The first half of the dental work is now over, and my face and I aren’t happy.
I had two appointments on Friday, and what I was expecting to be awful wasn’t that bad, and what I thought would be easy was Pain Street, USA.
At 1pm, I was at the prosthodontist’s office to get seven fillings placed on my teeth. The bonding agent was supposed to make my teeth stronger and therefore better able to withstand the brackets/glue from the braces that will be put on next week. I’ve had some bonding agent on my front four teeth since Grade 7, so I’m inclined to agree when the dentist tells me that it’ll last! Plus, you know, he’s a dentist and junk. So that work totalled in the 4-digit range, but luckily it was covered.
Then, I skipped off to the orthodontist. They told me that spacers would need to be put in to help make some room in between my crowns, since they’re too crowded in the back to have the braces bands slipped around them. The spacers are those tiny rubber bands that go on the braces themselves, but when you have a situation like mine apparently they’re also used in between teeth to move things around a little before braces do the main job. I wasn’t expecting to be SO uncomfortable during this appointment. The poor woman putting those things in must have felt as awful as I did, as I was full-on ugly crying by the second or third one.
Because my crowns have always been sensitive — since they’re not really installed properly, since I didn’t have proper teeth to put them on — I think this appointment hurt more for me than other patients. The woman also mentioned that I’d be uncomfortable for the next couple days (ie, the rest of the weekend). It’s now Tuesday, and my teeth still hurt, as every time I bite down I hit the rubber band and push it a little deeper into my gum/tooth. Normally, these things would be flush with the teeth, so there wouldn’t be this constant push-pull, but my teeth are too short so I’m left with exposed rubber.
Best part? If any of them come out, I get to put them back in. *shudder* So I’m being super-duper cautious and careful, because I don’t know if I could manage it to be honest. It was hard enough to let someone else do it, and I don’t know if I could put myself in that much pain.
Then there’s the big balloon payment the orthodontist wanted that is currently sitting on my Visa. Another 4-figure amount, and this wasn’t covered at all. Ouch. I won’t be able to submit the paperwork for a few more weeks, so here’s hoping the interest won’t add up too quickly. Otherwise, those damn credit cards were paid off!
Overall, this means a lot of Advil (so far, at least in the mornings) and soft chewy foods (but not sticky, so those damn rubber bands aren’t pulled out!). Overall, I can’t eat too much or a wide variety of things without feeling really uncomfortable, Advil or no Advil. So this lack of food is making me quite grumpy.
My poor family got an earful all weekend, but now I’m back in Calgary and not sure where to vent my displeasure. All I can see is a lot of chili and soup in my future, and it’s bumming me out.
Then Friday is the big show. All the scary metal is being installed, and I’m going to want to rip things apart for the first little while. I’m hoping that the braces will fit better than these spacers, since they are being made specifically for my teeth and mouth. Otherwise, it’s going to be a long three YEARS.
Sigh. I’m in a funk. I know this all has to be done, but I’m already tired of the pain. It could be worse, but dammit, there could just be nothing too, you know?
