In the last several months, I've been slowly working my way to being caught up on all things health-related. I'm trying to eat better. I'm going to the chiropractor (only because I've got a pinched nerve in my back) once a week for now, and eventually we'll taper down to once a month.
So yesterday I went to the dentist.
The story of my dental health goes like this:
When I was a child, we didn't have health or dental insurance. I remember going to the dentist in fourth grade, but that's it. As an adult, I've only had insurance for the last year or so. I went for a cleaning/dental assault about five years ago because I had a cavity that needed to be filled. It was a really traumatic experience I don't care to relive today (ask me later, and someday I'll write about it).
So last year I got what I thought was a horrible cold. My nose was runny and my throat hurt and my head was pounding. Turns out that was an infected tooth. So I went to a dentist. I just scheduled a cleaning, thinking they would just fix my problem while they were doing the cleaning (because this is how it went when I saw the sociopath dentist years before). But no. I had to see an oral surgeon. I saw him, but I panicked and didn't ever go in to have the offending teeth removed because I didn't like the surgeon and I didn't have money to pay for all the extra things he wanted to do.
So yesterday I go in for my cleaning. And because of all my previous traumatic dental experiences, I'm pretty freaked out. I know my teeth are in desperate need of a cleaning. I know that I've got a wisdom tooth that is mostly gone (it has crumbled over the last year), and a molar with a broken filling, and the worst case of TMJ most medical professionals have seen.
I was there for two hours. TWO HOURS. They poked my gums. I think she was evaluating what to do with my disaster of a mouth when I finally opened up my mouth enough for my jaw to pop. She had the dentist over there in ten seconds flat.
So they did all kinds of tests. How wide I can open my mouth. How far I can move my jaw to either side. Seven of the inside-your-mouth x-rays, and a CAT scan.
They have a set of what looked like headphones they put on my jaw and plugged into the computer. The hygienist had me open and close my mouth five times. The computer showed the sound waves from the popping. So she's looking at them, and she's pretty quiet for a minute and then she says "Oh, wow." I'm just looking at her. This is not what I want to hear. She continues, "This is the measurement for your left side. See? You're averaging 460. The normal range we see is 15-20."
Ho. Lee. Crap.
The dentist comes back in to look. I'm starting to get nervous at this point, even though I know it's bad, and I know that any medical professional who has ever looked at my jaw has been mildly disturbed.
"You see, this is special," he says to the hygienist. "Out of a hundred patients, you might see one with this severity. This is degenerative joint disorder, and in all likelihood the left side of her jaw is completely destroyed, but we'll have to look at the CAT scan to be sure."
He said a lot more than that, but I've forgotten the actual terminology he used for the rest. Basically, they fit me for a mouthpiece to wear at night, and I'll do follow-up visits for a while. Eventually I'll probably be in braces. Hooray.
But first, I have to see an oral surgeon again. And I go back for a filling in two weeks. And my cleaning is in November, because they have to do a deep cleaning which my insurance may or may not cover. And there will be more appointments from there, to see what we can do about my jaw.
Being healthy is expensive.
I mean, I'm in pretty good health, but all this maintenance is quite expensive, when you figure I've got a minimum of three appointments and an oral surgery in my future. Plus all the chiropractor visits. Plus the yearly OB/GYN appointment coming up. Damn.
I just keep telling myself that in the end this will all be worth it. I'll be caught up on everything before we have babies. I'll have a good spine and healthy teeth and it might not even sound like I'm chewing gravel every time I eat. And, if I'm really, really lucky, I might even have enough money left over by the end of all this to make it to the eye doctor for new contacts and a pair of glasses. ugh.
And here BoyWonder is trying to talk me into selling my car and buying a new one... Because it's a really good idea to take on a car payment right now. ::rolls eyes::
So that's the story for this week.
I really will be posting something on Winfield soon. I'm still recovering, you know.
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