Finally the deed is done! If you've missed other installments of my tooth tale you can read the beginning here and the middle here. I want to thank you all for your well wishes and words of support and encouragement through this whole ordeal.
On Thursday I got a call from the Health Care Authority of WA State. She was appalled and frustrated about what I'd been going through trying to get my tooth fixed. She told me that she had been in touch with the dental office and they would be calling me very soon to get it resolved.
About an hour later I get a call from the dental office. They wanted to combine my oral surgery consultation and the surgery at the same time. They had openings on Friday (the next day?!!!) Saturday and Monday. Friday and Saturday were out of the question; we had really major plans on Saturday and my Friday was booked from beginning to end. I took the 8:00 am Monday appointment, against my better judgment.
Handy Man had meetings scheduled at 8:00 and 1:00 on Monday. We have out of town guest coming Thursday night. I asked the dental office a bunch of questions about the surgery, would I be recovered enough to go on vacation on Thursday? Yes. Should I eat before I go in? No. Would I be having anesthesia? Don't know. How long would the procedure take? Approximately 30 minutes, probably less. Handy Man canceled all his meetings so he could take me to the dentist and I'm really glad he did.
The oral surgeon was very nice as was the assistant. I felt confident after I met them that I was in good hands and the deed got under way.
Have you ever had one of those experiences where you know it's going to be bad, but you really have no idea how bad until you're right in the middle of it? Yep, that was my experience with this tooth extraction. To say it was horrible really doesn't do it justice. He gave me three very large shots of Novocaine and that was it... No gas, no Valium, just Novocaine. After it was over I kind of understood why... kind of. The surgeon likes to talk to his patients while he's working on them. He wants to know how they are doing. He wants to know if it hurts so he can stop and do more numbing.
After about the fourth or fifth time stopping for more numbing because of the excruciating pain I was in he finally said that my roots were not going to get numb no matter what, because of how infected they were. He felt bad, the assistant felt bad, I felt horrible. What should have been a short 15-20 minute procedure ended up being 45 minutes. When it was all over the surgeon just had to show me my roots. He said they were huge... I think his exact words were "beefy", but with his heavy accent and my grogginess I can't be sure. They looked pretty harmless to me, but what do I know?
There was a lot of wrenching, pulling, and pressure while extracting the tooth. There was a lot of grinding, sawing and crunching noises. Most of all there was a lot of pain. It was my worse nightmare come true.
Now it's Wednesday morning and I'm still not doing well. I'm all drugged out. The surgery site is very painful. Oh, did I mention I had to have 4 stitches?!! Most tooth extractions have 0, but yay I got 4. Yesterday when I got home from work all I could do was curl up on the sofa and watch movies and HGTV. My house is a mess and we have guests coming Thursday evening. GAH!
I don't really know how to wrap this up except by saying I really hope I never have to go through that again.
Oh, you poor, poor thing! I hope you are feeling better. Rest up and take care of yourself.
I am sure the visitors will understand if the house is a mess!
Posted by: The Incredible Woody | July 22, 2009 at 07:51 AM
Ouch! I think I'd rethink the whole company-coming-on-Thursday thing....
Posted by: Mental P Mama | July 22, 2009 at 07:53 AM
Poor, poor, POOR YOU! I'm impressed you made it through it because there is NO WAY I would've. At least it's done. Good luck getting the house ready for guests! I'm sure they'll understand that it's not tip top.
Posted by: Meg | July 22, 2009 at 09:01 AM
Been there done that. My dentist had his knee in my chest to pull out a tooth I cracked and was not ready to come out. I ended up with dry socket and I swear I almost died. I hope you feel better! It's over.
Posted by: noble pig | July 22, 2009 at 08:09 PM
I cannot believe they said you'd be fine by Thursday. I had a tooth removed by an oral surgeon--he wanted to put me under, but I wanted to tough it out with Valium and Novocaine for financial reasons (and tough it I did--big roots, too)--I felt like I'd been hit by a Mack truck for about a week.
I'm glad it's over. Hopefully it won't happen ever again.
Posted by: Jenn @ Juggling Life | July 22, 2009 at 11:45 PM
I will take care of you when I get there..
Posted by: Chrissy | July 23, 2009 at 05:59 AM
Tammy, how horrible! I had 4 teeth pulled in high school b/c I wouldn't wear that stupid neck gear crap. It hurt like hell. I remember one tooth wasn't numb yet and they started yanking on it away! I had 4 huge holes in my mouth until the little elastic thingies finally closed them 2 years later or however long it was. I'm sorry you are in such pain.
I'm sure chrissy and mark will understand if the house is a mess.
You all have a good time and hope your bad tooth (or the place it use to be) doesn't get in the way.
Posted by: Julie | July 23, 2009 at 11:25 AM
Oh Honey, That is the worst story ever! OMG! Going to an oral surgeon shouldn't mean toughing it out and letting them dismantle your mouth.
I hope you feel better soon sweetie! Hopefully they at least gave you good drugs for the aftermath?
(((Hugs)))
Posted by: Asthmagirl | July 23, 2009 at 07:03 PM
Oh my God, that's probably one of the most harrowing tales of oral surgeries that I've ever heard. So how are you doing now? After all that, I think you are better than ever. Like they said, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Luckily, you had a wonderful dentist. At least you're confident with his skills. That's the important thing.
Posted by: Ryder Mulford | August 02, 2011 at 06:08 AM