CatNipRules
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2008
*Scratches her head and tries to decide where to begin*
Well, I was born on a cold, okay, not so cold Florida, September day... Wait? What? Not that beginning you say? Then what possible beginning can you... Oh, the beginning of my read to denturedom.
Oh, well that particular journey started when I was about 3 or 4 years old. I have pictures of me at that age with a mouth full of silver caps on my teeth. Yes. Even at that young of an age my teeth were terrible. I believe the reason for the caps was so my teeth would stay in until my adult teeth were ready to make their appearance.
Lets just say, that my fear of the dentist started then.
Imagine if you would a scared, tiny, 3 or 4 year old sitting in a dentist chair. She is calling for her mother, but because of the rules of the dentists office, she can't come back to her daughter.So, I'm pretty freaked out by the time we leave the dentist's office. This was also back before the days of seatbelts in cars.My mom tried to reach out to me,but I recoiled from her touch. My exact words were, "You wouldn't come when I called you!!"
Then, I tried to jump out of the car. While it was moving. Down the highway. At nearly 50 miles per hour. It's lucky that I'm here today to write this!! LOL!!
Okay, so fast forward a few years. My adult teeth have come in,but they are still very crappy. Very fragile and they break at the slightest of touches. All the adults in my family have had braces by the time they turned 40. I'm 42. Only managed to make it this far because I'm chicken. Oh and did I mention that I hate dentists? No. Okay, well I hate dentists. Just so you know.
Went to a dentist in my late teens/early 20's. He definitely didn't practice gentle medicine. Not to mention that the stuff they would smear on my gums to numb it, (which was supposed to taste like pineapple and did not taste like any kind of pineapple I had EVER tasted before.) didn't work. Either that, or my pain tolerance is so low that it's non-existent. Plus I felt like gagging from the awful taste of the stuff. However, my dad was paying my co-pays to have it done at the time and he practically dragged me there. Kicking and screaming.
So, thousands of dollars later and I have all kinds of fillings and bridges in my mouth. A pretty new smile that would last a lifetime. Right? Yeah, you would think so, but oh no. It wasn't meant to be. Because fast forward a few years.
I get married and have a baby. Which, is very, very hard on already fragile teeth. I think I lost 4 teeth during my pregnancy alone. Actually not so much lose. Because they broke off at the gumline.
Okay, so five years and more lost teeth, I find myself back at another dentist. Also not a graduate of the gentle school of dentistry. More grinding and smoke (can you say fiber?) and this time I have a partial. It's pretty and for what it's worth, it's mine.
So, you'd think that this is the end of my story. Alas, it's not meant to be. Fast forward another 10 plus years. My son is 17 now and I've been married for 18 years. To a man that puts up with me for whatever reason. My middle sister gets a full set of dentures. Tells me I should do it. You won't regret it. Whatever. Not buying that line of bull you're selling me. Nope. Un uh. No way. Not gonna do it. Then, I start losing more and more of my "good" teeth. If there is such a thing for someone like me.
Wait a minute. Hold on! Back up. Rewind. Why? I am so glad you asked. So, because you asked, I will tell you. It's because I forgot part of the story.So, we moved to Alabama nearly 7 years ago. Right before we moved, I lost a tooth in front.
Now, let me just say that I've never been a vain person. I don't really care what people think of me. Never have and probably never will. That's just who I am. That kind of threw me for a loop though. So, I have teeth total on top and I lost one of them. It wasn't pretty. I had never felt less attractive in my life. Yeah, sure, my husband loves me and it didn't change his feelings about me,but we call know that it doesn't make it any easier.
So, every time I went to a job interview, I imagined that the first thing they looked,they first thing they noticed was my missing tooth. Which turned out to be untrue. Why? One of my best friends at work told me she didn't noticed my tooth was missing until I told her. Showed her even.
So, everything seemed to be okay. Although my definition of okay and a normal persons definition would probably be very different. See, I'm never quite sure when I have a normal headache. A sinus infection. Or a toothache.
