somewhat positive mindset. But as always, I was worried that I would be told some horrible news about my teeth while I was there.

When I finally got to my appointment, I encountered another delay. Another patient had an emergency and it was taking longer than expected. I told them I could just wait until the dentist was done since I didn’t want to put off the appointment any longer. I know that was the right choice even though waiting there for a while made my nerves kick up even more. By the time I was seen, I was really trying my best to stay calm but I knew I wasn’t doing a great job at that.

Fortunately, my appointment went ok. Things weren’t as great as they normally are, but I know that’s because my appointment was pushed back by a month. It really does make a difference in making sure you go on time. I know that I shouldn’t push an appointment back unless absolutely necessary, and this showed me yet again how true that is. But at least it was only slightly worse than normal and I wasn’t told any exceptionally bad news. I know that one day I’ll have another cavity or need a crown redone, but I’m grateful that wasn’t at this appointment.

I’m planning on going back again in 4 months like I’m supposed to. And I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure I don’t have to reschedule again since I think that makes things worse when they don’t have to be. And maybe if I don’t have a pushed back appointment and if there is no delay when I get to the office, things will be better for me next time.

Still Panicking More At The Dentist (or Working On Staying Calm When I Can)

My panic issues at the dentist have been happening for as long as I can remember. But it seemed for a while that things were finally getting better. I still hated having to go and would be very fearful of what bad news I might hear, but I was managing things a lot better and didn’t feel like I was having a big panic attack like I used to. For a while, I think the fear of getting sick combined with my usual dental concerns were making things worse. But I can never be sure and I just had to tolerate things the best that I could.

I was back at the dentist this week. I had my normal cleaning plus I needed to do the x-rays that I didn’t do the last time I was there. I should have made a note in my calendar that I was doing x-rays as well because I honestly forgot that I was going to do those until I got there. Doing x-rays always adds to my panic because that’s when the dentist can really see if there are any issues that need to be fixed. But they have to be done and I know avoiding anything at the dentist just means that it will be worse for me down the line.

I was quickly brought back to do my x-rays and the process was ok. I don’t like the devices you have in your mouth while doing them, so I always ask the assistant to tell me when I can take them out of my mouth so I don’t have to wait on them. There were a few issues with some of the x-rays needing to be redone, but it wasn’t that bad. Then I was supposed to see the dentist to review the x-rays and start the cleaning.

But I guess there was an issue with another patient taking much longer than expected because there was some juggling around to put people in the right place and I had to wait a bit longer than normal to meet with the dentist. This was a bit different than what it’s been like recently since they haven’t had multiple patients in the office at one time due to the pandemic. But there was only one other person so it wasn’t like it was crowded.  And fortunately, because my dentist knows how bad my panic attacks are, she looked at my x-rays and came over to tell me that there were no cavities or anything else to worry about before she went back to finish up with the other patient. That was a nice thing for her to do so I didn’t have to keep waiting and freaking out that I would be told something horrible. It also didn’t help that I had an extremely creepy bad tooth dream the night before and that was freaking me out.

Once it was finally time for my cleaning, the dentist confirmed with me again that everything was looking ok with my teeth. Nothing needed to be repaired and there was no damage that was concerning. I still have the same issues with my teeth that I always do and that makes my cleanings a bit more intense than a normal cleaning, but it wasn’t worse than what my cleanings are normally like. And even though I was shaking and panicking throughout the cleaning, I just tried to focus on breathing and I do other things to try to distract my mind. I knew that there was nothing wrong with my teeth, but I still worry that something will be discovered that wasn’t seen before. I don’t think my panic goes away until I’m getting up from the chair and heading to the front to pay.

I don’t know if or when my panic attacks at the dentist will start getting better again. I don’t know what it will take to put me at ease again because I think I will always fear that I will need something major done. And that is my reality because when you have genetically bad teeth, it’s not if but when that will happen. But I do know that I’m doing pretty much everything I can to prevent that or to make sure that the major work isn’t worse than it needs to be. I guess I will see in 4 months before my next appointment how bad my panic attacks are and continue to do what I need to do and hope for the best!

