This was an odd appointment

[cornerofmadness]

First I stopped at Spirit Halloween but forgot this was the one I went to last time (for some reason I thought it was a different one). All the outdoor stuff was completely picked over or insanely overpriced. Really 20-30$ for a single styrofoam tombstone that'll blow away. I can get that for 5$ at Big Lots. I DID get a talking creepy doll. I'm pretty happy with that. I'll have to buy the animatronics online if the shipping isn't a fuck ton of money.

So I get to the doctors and apparently half the patients are waiting in their cars. I'm like do you want me to do that? Should I do that? I was less than impressed with the wait and his staff. And yes, his. I have NO idea what's up with the Jackson posting which has him as Britton William (and I clicked a link that I can't find today that had a young woman) but when I double checked the addy in Chillicothe, it was William Britton. He is a middle aged man and a little ...odd. Hell he came to see me and his staff STILL hadn't taken an x-ray of my tooth. Then he asks me what I do and I tell him. He was muttering about not wanting to do a crown yet because my gums are inflamed and maybe I need probiotic tx in my mouth and the oral steroids are going to cause issues. I'm ready to bang my head.

Then he comes back with a little hard cover book about jaws evolution and thought I'd be interested in it. He gifted it to me. I'm interested. There are 3 reactions to learning I'm a doctor a) get excited b) get defensive (like I'm out to trick them or something) c) no real reaction. He was A. Talked forever. He (and the authors of the book) are convinced a lot of current jaw issues are because of the different way babies feed suckling a bottle vs breast. Honestly that's not as misogynistic as it might sound but I'd like to see the studies before I'm convinced (and well I have the book).

Anyhow I already know that I grind like hell and have a malocculded jaw He explained how night time grinding could be 9-10 times the pressure you'd put on your jaw consciously and how apnea can make it worse. He wants me to try a different type of night guard. If it's not $$$ I might.

To that end his staff put this thing in my mouth to take a picture of my entire jaw which was like having a...banana in length and width for like 10 minutes ugh.

He started the repair but a young woman finished it with never introducing herself (I'm assuming she is a student doc).

So on one hand proactive and concerned on the other hand weird staff.

I wanted Buffalo Wild Wings (hot stuff I could taste with my numb mouth) but they had an hour wait for take out. Bite me. I got sushi for tomorrow, toddled home, wanted KFC (since it was late) but there were 12 cars in line. Gave up got an Arby's gyro and came home to more grading. And boy is my jaw sore now. Those needles feel like harpoons. I'm a little hungry but I can't get my mouth around those yummy panera bagels.

Comments

[tozka]

I'm enamored with this weird little dentist who gives you books!

[cornerofmadness]

It was truly surreal

[nondenomifan]

Did he give you the injection in your mandibular or upper maxillary jaw? (My dad is a retired dentist for whom I used to be a roving assistant [the one who runs to get something and fetch it to the treatment area/room]). The injections for the lower jaw are longer because the upper jaw has bone much closer to the surface of the mouth and cheeks.

And, I've been on the receiving end of them, so I feel you. The ones to your mandible feel like you suddenly caught influenza in your jawbone, and those to the maxilla or hard palate sting like the dickens!

Hope you feel better soon!

BTW, the procedure for a crown is:
1st appointment: clean away decay, take impressions for dental lab, put in temporary crown
2nd appointment: put in crown, check bite with articulating paper, correct as necessary until articulating paper leaves even markings.

If he did it all in one sitting, find another dentist. You've got one who's rushing procedure, which will end badly for you. As you're strapped for cash, I recommend finding a large university with a dental school (i.e., not a business college with one). The students are closely supervised, and only the graduating class gets to work on live humans. The underclassmen work on--well, not live humans (and sometimes each other, though that's frowned upon).

My dad graduated from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. If you're anywhere near Ann Arbor, MI, that is where you want to go.

[cornerofmadness]

thanks. I have cousins who are dentists too. I'm no where near them either (I'm in OH) THanks. I've had injections into literally every part of my mouth at one point or another. This was the lower jaw this time

Oh no, not at all. In fact he's afraid of kicking off an inflammatory response if he crowns it now (I have 4 of them too, so nothing new to me there) I just have the temporary fix now. Nor am I strapped for cash (or anywhere near a dental school for that matter) THat's about a 2 hour haul for me

[nondenomifan]

Oh, I didn't know if you were a single-practice doctor or one who works with others. I know my dad went through some really tight cash times, and they were always when the economy was bad because people stop taking care of their health--especially their dental health--first when they get low on money. Hope you didn't take me saying you were strapped for cash as an insult.

I neglected to say in my first post that you deserve great gratitude and respect for being a doctor. I know personally two people who couldn't get through even one semester of medical school because it was so difficult (one being my dad).

You're in Ohio? We're practically neighbors! (I don't reveal my exact location to members of fandom anymore because of some violent threats I received back in the mid-90s. Otherwise, darn it, I'd love to be occasional-visit friends!)

Do you think your dentist has Asperger syndrome? I have it, a former neurologist of mine obviously has it, and medicine is one of the common fields Aspies enter. Does he speak in tangents and divert conversation topics to things in his own life/to his own liking a lot? If so, it's highly likely he's an Aspie, God bless him.

Glad he's taking good care of you. I wonder if he might prescribe a mild prophylactic antibiotic, much like they do for heart patients (i.e., "pre-medicate" for any procedure, even a cleaning). An infection in the mouth can lead to a lifetime of heart trouble in a previously healthy person. Not trying to freak you out--just a person who genuinely cares about her fellow earthlings. :)

[cornerofmadness]

I'm actually a doctor who was injured an no longer can practice and I'm a professor now so actually yeah occasionally cash isn't what I'd like it to be. I did not take it as an insult. I just didn't want anyone thinking I was repping myself as having nothing. A lot of people are very hard hit by all of this including medicals.

I take my health seriously as it's in bad shape anyhow. Aw that's too bad but I've known other people who've had hugely bad threats made on them via fandom too. So sad.

He's too new for me to say but Aspie is a possibility. I'm not sure he'll remain my new dentist. I mean I really like the dentist I've had for 15 years but this is the third time they couldn't make time for an emergency so that's upsetting. I'll see this guy again in a few days.

I'm allergic to a lot of antibiotics so probably not (and I DO talk to my students about the links between flossing, dental health and heart health. Actually when I was a teen a neighbor had a transplant because of a neglected mouth infection becoming endocarditis. Most people of course don't know that (so I appreciate the head's up)

What he did talk about that interested me was the oral probiotics. I've not heard of that before. I'm interested in it. I'll have to see if he wants to start that because I think it would be beneficial especially if I have to stay on those stupid inhaled steroids for my asthma. I hate them so much.