So, I pop advil like tic tacs. It never really takes away the pain. It's always there like a never welcome, never wanted frienemy. (I learned that word from my son. )
Now, I can hear you asking, what happened to bring you to this point? Thank you for asking. You ask and you shall be told.
Problem #1. Multiple abscesses. Especially in my upper teeth. I have a hard time smelling. I believe my nasal passages are partially blocked by the abscess. Can somebody say yuck?!LOL!!
Problem #2 Multiple rotted teeth. I have 16 teeth in my mouth right now. Of those 16, probably only 3 or 4 are of any use to me.
Problem #3 Just plain sick and tired of being in pain all the time. Sick of not being able to eat the foods that I like without pain. Most people say it's a pain in their rear. Not me. I say it's a pain in my mouth. Because it really is.
I can't tell you when the last time I ate a peanut. I mean actually ate one and didn't gnaw at it with my front tooth. It's gotten to the point where I'm pretty much gumming everything and not actually chewing things.
Who knows how long it would have went on like this if I hadn't lost a bridge at work one night. I was eating and it simply fell out. It was very traumatic and I think I cried for nearly an hour. My husband put his foot down and said that we are getting your teeth fixed.
Of course, it would be nice if that was the end of the story. No. It's simply the beginning. I fought him. Long and hard. I hate dentists and you would think all of these issues would be enough to get over it. If only it were that easy.Oh no.
See, 10 years ago, I had gone to a dentist for an appointment. The dentist told me I wasn't taking care of my teeth. I tried explaining that I was, but my family history is working against me. Tried telling him about my parents and my sister. All to no avail. I left his office feeling like it was all my fault. So, that was my last visit to the dentist for 10 years.
My husband has called me stubborn. I'm not stubborn really. I just don't like pain. I don't like the unknown. I hate spending money and I know that this is going to be expensive.
Granted, I don't have as many teeth as some people. My dentist says 16. My OS says 17. I'm counting 18. LOL!! Well, one of us has to be right. LOL!
So, DH signed up for dental insurance at his job. He basically told me that we are getting this done. He found a dentist and emailed him about my past experiences with dentists. He laid it all out on the line.
He made an appointment and I went. Reluctantly. Very reluctantly. I remember sitting in the chair in the dentist office. I remember that I started crying the second I sat down. I watched the squirrels and chipmunks playing on the brick walls outside the window. It didn't make me feel better,but it did give me something else to focus on.
So, he comes into the office and starts talking to me. Tells me that he needs some x-rays. They have panoramic ones so none of that hard biting. He didn't yell or shame me because of my teeth. He made me feel at ease. Oh and the dentist that I'm going to is the same dentist that my former boss uses. I had no idea about that when I went there.
I am definitely in need of sedation. I wanna be knocked completely out. I don't want to remember anything. Nothing. Nada....
He just laughed and said that he could work it out. LOL!!
Well, a week later we go in his office for our quotes. He gave me three options. Partials on the bottom and full dentures on the top. Full top and bottom dentures without implants. Or top and bottom dentures without implants.
After talking it over with my husband, we decided that, because of my history of dental problems,the best way to go would be the full top and bottom dentures. Either with or without implants.
So, we set up an appointment for my consult with the oral surgeon. Because cost is going to be the biggest factor in deciding between the two. We go to the consult and we got the estimate. Lets just say I won't be doing implants. They are crazy expensive. Even with my insurance. Which my dentist said was awesome.
Anyways, so we took a few days to figure out where we are going to get the money from. That decided, we just needed to pick a date.
The date for extractions will be on August 13th of this year. It seems like so long from now, but I know that the time will probably fly.
So, I've decided against immediate dentures. Simply because after talking to family and friends, as well as to my dentist, they aren't for me. Yes. It means that I will be without teeth for 2-4 months,but I can deal with that.
So, my future Disney trips are bound to be lots more fun. I will be prod to smile again. I will enjoy all kinds of Disney foods that I haven't been able to eat because of my poor teeth. I will be a brand new person.
If you've made it to the end of this I thank you for reading. I will update this along the journey....