Another Panicky Dentist Appointment (or I Don’t Like Unexpected Moments)

I still hate how I have panic attacks when I go to the dentist. I am tired of them and it’s annoying for me. And because of how my panic attacks can manifest in my body, they can be exhausting and sometimes painful. And even though I haven’t had a lot of bad dentist appointments in the past few years, I can’t get over these attacks. I would think that having enough normal appointments would help. And when I’ve had more major work done, it’s been a lot better than it used to be. I have tried so many things to make dentist appointments easier for me, but I always have a horrible pit in my stomach every time I go.

I am still grateful that everyone at the dentist’s office is understanding how I get at appointments and they do try to make things as quick and easy for me as possible. But I still look miserable when I’m arriving and I think they have thought at times that I might pass out. One of the ways they help me work through my panic is by trying to keep things to a routine so I know what to expect and in what order. But when things are changed up, my attacks can get pretty bad. And unfortunately, that’s what happened at my last appointment.

I know I have to do x-rays every so often. The x-rays aren’t painful or bother me, but I know that doing x-rays can reveal things that are bigger problems. And I understand that’s the point, but it’s always tough knowing that’s going to happen and getting myself prepared for that. So when I went into my recent appointment and thought it was just a cleaning, it was a bit of a shock for me to find out that I was supposed to also do x-rays. I started shaking and feeling sick. And I feel pretty pathetic that I get that way but I can’t really control my panic attacks. Because of how I was reacting and how nervous they were that I would have an even worse panic attack, the plan changed for my appointment. They did detailed photos of each tooth instead of x-rays. That shows if there are any external issues with any of my teeth, which is mainly what my issues have been with cavities and chips in my crowns. I know that seeing the photos would make me panic even more, so I just kept my eyes closed and didn’t look at the photos when they were done. Again, I felt a bit silly and pathetic, but I knew I needed to do that to get through all the negative feelings I was having.

Fortunately, as expected everything was fine with my teeth and they were able to move on to the cleaning and get that done. I still was shaking throughout the appointment, but I also know different things I can do to distract myself a bit and that helps make the shaking not quite as bad. And since things are a bit better with the pandemic, they were able to use some of the tools they had to stop using because of the aerosol they create. But things like the ultrasonic tools help make my appointments easier to tolerate so I’m glad that those are back. And I wasn’t having additional panic attack issues because of the pandemic this time, so that was good too.

I will have to do my x-rays at my next appointment since I didn’t do them this time, but at least I will be more prepared for them at that point. I know it still won’t be easy for me and I’m sure I’ll have a panic attack going into that appointment, but it will be better than being surprised and not being prepared. At least I have 4 months until that next appointment and I don’t have to stress about things for a little while. And even though it seems extremely unlikely, maybe somehow my panic attacks won’t be as bad when I go in for that appointment.

Doubling Up With Panic Attacks (or I’m Really Getting Tired Of This)

Having a panic attack at the dentist is pretty much a guarantee for me. This has happened for the majority of my life and I don’t see it ending any time soon. I can manage my panic attacks better now than I could before, but they still happen and still affect me. So when I was going in for a dentist appointment this week, I knew I was going to have an attack and just tried my best to stay calm when I could.

But going to the appointment caused me to have an unexpected panic attack. I’m typically a very prompt person. Often, I arrive at places too early and I just sit and wait in my car until the right time. I overestimate how long it will take to get somewhere, but I would rather be early than late. And for appointments, I know if you arrive late they can sometimes refuse to see you. So I really try to be on time. My dentist isn’t too far from where I live, but I also know the areas I have to drive through can have some weird traffic holdups. So I gave myself double the time it normally takes to get there, so I figured I would arrive early.

I don’t know what was going on with traffic, but it was just not moving while I was driving. I was terrified I would get to my appointment and they would turn me away, which would be awful because that would mean I would have the nerves leading up to another appointment date. I tried to call in to explain what was happening, but they must have been busy at the office because it went to voicemail. I was already struggling with panic feelings about an appointment, but now I was dealing with panic feelings about being late too.

I guess it was a good thing I gave myself double the time to get there because I only ended up being 1 minute late, so it worked out ok. But I was still so stressed and my heart was racing about getting there on time. And as soon as I arrived, my regular panic that I get at the dentist kicked into high gear.

