So, here's my story...
A little over two months ago, I started experiencing acute tooth pain. I spent the weekend wishing that monday were already here, and that I could get into a dentist office to make the pain stop.....
It also happend to be during the week that the Chevrolet dealership kept our car for over a week while parts were on order. now, you're supposed to enjoy time off of work, you know... get some of those home improvement, and crafting projects completed that you have been meaning to do for the last few months. That didn't happen, the weekend seemed to go on, and on.
Eventually monday arrived, so I peddled my bike as fast as I could the six blocks to the dentist office in the cold, drizzling rain. I was greeted with a smile, and asked if I had ever been seen by Dr. Campen before. I said that I had not, and explained as well as possible, that I had a terribly painful, and sleepless weekend, and hoped that they could fit me in that day. Dr. Campen is a wonderful dentist, with a great chairside manner. I highly recommend his practice to anyone in need of a dentist, for whatever reason. He saw me right away, and sent his dental hygienist in to take an x-ray of the offending tooth, and surrounding area. After about five minutes, Dr. Campen returned to my room with the developed x-rays, and asked me if my dentist had ever talked to me about periodontal disease. That made me gasp, and I had to explain that the last time I sat in a dentist's chair was almost sixteen years ago. He went over the facts about periodontal disease. The fact of the matter was, I had been suffering bone loss for quite a long time, and the offending tooth would have to go after a week of strong antibiotics.
the following week, I went in for a simple extraction... Yikes!!! The whole reason it's been so long since my last visit to the dentist is, the thought of having the series of jabs with the novocaine needle! I'd rather wear a hair shirt!!! Well, despite my fear of the shots, my fear of the tooth pain was even worse, so out with the tooth it was the following week. As previously stated, Dr. Campen has a wonderful chairside manner, and worked quickly and efficiently removing my tooth. It just wasn't as bad as I remembered. We scheduled a follow up exam for the following week to do a full set of x-rays to find out the extent of damage done by periodontal disease. Unfortunately, the images were not good. I had quite a bit of bone loss. Several teeth were no longer surrounded or anchored with bone. Dr. Campen discussed my options at this point, removal of all my front teeth (upper and lower), and quarterly visits to the periodontist for scaling and root planing, along with home care to save my teeth for as long as possible, possibly for another ten years. Well I decided to take my health into my own hands. It's My health, and I wanted to talk to others that have gone through what I'm now faced with, and make an informed decision. What I learned was this:
If I keep the teeth, and go along with the quarterly periodontal treatments (:
1. Cost between $200 and $800 per treatment!
2. A lot of painful dental work.
3. Eventual tooth loss anyways!
(pricing for perio treatments taken from : Here)
If I opt to have my teeth extracted, the bacterial infection and the ever present pain goes away.
1. Cost for extractions.... $3k to $4k ! (oral surgeon, complete with anesthesia.)
2. Cost for dentures..... $2400!!!! OUCH!!!!
I talked to people that decided to save their teeth and opted to do the scaling and root planing and guess what?!? Nine out of ten ended up losing their teeth eventually, and said that if they had it to do all over again, they would have opted to lose the teeth, get dentures, and be done with it!!!
Several people also referred me to Affordable Dentures.
Needless to say Affordable Dentures is the way I decided to go. It cost a whole $2100. That included the extractions, xrays. 22 vials of Novocaine, immediate denturues, the "New Denture Wearers' Custom Package. So far, I have been very happy with the quality of service, and care provided by Dr. Wulf's office in Wilmington, NC. THey are a national chain providing services in over 20 states, locations may be found here.
The Moral of the Story:
All of this could have been avoided if I had gone to see my dentist yearly for routine cleanings!
I did not have one cavity in my mouth!
My teeth should have lasted me a lifetime!
Since I chose to disregard this simple task, I now have to re learn how to talk and eat! it's extreamly difficult as an adult, and I really wish I still had my natural teeth.
Don't get me wrong, my new teeth are absolutely beautiful.
I'm just put off by the thought of whistling, clicking and clacking.
My biggest pet peeves are poor grammer and/or enunciation!
I did not spend a year in speech therapy as a child, and years of practicing my exercises to overcome a lisp for nothing!
Now I feel like smacking myself every time I speak!
I know I will eventually relearn to speak properly, but for now it's so frustrating!....
To Be Continued........
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