Irony hurts

Yesterday I ate a mint Lifesaver. I bit into it and cracked a rear molar all the way through and now it's killing me. It could have been worse. I could have choked on it and that would have been the ultimate Lifesaver irony.

I'm drinking through a straw now. Any cold liquid coming in contact with the tooth makes me want to rip my face off. I can't wait to go to the dentist and get told I need a crown and my co-pay is $600.

Lol, I almost choked on a lifesaver once.

That's terrible! I hate sore teeth.

I hope that you can get it fixed fast, and that it won't transfer the pain to the hip pocket too much as a result!

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lasercrazy said:
Lol, I almost choked on a lifesaver once.

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Actually,although very uncomfortable,you won't likely choke on a lifesaver because of the hole.Pediatricians say it's the safest candy for small children.I know,pretty petty,but could come in handy one day....maybe. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

Reminds me of someone I know who chipped a tooth while eating dinner - it looked really ugly. And, just because this is CPF so I have to mention it, I whipped out my EDC Maglite Solitaire (yes, we were all young and foolish once!), and in the blinding 0.25 lumen light we inspected the damage. Decision made we headed to the dentist, of course this had to happen late at night, so he paid emergency callout fees and such. Now that I think about it, my friends did know I routinely carried a light even so long ago and they asked whether I had one.

I'm not sure which hurt more, the tooth, the dentist charging him $250, or finding out that the tooth was actually ok and just needed a little bit of cleaning work that could be handled at non-emergency, non-extortion rates had he waited till the next morning.

However, the only consolation is that I don't believe the light had much to do with the overestimation of the damage to the tooth. I wonder what the reaction would have been if I had pointed today's lights at him (P90, 105 lumens comes to mind). "Do you always carry a dentist's overhead light in your pocket?"

Ouch! I can relate... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mecry.gif
2 weeks ago I broke a front tooth grinding in my sleep. (Yes, I have a splint and no, I wasn't wearing it... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif )

Anybody want to buy a light? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

i got a ttothe ache from hell.and as some of ya know im a tad screwy in head, so im haveing troble going to dentist fact is i only been to a dentist once, i hate crowds so im scared to go ,

I hate to ruin your day, Diesel Dave. However, the standard procedure with a cracked tooth is to do a root canal before putting on a crown. You are looking at $1,200 to $2,000 for the whole set of procedures. This just happened to me a few years ago.

But, on the bright side, root canals don't hurt like did in the past. The new anaesthetics are amazing and you probably won't feel a thing. In fact, most root canal patients now fall asleep during the procedure! Good luck.

Dave,
You are far from alone.

As you may know, Ive spent the last six months working as a contractor in Iraq. In July I got my r and r. Met the wife in England and we had two weeks togther.

One of the nice things about England is the candy. I was enjoying a bit of toffie, and I felt something let go. Took the toffie out and low and behold, there was a bit of gold in it.

Pealed the gold out of the candy, only to loose it in the car seat. This was not going to be my day.

I had to find a dds in London, because there was no way I was going to let a Kuwaiti or Iraqi dds work on my face.

Found a little dental clinic in Paddington who took me right away. X Rays and, injectable anasthetics, and some UV cureing plastic solved my problem. I spent about 135 pounds on my face. Some vacation. Killed most of the day. The rest was spent geting some laundry done.

The Doctor was from S. Africa, very skilled. I was not too impressed with the dental assistant, she needed to spend some time on the receiving end of treatment.

You got to be alive to spend money. Might as well help your dds afford his Jag.

Much luck
Jack Crow in Iraq

I commiserate with you, Dave...misery loves company. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

When my warranty ran out at 50, my teeth started cracking and crumbling like chalk. For a while I looked like a friggin Jack-O-Lantern. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

Yeah, you're probably gonna need a root canal. Man oh man, he'll have to stick that needle in so deep it'll feel like the point is coming out of your neck...or out of the corner of your eye if the molar is topside.

Then you gotta put up with him screwing that reamer into your nerve and ripping it back out. No pain, per se, but the sound and vibration is grueling.