I’m lucky that my dentists understand that I just don’t do well there, so they do try their best. But the hygienist they have was taking longer than I’m used to with her work. And she noticed my panic and kept stopping so I could have a break. I told her that taking a break doesn’t help me since I just need to get through the appointment, but she kept checking in with me. My dentist did check in too and let the hygienist know that I do best when we can get through it quickly (but also thoroughly so I don’t have issues later).

Fortunately, after that things picked up in my appointment and they moved quickly. I had one moment with a really bad panic attack when my dentist was inspecting a spot on one tooth. Even though she had already told me there were no cavities or issues, I was so worried that she discovered something after telling me that. I really tried to keep my breathing under control, but I was starting to really freak out. I’m glad it ended up being nothing (basically it was a weird shadow), but it was still a pretty bad moment for me.

I left the appointment with the usual good news that everything is good with my teeth and my next appointment would be another normal cleaning. I’m still going every 4 months since that seems to be the best setup for me, but a least they aren’t extreme appointments. But having these panic attacks really bothers me. I know it’s weird to be upset over something that I may not be able to control, but I feel that way. I’m usually emotionally and physically exhausted after an appointment. I wish I could just magically be ok and not panic even a little bit, but I don’t think that is likely to happen in my future.

So I just have to tolerate these every 4 months and hope for the best. And next time, hopefully I won’t have the extra panic with traffic making it worse.

I Really Hate Panic Attacks (or At Least This Went Better Than Expected)

Considering my history of panic attacks, I’ve been doing much better lately than when compared to the past. I don’t medicate myself anymore for panic attacks, which is a huge thing to me. And almost all my attacks are during predictable moments. I have noticed that new things do sometimes cause them, but then those become predictable too. For example, wearing a mask makes me feel claustrophobic at times and then that brings on a panic attack. I’ve been working on figuring out a good mask that won’t cause this, but so far it’s been tough. But it won’t stop me from wearing a mask.

One of the most common reasons I have panic attacks is when I have to go to the dentist. This has been an issue for me for almost all of my adult life (maybe as a kid too, but I don’t recall having bad panic attacks as a kid). I know going into my appointments that I will likely have a panic attack, and I do what I can to prepare for them. And I do work hard with all dental stuff I can do at home to make my appointments easier. Unfortunately, since I have genetically bad teeth, doing everything right doesn’t always mean that I won’t get bad news when I go in for a cleaning. But I at least do my part to make these appointments as stress-free as possible.

But even with doing everything I can, sometimes I just have a bad panic attack. And that’s what happened this week. I wasn’t doing that bad before my appointment. I didn’t have nightmares the same way that I usually do and my heart wasn’t racing my entire drive there. But as soon as I got out of my car, the panic hit me like a wave. It was a pretty big attack and I took some time trying to calm my breathing down and stop sweating before going into my appointment. But I still wasn’t doing that great when I walked in. I’m sure I looked horrible, but fortunately, the dentist understands that I can’t control my panic attacks and she really does try to work with me.

She made the appointment as easy as she could. She immediately checked my teeth to confirm I didn’t need any fillings or any other major dental work. Knowing that normally stops my attack, but this time it only brought it down a bit. I was still shaking and struggling to breathe normally. So my dentist tried to work as quickly as she could while not rushing and missing things. And she used some topical numbing gel to make sure I don’t have any pain while she was working quickly. I don’t usually have pain at my appointments, but I’m glad she was trying to make things better. And for the most part, my appointment went quickly except when they had to fix one piece of equipment in the middle that wasn’t working the way it should.

When I left my appointment, I was a bit annoyed with myself. I hate that something that isn’t a big deal can cause such big panic attacks. I hate that this attack was so bad when it hasn’t been like this for a long time. I know it’s not my fault that this happens to me, but I still blame myself. I know that sometimes I don’t have much of an attack before or during an appointment, so maybe the next time will be better. Or it might be like this appointment or worse. I really never know until it happens and I just have to get through it. I know there’s nothing wrong with having panic attacks or anything to be embarrassed about. But it’s still something I hate about myself.

But at least even with the bad panic attack this time, my appointment went well and I was back in my car headed home in under an hour. And I don’t have to worry about going in again for another cleaning for 4 more months.

