Dental Disasters and Lost Causes

It would seem that at my tender age of 28 has brought me not much luck in regards to teeth; despite flossing daily and brushing at least twice a day, my teeth keep needing serious repair work done on them because I take medicine that dries out my mouth which in turn makes me a lot more susceptible to getting cavities, root canals, and other fun dental maladies.

The inundating of my mouth with pointy objects, cotton, rubber dams, wedges, water that runs a muck, novicane that makes my heart rate speed up, and etc all gets really old. I will be having my latest root canal on Dec 2, which will probably be about $400 with insurance, all because I am on a lost cause mission to save my teeth because dentists say it's the best thing to do despite it seeming like a lost cause.I have had many dental procedures done on my teeth. I have had so many root canals that I have lost track of the amount of them, plus the amount of money I have thrown into the "hole of no-return." I asked if I should opt for dentures and I was told that, "teeth are like cars, you don't take a car to the dump if it still works, you keep using it till it dies." Comforting I know. When the dentist saw an X-ray of just one part of my mouth, he had said, "I can see why this would be disparaging, but your gums look really good, good job." Those are similar words that seem to come to me on a frequent basis about a lot of issues in my life.

At one point the dentist that I saw, I had known 7 or 8 years ago and I was a lot thinner. I am now 100lbs heavier than what I used to be and I had said it was from the M.S.; he said he didn't believe that-which I found rude because he had loved ones back in the day that were really over weight, so who is he to talk? The truth is I was on medicine it made me gain a lot of weight-then in turn fatigue associated with M.S., muscle spasms, and constant pain, plus living in a state I couldn't stand and being in a place where the men you were supposed to date didn't date you because they were so focused on school goals made me incredibly depressed, plus it was hard playing nicely with others. Whatevs, their loss; however I took that out on eating and ate to feel good and I still struggle with that. I'm trying to find something that makes me happy without it corrupting my life or my soul and I'll let you know when I find the answer.

What I find funny in life is that a lot of dentists that promote healthy dental observance are they themselves not too observant to their own dental needs. When I look at the mouth of a dentist that is supposed to do restoration implants, veneers, and superficial smiles, I expect that person to have one as well, and when they don't, it leaves me questioning if what they are promoting is really all that it's cracked up to be. It was funny to see the ad he had put into a magazine was air brushed with a completely different smile and one that had been extremely whitened. I notice these details- I have a degree in Design from one of the top design schools in the nation and I pride myself on noticing small things that really do matter.

Apparently the dentist that I had seen back in West Des Moines, Iowa, who I thought to be a trustworthy individual put a sort-of-bridge in my mouth because he said that it was a little bit cheaper and would be the same as a regular bridge-to him-I say he is a liar. The "semi bridge" is now loose and will have to be recemented or completely replaced with another "real bridge" because of the location of the teeth in question. I am livid in regards to the situation. It cost me $1600 for the stupid "semi bridge" a couple of months ago. I found out from the dentist that I am currently going to in Bakersfield, CA that the method used on me in West Des Moines was a method not used that much because it is found to be useless and inefficient in the long run. I will note though, that while that dentist back in West des Moines was not forthcoming about the "semi-bridge", he did do a good job on the "real bridge" that are my top three teeth in front which cost over $2,400. That's right people! Crazy? I know.

I have spent thousands of dollars on my teeth and yet they still look sad I feel-if teeth could show an emotion. Maybe I should write to Oprah or Tyra Banks and maybe they could pay for a new mouth of implants that would be worth over $30,000! That would be cool,....but I don't know. Asking a celebrity to "hook you up" with free dental services seems pitiful....but I think I am getting to that point.

Keep on flossing!