P.S. Mods if this isn't allowed,please delete it.
Well, I was born on a cold, okay, not so cold Florida, September day... Wait? What? Not that beginning you say? Then what possible beginning can you... Oh, the beginning of my read to denturedom.
Oh, well that particular journey started when I was about 3 or 4 years old. I have pictures of me at that age with a mouth full of silver caps on my teeth. Yes. Even at that young of an age my teeth were terrible. I believe the reason for the caps was so my teeth would stay in until my adult teeth were ready to make their appearance.
Lets just say, that my fear of the dentist started then.
Imagine if you would a scared, tiny, 3 or 4 year old sitting in a dentist chair. She is calling for her mother, but because of the rules of the dentists office, she can't come back to her daughter.So, I'm pretty freaked out by the time we leave the dentist's office. This was also back before the days of seatbelts in cars.My mom tried to reach out to me,but I recoiled from her touch. My exact words were, "You wouldn't come when I called you!!"
Then, I tried to jump out of the car. While it was moving. Down the highway. At nearly 50 miles per hour. It's lucky that I'm here today to write this!! LOL!!
Okay, so fast forward a few years. My adult teeth have come in,but they are still very crappy. Very fragile and they break at the slightest of touches. All the adults in my family have had braces by the time they turned 40. I'm 42. Only managed to make it this far because I'm chicken. Oh and did I mention that I hate dentists? No. Okay, well I hate dentists. Just so you know.
Went to a dentist in my late teens/early 20's. He definitely didn't practice gentle medicine. Not to mention that the stuff they would smear on my gums to numb it, (which was supposed to taste like pineapple and did not taste like any kind of pineapple I had EVER tasted before.) didn't work. Either that, or my pain tolerance is so low that it's non-existent. Plus I felt like gagging from the awful taste of the stuff. However, my dad was paying my co-pays to have it done at the time and he practically dragged me there. Kicking and screaming.
So, thousands of dollars later and I have all kinds of fillings and bridges in my mouth. A pretty new smile that would last a lifetime. Right? Yeah, you would think so, but oh no. It wasn't meant to be. Because fast forward a few years.
I get married and have a baby. Which, is very, very hard on already fragile teeth. I think I lost 4 teeth during my pregnancy alone. Actually not so much lose. Because they broke off at the gumline.
Okay, so five years and more lost teeth, I find myself back at another dentist. Also not a graduate of the gentle school of dentistry. More grinding and smoke (can you say fiber?) and this time I have a partial. It's pretty and for what it's worth, it's mine.
So, you'd think that this is the end of my story. Alas, it's not meant to be. Fast forward another 10 plus years. My son is 17 now and I've been married for 18 years. To a man that puts up with me for whatever reason. My middle sister gets a full set of dentures. Tells me I should do it. You won't regret it. Whatever. Not buying that line of bull you're selling me. Nope. Un uh. No way. Not gonna do it. Then, I start losing more and more of my "good" teeth. If there is such a thing for someone like me.
Wait a minute. Hold on! Back up. Rewind. Why? I am so glad you asked. So, because you asked, I will tell you. It's because I forgot part of the story.So, we moved to Alabama nearly 7 years ago. Right before we moved, I lost a tooth in front.
Now, let me just say that I've never been a vain person. I don't really care what people think of me. Never have and probably never will. That's just who I am. That kind of threw me for a loop though. So, I have teeth total on top and I lost one of them. It wasn't pretty. I had never felt less attractive in my life. Yeah, sure, my husband loves me and it didn't change his feelings about me,but we call know that it doesn't make it any easier.
So, every time I went to a job interview, I imagined that the first thing they looked,they first thing they noticed was my missing tooth. Which turned out to be untrue. Why? One of my best friends at work told me she didn't noticed my tooth was missing until I told her. Showed her even.
So, everything seemed to be okay. Although my definition of okay and a normal persons definition would probably be very different. See, I'm never quite sure when I have a normal headache. A sinus infection. Or a toothache.