Feeling A Bit Less Stressed At The Dentist (or Just Having Normal Panic)

There are a lot of things that everyone has been putting off for the past year. I’m guilty of this too. There are doctor appointments that I should have scheduled last year that I didn’t do. None of them were urgent and my doctors were ok with me putting things off. Eventually, I’ll start working on scheduling those again but I’m still being cautious about where I go and what I do. So unless I need to get to the doctor for some reason, I’m waiting just a little longer.

When the pandemic started last year, any appointments I had scheduled were canceled. That included the dentist. And they said they would let me know when things were opening again so I could reschedule. But this was when we all thought this might only take a month or two before life was back to normal. And if I didn’t have an issue with one of my crowns, I know I would have continued to put off dentist appointments. I don’t know how long I would have put them off because I know that I have genetically bad teeth. And I learned when I went in for replacing my crown that waiting as long as I did have some negative effects. I was ok and my teeth are fine, but it was a sign that I need to make sure I continue to go regularly.

And for the most part, I have done that. It is weird going to the dentist right now since there is no way to keep a mask on while they are cleaning your teeth. But I trust my dentists to keep things clean and they are being very cautious about when they schedule patients so that any overlap is minimal. I do appreciate the efforts they have been making to keep things clean and safe, but it’s still been extra stressful whenever I’ve gone in. I knew they were being careful, but there was always a small risk about being somewhere without a mask on if there was another patient there also without a mask (all the staff has masks and shields, so I wasn’t too worried about them).

When I scheduled my most recent dentist appointment, it was when I was leaving after my last appointment. At that time, I was hopeful about getting a vaccine at some point, but I had no idea when it was going to happen so that timing wasn’t something I considered while scheduling it. But once I got my first vaccine and knew when I’d be fully vaccinated, I looked at my schedule and realized my dentist appointment was 3 weeks before I would be fully vaccinated. So I called to reschedule and my dentist agreed that it was a smart decision. 3 weeks wasn’t going to make a huge difference and it would be much safer for me to be there if I was fully vaccinated.

I had my dentist appointment last week and it went as well as I could have hoped. I’m always fearful that I will find out that there is something horribly wrong with my teeth. I know that I do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen, but I can’t always prevent it. That’s why we have to go in for professional cleanings. If we could do enough at home, we’d only be at the dentist when something was really wrong. There were some small issues that were related to waiting an extra 3 weeks before my appointment, but nothing that bad or unexpected.

And even though I will always be a bit panicky at the dentist, it was nice to not have to be panicked about COVID as well. I still felt a bit weird being somewhere without a mask, but I don’t have the same fear that I had before. I know that if I am exposed, I will likely be ok. And I did see some of the cleaning procedures between patients this time, and that made me feel better seeing all the work they did to keep everyone safe. Having one less thing to worry about felt nice and helped me get through my appointment.

And by the time I go back for my next appointment, things will hopefully be even safer. More and more people are being vaccinated each day. We will all still have to take some precautions for a while, but the risk will be decreasing as the vaccinated population increases. And I’m sure some of the safety things they have been doing at the dentist will continue even when they don’t have to do them because they are becoming common practices (such as using hydrogen peroxide as mouthwash to disinfect before a cleaning).

Hopefully, I will only have to panic about the normal things from now on because now I know how much easier it makes things for me.

An Outing To The Dentist (or Doubling Up On The Panic)

So many people have been putting off things during the pandemic. I’m guilty of that for sure. There are some doctor appointments that I typically do at the end of summer or beginning of fall that I haven’t done yet. Right now, I want to try to avoid going to the hospital if I can. But I also know that putting things off can make any issues worse. People who are putting off their mammograms might not catch breast cancer at the earliest stage. People who are putting off care for on-going conditions might find things getting worse. I’m not putting off anything that is urgent (for example, I was supposed to go to the dermatologist for an annual mole check, but I also haven’t been going outside much this year), but I also know that I can’t put things off forever.

