A milestone…my first fillings

Well, the cavities are filled and I survived! Technically 8 of them got fillings, 3 had build ups (something similar to a temporary filling). I’ll explain that part later. First things first—the day before. I was fine, a little anxious, but not scared. Then I started talking to some folks at work. Each person had their own story, but the main consensus was that the sound of the drill is horrible, and the Novocain shots were something I wanted to avoid. Of course that is virtually impossible seeing how I had 11 cavities in all 4 quadrants of my mouth, but I still asked Jennifer about it. Hey, can’t blame a girl for trying.

So I get to the office bright and early, ready to get it over with. I open the door to seeing everyone smiling and happy—at 7:30 mind you. “OK,” I thought, “feeling a little better.” I chatted with Jennifer for a bit, then Dr. Gibberman came out and put his arm around my shoulders and reassured me I’d be alright. Sweet relief—I was so happy to be back in his office after my not so pleasant oral surgeon visit.

Krista walked me back to her room, and she started explaining what we were going to do. First they use a gel to numb the areas of Novocain injection, then after a bit, Dr. Gibberman went in for the numbing. I was such a chicken at first—I asked if I could close my eyes so I wouldn’t see the needle. I can watch my blood get drawn and have 4 tattoos, but I was freaked out by seeing a needle go in my mouth. He said, “Whatever makes you comfortable,” which at that time, not seeing anything was fine for me. Then my curiosity gave in a little because I wasn’t feeling any pricks or pain, so I opened one eye, then the other. “Heyyyy, not too bad!” I thought, “and kinda fun to have the tingles in my lips.”

After a couple extra shots because I was still talking “too normal” we were ready for the drilling. *Deep breath* “You’re gonna live, he’s great at what he does, it will be OK.” Wouldn’t you know it, I was fine. The drilling sound was not blood curdling, and I actually turned my music off so I could hear the general dentistry convo between Dr. Gibberman and Krista. Then I heard it—the only bad news of the appointment. “The decay is too bad in there, you need a crown.” “Well of course I need a crown, I am the queen, and it’s about time my royalty was acknowledged. Wait, what was that? That kind of crown? Bummer. Oh, there’s more? Two of my wisdom have the same problem and will need to be removed?” That’s about the point where my stomach flipped. It went from 1 day of pain from cutting out that permanent tooth to a swollen face, gauzed up gums, and no solids for days. Karma, it’s coming back on me.

The odd thing is that when news like that came from Dr. Gibberman, I didn’t want to run away crying like I did with the oral surgeon or my old dentist. It was sort of casual, like, “Hey, it’s gonna be alright, no biggie,” but yet professional. That’s one of the many things I like about him—he says things in such a way that you don’t feel guilty for bad dental care or that you are a horrible person for letting things get so disgusting. If anything, he makes you feel confident and positive about the future. Yeah, I’ve gotta get my wisdom teeth cut out and a crown, but it will be alright, nothing to stress about.

So we get the drilling done, and after another couple doses of Novocain, Krista went to work. She was cracking me up—she’s so real just like everyone else in that office. Poor thing had to spend almost 4 hours hunched over my mouth. Lord knows she deserved that LaRosa’s pizza they were getting for lunch (veggie topper at that—could I be drooling anymore???).

All in all it wasn’t death defying at all—I made it though with no tears shed, and pretty much pain free. I did take a few Ibuprofens for my jaw since it was open for so long and for all the shots I had, but other than that I was good to go. The worst thing of the whole experience—eating a Frosty out of one side of my mouth and having my co-workers laugh at me. Avoiding a glop of chocolaty goodness on your shirt is quite the task. One of them even said, “You must have a VERY good dentist for how well you are doing after 11 cavities.”

You know what, I do. I have the best.