So, I pop advil like tic tacs. It never really takes away the pain. It's always there like a never welcome, never wanted frienemy. (I learned that word from my son. )
Now, I can hear you asking, what happened to bring you to this point? Thank you for asking. You ask and you shall be told.
Problem #1. Multiple abscesses. Especially in my upper teeth. I have a hard time smelling. I believe my nasal passages are partially blocked by the abscess. Can somebody say yuck?!LOL!!
Problem #2 Multiple rotted teeth. I have 16 teeth in my mouth right now. Of those 16, probably only 3 or 4 are of any use to me.
Problem #3 Just plain sick and tired of being in pain all the time. Sick of not being able to eat the foods that I like without pain. Most people say it's a pain in their rear. Not me. I say it's a pain in my mouth. Because it really is.
I can't tell you when the last time I ate a peanut. I mean actually ate one and didn't gnaw at it with my front tooth. It's gotten to the point where I'm pretty much gumming everything and not actually chewing things.
Who knows how long it would have went on like this if I hadn't lost a bridge at work one night. I was eating and it simply fell out. It was very traumatic and I think I cried for nearly an hour. My husband put his foot down and said that we are getting your teeth fixed.
Of course, it would be nice if that was the end of the story. No. It's simply the beginning. I fought him. Long and hard. I hate dentists and you would think all of these issues would be enough to get over it. If only it were that easy.Oh no.
See, 10 years ago, I had gone to a dentist for an appointment. The dentist told me I wasn't taking care of my teeth. I tried explaining that I was, but my family history is working against me. Tried telling him about my parents and my sister. All to no avail. I left his office feeling like it was all my fault. So, that was my last visit to the dentist for 10 years.
My husband has called me stubborn. I'm not stubborn really. I just don't like pain. I don't like the unknown. I hate spending money and I know that this is going to be expensive.
Granted, I don't have as many teeth as some people. My dentist says 16. My OS says 17. I'm counting 18. LOL!! Well, one of us has to be right. LOL!
So, DH signed up for dental insurance at his job. He basically told me that we are getting this done. He found a dentist and emailed him about my past experiences with dentists. He laid it all out on the line.
He made an appointment and I went. Reluctantly. Very reluctantly. I remember sitting in the chair in the dentist office. I remember that I started crying the second I sat down. I watched the squirrels and chipmunks playing on the brick walls outside the window. It didn't make me feel better,but it did give me something else to focus on.
So, he comes into the office and starts talking to me. Tells me that he needs some x-rays. They have panoramic ones so none of that hard biting. He didn't yell or shame me because of my teeth. He made me feel at ease. Oh and the dentist that I'm going to is the same dentist that my former boss uses. I had no idea about that when I went there.
I am definitely in need of sedation. I wanna be knocked completely out. I don't want to remember anything. Nothing. Nada....
He just laughed and said that he could work it out. LOL!!
Well, a week later we go in his office for our quotes. He gave me three options. Partials on the bottom and full dentures on the top. Full top and bottom dentures without implants. Or top and bottom dentures without implants.
After talking it over with my husband, we decided that, because of my history of dental problems,the best way to go would be the full top and bottom dentures. Either with or without implants.
So, we set up an appointment for my consult with the oral surgeon. Because cost is going to be the biggest factor in deciding between the two. We go to the consult and we got the estimate. Lets just say I won't be doing implants. They are crazy expensive. Even with my insurance. Which my dentist said was awesome.
Anyways, so we took a few days to figure out where we are going to get the money from. That decided, we just needed to pick a date.
The date for extractions will be on August 13th of this year. It seems like so long from now, but I know that the time will probably fly.
So, I've decided against immediate dentures. Simply because after talking to family and friends, as well as to my dentist, they aren't for me. Yes. It means that I will be without teeth for 2-4 months,but I can deal with that.
So, my future Disney trips are bound to be lots more fun. I will be prod to smile again. I will enjoy all kinds of Disney foods that I haven't been able to eat because of my poor teeth. I will be a brand new person.
If you've made it to the end of this I thank you for reading. I will update this along the journey....
P.S. Mods if this isn't allowed,please delete it.
how did it all turn out