That’s kind of what happened with the dentist. Earlier this year, I was supposed to go in for my cleaning. I have shared several times that I have genetically bad teeth. I can do everything right, but things can still go wrong. I initially put off the appointment because they were closed for everything except emergencies, and my cleaning wasn’t an emergency. When they reopened, I wanted to see how the cases were going before making an appointment (since you can’t wear a mask at the dentist), but then I ended up having an emergency with my crown. So I went in for that to be fixed as well as my cleaning, and I found out things were worse than they normally were for me because I waited a few months for the appointment. It’s not necessarily my fault, but it’s a sign of why I need to keep up with my cleanings on the schedule that I normally have.

So after that last cleaning and major work, I made sure I set up my next cleaning appointment and I told myself I had to keep that appointment unless something really crazy happened. And that appointment was yesterday and I went. When I originally set that appointment, I was hoping I’d be back at work by now. But since I’m not, I was able to change my appointment time to be a bit earlier. That was better for me so there was less time that I was worried about stuff before I went in.

But my panic attacks about the dentist came back yesterday morning. I was a bit surprised by how bad it was. I wasn’t going to cancel the appointment, but I knew things were not going to be easy for me. I was trying to think through why I was so panicked, and I realized that I probably was experiencing my normal panic about the dentist and then had the panic about being somewhere without a mask on top of that. I know my dentist is cleaning their office really well between patients and they are keeping it limited to 1 patient at a time. But it’s still hard to feel calm about being somewhere without a mask right now, especially when there is no distance between me and the dentist (who was in a mask and a face shield). And as soon as I saw the dental chair, things got even worse for me.

The dentist knows how hard being there is for me and she was very patient with me and tried to keep me calm. I asked her to do things a bit out of order and check my teeth for any major issues before anything else because I know that will help bring my panic down. I’m grateful that she did that and she was able to tell me that there was nothing wrong with my teeth or any of my previous dental work and that this would just be a regular cleaning and that’s it.

Things went as well as I could have hoped except for one part of the cleaning. Normally, they use an ultrasonic cleaner to do some of the scraping work. That makes it go by so much faster and it’s much easier on me. You don’t feel the same tugging on your teeth with that cleaner and in my head, it’s less stressful on my teeth (I have no clue if that’s true or not). But because 0f the way that cleaner works, it can create an aerosol mist/spray that might have some saliva in it. So it’s not safe right now to use that. So the dentist had to use the regular scraper, which I hate and I ended up needing a few breaks during the cleaning to get my breathing back under control.

I’m sure I sound super dramatic about this all, but it’s hard when you know you have to go somewhere that makes you so nervous and panicky. But I know I have to do this in order to not make things worse for me. And in under an hour, I was done with the appointment with clean teeth and no more feeling of doom and dread.

My next dentist appointment is in 4 months, which is my normal schedule. Again, I’m hoping that maybe things will be a bit more normal by then, but I’m also realistic that it might be just like it is now. Hopefully when I go in, I’ll be a bit more prepared for both the dentist and being without a mask. But if not, I will just have to keep reminding myself that I will be ok and that it’s a minor blip in my day that will be done quickly.

Finishing Up At The Dentist (or This Is Even Harder When You Feel Bad)

When I was at the dentist recently, I left knowing I’d be back soon to finish the work that was started. I left with my old crown being used as a temporary one and my new permanent one would be done in about a week. But due to shipping delays, my second appointment had to be pushed back by a week. I was fine with that because I couldn’t really change anything. But I also knew that the new date would fall when I might be nauseous.

And of course, that’s exactly what ended up happening to me. Fortunately, my dentist was very understanding that I was feeling awful and tried to make everything as easy on me as possible. She was able to work quickly and my new permanent crown was on with very little effort. There was a little concern about how it was feeling on one side, but I think that was mainly due to my gums being a bit swollen from having work done.

And after that was done, I finally got my teeth cleaned. I typically go in every 4 months. This time, it had been more like 6 months since I was in for a cleaning. So things weren’t as easy as normal. Combine that with my gums being a bit swollen from getting the permanent crown put on and the fact that your gums tend to bleed easily when you are about to have your period, and it wasn’t my best cleaning. I got through it and everything that needed to be done was done, but it wasn’t my best.

