30 b

Extraction-o-rama

Buzzterm: "Manly ambition"

They (my doc and an assistant) made an attempt to pull molar 14 today, which has long been giving me trouble. This tooth was the initial reason I headed to NYU College of Destiny. Today they gave me three large shots of Novocaine, then lifted the gum around the tooth to remove it. What I didn't expect (neither did they) was the light-headedness. Novocaine contains ephedrine, which on an empty stomach, mimics the effects of anxiety. My pulse jumped and they were forced to stop the procedure, citing the underlying infection as the real reason they weren't able to extract.

So much for manly ambition in my teeth.

30

Gutta percha removed in Root Canal numero uno to make way for post. It is determined that a cast post will fit.

31

12.3.07, 5:00 pm

Root canal numero uno finished. Gutta percha is now lodged in my gum, to the root. GP is a polymer, and is used in latex. It's also used in my mouth.

Gutta percha's strength, melting point and bonding ability make it a good candidate for dental endodontics.

A painless experience, though invasive: scraping around in my head with what amounts --size wise-- to a trowel.

Cost: $450 (paid in 3 installments)

32

11.20, 6 pm.

As a mock exam, my mouth is brought in for a routine filling. Only the cavity is deep, the anesthetic wears off, and I experience great sensitivity.

33

11.19.07 (Last night, 6-8 pm)

Root canal on tooth 3 (right side, next to incisor). This is the technicality.

Root canal performed in 1.5 hours. I swallowed some of the bleach they used to irrigate the canal. My throat hurt for about 2 hours afterward.

I feel better today, except for a mild headache brought on by a few too many hot toddies (and no, there was no sensitivity).

My dentist is an ace magician.

34

11.16.07/6 pm

Pre-molar #4 determined a non-threat. Filled with amalgam.

I feel no pain there. Doc says I'll need a crown in the future.

35

11.13.07

Update. No root canal today.
I can't feel the needle anymore.
They're going to have to extract.

I'm given the options: bridges or implants.

Make it bigger, baby. I got hired because of my molars!

Update.

11/12. Root canal in my future....

36 woulda been

I had to call off the dentist today. Columbia has given me a big work/deadline smack in the middle of midterms. PUM!

The next set dental date is for this Thursday.

The penicillin (500mg/ every 6 hrs) makes my piss smell like I'm into asparagus more than I should be. That's "Wanderer's Dentistry Asparagus" to you, Melchior.

Very little swelling where the abscess was. They said the bleeding was fierce.

37

Two x-rays today. I transfer up to the 7th floor. My post-grad dentist mentions that he's going to be taking care of the tooth, since it's a special case and a difficult root canal to (re)perform.
7th floor: The heavies are here. Post-grads in residence. I am declared a special case. He'll call the student dentist and inform him that Molar 14 is his.

Diagnosis: No perforation. But the canal must be addressed.

Appointments:
10/22 - Root Canal, pre-molar 4
11/13 - Root Canal, molar 14

38

Thursday.

E-mergency. Abscessaroni. Abscessaringo. I have some inflaming in the upper facial back molar barrio. I get to the waiting room at 6:15. Out by 8:45.

How much of my life is spent in these chairs, discovering the hungry dumpling facade of Lou Dobbs and his "war on the middle class" rhetoric. Leek dumpling.

As it turns out, they might have "perforated" my molar when they canaled it the other day.

On perforation: occurs if the dentist performing the operative procedure (yes, a mouthful) happens to (accidentally) push too far down into the canal, sometimes causing the canaling tool to puncture the tooth (Tool moving diagonally out through the tooth. I wasn't sure if perforations are caused by the tool, or by the insertion of barium endofile into the vacant canal). Perforations -- I think -- weaken the strength of the tooth, causing (sometimes) the gum to move to cover the hole, and represent an entry for cavities. As virtually everything else inside the mouth, perforations mean pain. Teeth get angry from them.

Tomorrow (Friday): more xrays. We'll find out whether or not I need repairs.

39

4:15 pm - Arrive for 4:30 appt., made yesterday, at NYU School of Dentistry. Corner of 1 Ave. and 24 Street.

4:30 pm - Call from Dentist. He won't show until 5: too many patients at his other job (dealer?)

4:50 pm - Call from Dentist. He isn't coming, swamped with walk-ins.

5:00 pm - Board bus. Get in yelling fight with drunk Dominican man with tattooed hands who insists I was trying to take his seat.

5:00 pm - Tell drunken man I wasn't moving in on "his" seat. Then call drunken man a "cocksucker." Consider telling him he needs treatment for what I hope ends up killing him.

5:00 pm - Keep silent. "...of quiet desperation."

5:01 pm - Move to the rear door of the bus. Stand next to a kid humming a song that I end up inadvertently tapping on my bag.

5:01 pm - Kid looks up at me. His eyes have the same look as mine must've, looking at the "seat" guy.

5:02 pm - Deboard.

P.S.

So...a bright future awaits.

[P.S. to 40]:

The gagging happens, during the 18 x-rays they take of me during Visit the Second. They place the film into my throat, to get the back molars. Can't they find more flexible film without those damn laminated edges?

"I did not notice the gag reflex last time," Doctor V says, dryly.

My doc (dent?) is knowledgeable (grad student), yet dry. This calm demeanor is a good thing when he's juicing me up, the cutting. His focus is impressive. My jaw's durability is impressive.

When he speaks, he mixes sympathy with the cold seriousness of a messenger. He's trying to scare me into changing my brushing habits. But this is ingrained.

By his account (and after seeing the tally, I'd agree), there are serious "things" happening in my mouth. I'm not sure if these are major "events" or will there be nipple. Should I "secure provisions" or not?

NYU is going to be where I spend a lot of time sitting down.

Five (5) of my fillings will be paid (they PAY me, hourly; unsure of cost) and free of charge. These are exams. Painless? I wouldn't want to owe any of them money when they're bleeding me, that's for sure.

I should mention that I deserve this.

My last dentist visit was 5 years ago: I paid $6000 colones ($20) to a woman in Rohrmoser, San Jose, Costa Rica (2nd best dental care in the world, after the US...dicen que dicen). She rubbed dye on my teeth to locate cavities -- where the dye turns reddish, that's a cavity. I left when she told me she didn't have amalgam to work with.

40 (8:30 a.m.)

Sitting in the chair. Oh god, these are students! I was setting fire to couches when I was a student. What do they have in mind for the chair I'm in?

Today I'm given:

18 x-rays. Rubber dicks can't even survive this bombardment.

And then the diagnosis:

15 cavities, requiring 15 fillings. Some teeth with what they call, sarcastically, "multiples."

4 root canals needed. "Endodontics," or dildonics. Not sure which.
3 crowns.
2 crown "lengthenings".
And 40 visits in all.
Total: $5,505.00, "Worst case scenario." (His words).