Sunday, March 29, 2009

Il Dentista, Pt. II

The second dentist visit last Tuesday was better in some ways and worse in others. There were no close calls with swallowing metal clamps and my mouth isn't as stiff or painful as last time. Last week the needle was no problem. This week I started to have some of the physical symptoms of a panic attack. Last week the noise and vibration of the drills and grinders and buffers made me cry. This week they were still awful but weren't needed as much so it was over faster.

The most concerning difference was the numbing agent they used. Last week the freezing wore of in a few hours...a little longer than expected, but not unreasonably so. This time I still had parts of my face that were completely numb 14 hours(!!!) later. About six hours after the injection my upper lip/nose/cheek muscle area became completely unresponsive as if I'd had a stroke. I called to tell them about that since that's really not normal and they put a note in my file.

Cleanings have changed since I last went to a dentist. They used to use some sort of power tool to polish the teeth, but now they essentially sandblast the teeth with a mixture of warm water and baking soda. It was pretty gross, but better than power tools in my mouth.

1 comment:

  1. Ouch! That must be painful, honey. But in this kind of procedure, you really have to experience pain in order for you to see great results in the end. After all, your dentist is always there to take good care of you. =)

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