And because of how tough things were and how waiting much longer than normal showed on my teeth, I am going to start going back every 3 months for a little while. Hopefully, I’ll be able to go back every 4 months after a year or so, but I need to get back to a good baseline before doing that. I knew this was possibly going to happen, but at the same time, there wasn’t much I could have changed about it. When I was supposed to go in, everything was closed. I only waited a few weeks after they reopened before I had to go in. I did the best I could considering the circumstances. And I guess I should be happy my crown needed to be replaced because I would have waited longer without that issue.

I’m not too happy that things were worse for me, but I’m glad that it was taken care of. And I’m also glad that I have discovered that there is a union-related program I can sign up for that would get me a discount on all my dental work. I’m still working on getting things set up and it wouldn’t have been able to help me with the costs from these last 2 appointments. But going forward it should help quite a bit. In a normal year when I just have my regular cleanings, I should break even with the cost of the discount program. But if I need major work like I did this time, it should save me hundreds. That’s pretty awesome. And I was able to confirm that my dentist does accept this program.

At least for now, I’m done with dental work. I’ll be back in 3 months for what should hopefully be just a cleaning. And hopefully, I won’t be feeling as bad as I did this time.

I Can’t Avoid Everything Right Now (or Of Course I Would Have A Dental Issue)

For the most part, I have been not scheduling appointments that I typically would have right now. I do need to schedule some things, like some annual doctor appointments, but I’m really trying to wait it out until I feel like things are safer. For my doctor appointments, I’m lucky because they are at a medical office and not the main hospital (so no COVID patients are there), but I still don’t want to go in until things feel safer since I would be around sick people.

Even with the appointments that I have that are not fun, I typically don’t avoid them or put them off. I hate blood work, but I will do it when I have to. I hate going to the dentist, but since I usually have to go 3 times a year I will do it. I don’t skip appointments. I know things will get worse if I do skip them.

I was supposed to go to the dentist in April. Everything was shut down then, so I didn’t have my appointment. I think they might have been open for real emergencies, but a cleaning isn’t an emergency. When they re-opened for normal appointments in May, I hesitated to go back. I knew I needed to, but there is obviously no way to wear a mask while at the dentist. So I said as long as it was ok with them, I wanted to wait until the summer or things felt safer. They said it would be fine. And that was my plan until last week.

I have had a lot of dental work done and I know that nothing will last forever. But I don’t want things to need to be redone and I work hard to make sure my teeth and all the work that has been done is in good shape. But sometimes you can do everything right and you still need work. Last week, I was eating dinner and one of my crowns felt loose. I don’t know how to describe the feeling, I could just tell something was not right. I bit down and it seemed to get the crown back in place. But I knew that I had to get that looked at because it could mean a lot of different things that aren’t good.

So I called to make an appointment to get my crown looked at and figured I would do my cleaning as well since I would be going in. I have had a loose crown before and they were just able to reglue it. I was hoping that would be the case, but I was prepared for something worse. And unfortunately, it was something worse.

I’m lucky that this happened because the reason my crown got loose was that I had a tiny cavity on my gumline. That cavity made my tooth not be the same shape, so the crown didn’t fit perfectly anymore. And the glue was getting a bit loose too because it was shifting. There is no way to make the original crown work, so I had to get everything done for a new one. But since I already had a crown, most of the hard work was already done. They had to do a little drilling to remove the cavity, but it was so fast that I didn’t need to be numbed for it. Then they made a mold of my tooth for the new one. And because the original crown was close to fitting correctly, they were able to clean it and reuse it to be my temporary crown. It doesn’t fit perfectly, but it’s good enough for now.

I’ll be going back in about a week for my permanent crown and for my teeth cleaning. I didn’t get the cleaning done since it’s better to do that once the new permanent crown is in. Right now, things are just too temporary and loose to do a good cleaning. But at least going in for that appointment I know that they won’t be finding anything wrong with me. I had a full exam and full x-rays while I went in for this first appointment. So the next one should be easy enough.

Just like my afternoon at urgent care, I guess this is a way to add some variety in my life. It’s not exactly something fun to do, but it was necessary. And I do feel better knowing that I’m not putting off my dentist appointment anymore. I know things will still be crazy when I’m there in a week. But maybe by the time I have my next appointment after that in 4 months, things will be a bit more normal and my only stress about going to the dentist will be the dentist and not how to stay safe from COVID.