I was rather out of it last night when I got back from the dentist. I’ve been at the dentist every day for the last week and have gradually found myself relaxing more and more. Dr Baldwin, my childhood dentist, used to believe in doing fillings without anasthesia. “This will hurt a little” he used to say. Even though my dentist now uses enough anesthesia to leave me dead from the neck up, I find myself tense from shoulders to my toes.
The day before the dentist had finished the drilling and preparing my teeth for the bridge. Afterwards I had been shopping and then called in at Olive Garden for a pizza on the way home. Eating calzone with a numb mouth is quite amusing, but I managed it without accident.
Yesterday I was expecting a short visit - an impression and maybe an x-ray or too. I cheerfully asked the dentist what she was going to do. “Traction strips and and impression” she said, rubbing my gums with something to numb them before proceeding to load two full syringes of anesthetic into my gums through a needle that seemed unnecessarily thick. Why does a prick in your mouth make your toes curl?
The dentist vanished and a nurse appeared with small threads that looked a little like small pieces of climbing cord. Explaining that the cord was to stretch my gums so that the impression would allow enough room for the bridge to fit naturally under my gum line, she proceeded to stuff the cords between my gums and teeth. A painfull process, even with a numb head.
Two hours later, exhausted and with a throbbing jaw, I drove home.
The day before the dentist had finished the drilling and preparing my teeth for the bridge. Afterwards I had been shopping and then called in at Olive Garden for a pizza on the way home. Eating calzone with a numb mouth is quite amusing, but I managed it without accident.
Yesterday I was expecting a short visit - an impression and maybe an x-ray or too. I cheerfully asked the dentist what she was going to do. “Traction strips and and impression” she said, rubbing my gums with something to numb them before proceeding to load two full syringes of anesthetic into my gums through a needle that seemed unnecessarily thick. Why does a prick in your mouth make your toes curl?
The dentist vanished and a nurse appeared with small threads that looked a little like small pieces of climbing cord. Explaining that the cord was to stretch my gums so that the impression would allow enough room for the bridge to fit naturally under my gum line, she proceeded to stuff the cords between my gums and teeth. A painfull process, even with a numb head.
Two hours later, exhausted and with a throbbing jaw, I drove home.
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