Then he squirts that awful stuff in that kills off anything down there at your jawbone, it usually puddles on your tongue while you scrunch it up to close off your throat until the gum-cracking bimbo with the suction awakens from her reverie.

Yeah, man, I feel your pain.

Hey Raggie, now you don't dawdle on that tooth, you need to get down to the dentist and have him take care of it before it abcesses. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif

Seriously, these oral mechanics have come a long way with making it not a big deal to get a root canal or a tooth pulled today.

Britt

how much does it cost to have a back tooth pulled it in back a mouth up top i think last tooth in my mouth . i called and lady said 250 is this normal?

Raggie, that's the one (top left for me) that I had pulled in July. I think it cost me about $200.00. A bottle of pain meds was another $25 or so. YMMV.

cool i just did some more reaserch and found a place that does complex extrations for 100 but its in columbus and i dont drive. im sure i have like 7 that need to be pulled i havent been to a dentist in years. be nice to be abl;le to eat steak again
its this place they seem very good deals
[image]http://www.affordabledentures.com/zipASP/info.asp?thenum=8106[/image]

grr link didnt work
http://www.affordabledentures.com/zipASP/info.asp?thenum=8106

My wife is actually in the chair as we speak getting a root canal and after that its off to a another dentist to get a crown. It will put a dent in the wallet even with insurance, at least it did with our plan.

ACK! this kinda stuff sucks! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jpshakehead.gif
When I was about 5 I allmost choked on a life saver, I had that thing caought in my wind pipe for over 5 min. The fire department was even called in as they where the closest people. My mom hung Me upside down and that disloged the dang thing. Glad they have a hole!
I have had two root canals, 1 with nitrus oxide 1 with out. I switched dentits after that and now refuse to have any work aside from cleaning with out nirus oxide. That stuff makes a world of differance for Me. luckly my dentist has an older machine with out a safty limit so He can turn it up higher then normal. They now call Me the "nitrus king" and my dentist told Me that I take twice what He gives to his other people. I guess I have a high tolerance to it.

Also I would pay the 1-2 grand for a rootcanal then have the tooth removed as that can cause other problems with bone loss and tooth shifting if it's not done right.

Good grief, are we chewing on our lights? One of my uppers cracked in half, at the old filling, this Tuesday.

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BC0311 said:
...stick that needle in so deep it'll feel like the point is coming out of your neck...or out of the corner of your eye... screwing that reamer into your nerve and ripping it back out...squirts that awful stuff in that kills off anything down there at your jawbone...gum-cracking bimbo with the suction...Yeah, man, I feel your pain.


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Yikes! Actually, I've had five or six root canals with novocain, not nitrous oxide and rest assured if you have a decent endodontist your discomfort will be very minimal, nothing like in the "old days". The only cause of real pain (before or after, not during the procedure) might be an abcess or infection, but that can be handled with antibiotics and premedication.

The important thing is to get a good endodontist.

Brightnorm

Having been cursed by genetics and a crappy diet when I was a kid, I have had lots of experience with dentists. Don't settle for one that makes you uncomfortable. There's no need for pain. Attractive dental assistants are almost as good as a shot of novacaine, too.

Definitely shop around, but get comforatable with your dentist and you tend to learn to take better care of your teeth, which is not only less painful, but cheaper by a mile. Letting a tooth go bad or getting an abcess is NOT better than a sharp stick in the eye. Actually had a dentist who opened the office on a holiday weekend to deal with an abcess and was pretty reasonable with the bill, too.

As you get older it isn't unusual to have to have fillings replaced and/or crowned. Crowns don't always mean the additional root canal, btw.

Dental insurance is a beautiful thing, too.

-(a different) Craig

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brightnorm said:

Yikes! Actually, I've had five or six root canals with novocain, not nitrous oxide and rest assured if you have a decent endodontist your discomfort will be very minimal, nothing like in the "old days".

The important thing is to get a good endodontist.


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Brightnorm is correct. During my recent root canal, I never felt a thing. I was watching the drilling on a TV screen and listening to the pleasant soft conversation of the endodontist and his assistant. I actually fell asleep as he was drilling and woke up refreshed with the procedure just about done. The only painful part is writing the check.