June 3, 2002

***Monday Morning Muse blew a fuse! I recently upgraded to Mac OS X and was unable to use Adobe GoLive to build my page. As such, I had to go back to the trusted iMac and use the archaic Adobe Page Mill 3.0 which came with it. I hate being at the mercy of people who do not return emails! I plan on getting the software I need by next month.***

So about eight years ago I had a lower molar go so bad that I had to have it crowned. I can remember the whole process like it was yesterday. Makes me feel better about my memory. Everything was hunky-dory, especially since I quit chewing anything cold or nutty on that side of my mouth. I was diligent about brushing and flossing, etc. Then old age started to set in and I began to suffer from the joys of gum recession. It seems like my gums were just starting to dissolve or something. I noticed a little gap at the bottom of the crown and I couldn't help from really getting that floss in there. Well then it started to hurt off and on. But with so many other things to deal with, I ignored it as long as possible. Then I had to go on antibiotics and the pain stopped.

Of course it returned with a vengeance on the Thursday before we were planning on going camping. It was unbearable. How could so much pain be housed in such a minute area? I called the dentist crying and begging to be seen as soon as possible. I didn't care that I would have to bring six kids with me to the visit, I was in too much pain. Of course the dentist couldn't fit me in but he did prescribe these bizarre red capsule antibiotics which smelled like sulfur and had to be taken four times a day. I nicknamed them my "poot pills" and had no trouble remembering to take them during our camping trip. Anything not have that pain resume.

After the camping trip I retuned to the dentist to have the tooth looked at. Yep. There was decay beneath the crown. With any luck I would be eligible for a root canal. Lacking luck, the tooth would need to be pulled. I said a little prayer not knowing quite for what. I've never had the luxury of having a root canal. Well, I guess my curiosity will have to fester since luck was not with me and I indeed did have the tooth pulled. I'd never had that luxury before, either. Talk about fear factor!!!

I met my husband at a park conveniently located just between where he works and the dental office. I dropped off the kids and lunch, and walked on up to the office. My dentist calmly informed me that the tooth had to come out and that he was going to cut it in half and remove one half at a time. And I had to drive after this? I almost whizzed my britches. He yanked out the offending tooth and gave me strict instructions of how I had to care for the wound. It felt like a football field now existed between my two lower molars. I'll spare you the details and suffice it to say that I had to keep a cotton compress in the gap until a certain amount of healing took place. The whole thing was really gross and painful, but not nearly as bad as the pain was with the infected tooth.

Just about a year later it was time to rectify the situation. My options were to get a dental implant or to get yet two more crowns with a bridge holding the fake molar in place. The implant seemed the way to go so that I wouldn't need to worry about future subterranean tooth decay but I was advised that my insurance would not cover the implant. However, they would be glad to cover the cost of the two crowns and fake molar because the total cost would be about $300.00 cheaper than one implant. No thought for the future, mind you. This was insurance mentality we were dealing with, here. So since I wasn't paying for this, I really didn't have much choice in the matter. Ah well, the crown/bridge solution was going to be completed sooner so that was the up side. I made the appointment for the following month.

I put it on the calendar and marked it on my dry-erase board which is located on my refrigerator and is updated nearly every night before I go to bed. Somehow, on the day of my appointment, I just plain forgot about it. Instead, I went for a nice long walk with my dog and was surprised when I actually had thirty minutes to sit down and read the paper before it would be time to pick up my daughter from Kindergarten.

The phone rang while I was reading and I decided to screen the call. Oh wow! It was the dental office calling to see what had happened. They had called me the previous Friday to remind me of my Monday two-hour appointment and I had assured them that I would be there. But for some reason, the note didn't make it to the refrigerator board and therefore I didn't remember I had the appointment. Mondays are like that for me. It's enough getting up and dressed and getting our four kids off to two schools by 7:45. That dental appointment just faded away into the background. I had a much better time walking the dog anyway. So I had to eat crow and reschedule. They were actually very nice about my blunder. I felt like such a jerk. I don't like to be flaky. I tend to be one of those early type people. I decided to make it up in time and bring fresh baked goodies when I came in.

It worked like a charm. The office gals were thrilled with the goodies, descended upon them like locusts, and I don't think the dentist even got one brownie. I don't know if he even knew I had brought them in.

I sat down in the chair knowing that I was going to have two molars ground down to pencil points. Heck, it's bad enough when they do one, but two? Couldn't I at least qualify for the laughing gas? No no, I had to drive again. I was really tense. I wished that I had brought my portable MP3 player to attempt to muffle the noise of the drilling. Instead I was left with mind over matter tactics.

One that usually works for me is to mentally say the alphabet while at the same time counting backward like this: A-26, B-25, B-24, D-23 and on like that to see if I could end up with Z-1. Try it. It gets quite difficult in the middle when the numbers are getting smaller and the alphabet is progressing towards the end. I made up this exercise as a child when I was put to bed early and couldn't fall asleep. i thought of it as my mind exercise. I always fell asleep before I could finish. But that day, in the office, I made it to Z-1 three times in a row. Well, actually, I did flub up once. Damn that drill. But I did relax and my mouth feels much better that I thought it would at this point. And to think, in a month, I get to go back for the real crowns and the bridge. I made sure all of the kids brushed their teeth that night!

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