Thursday, December 6, 2007

Piss and Moan

I have to complain for a moment.

I ate some popcorn last week, and I think I got a little of the kernel skin stuck in between my back-most molar and my gums. Ever since then, I've had the worst mouth pain! The gums around that tooth are swollen, and now the inside of my right cheek is starting to swell. The right side of my tongue is sore, too from my teeth gnashing it against the swelling. Mommy!

I need to go to the dentist. I haven't been since 2004, and isn't that very sad? First of all, I hate dentists. They are some freaky people. Secondly, I hate paying for it. Why do I hate paying for a dental visit, but I'll gladly pay the doctor? Do I think dentistry is quackery? Not necessarily, but I just don't enjoy the experience much.

A dentist visit is like bad sex. Think about it: Dentists breathe in your face, when they drill it smells like burning hair, and they like to tell you what they're doing as they do it. It creeps me out. When I get out of the chair, there's always a sheen of sweat left behind. The next time I go, I worry about going nuts like Bill Murray in Little Shop of Horrors and screaming "Candy Bars!"

The thing is, though, that I have dental insurance now. I should be able to pay for this; however, I've heard from other coworkers that their dentists make them pay upfront including the co-pay if they have work done at the visit. It's discounted mind you, but I don't need to be blindsided by having to fork out $250 for a root canal when I just came to get some kernel removed, ya dig?

There are greater fears. I need dental work done - extensively. I brush twice a day, sometimes more, but I can't floss well because my teeth are jammed so close together. Seriously, the last time I went to the dentist was the result of an emergency: One of my molars broke into pieces while I was flossing. Scary! Apparently an old filling was loosened over the years and the tooth became unstable. That resulted in a root canal and crown. Yipe - that's some money!

The reason why my teeth are close together is because my wisdom teeth are in. Every few months, they cause me about 2 weeks worth of pain. They're just knocking into my mouth, trying to claim residence. My whole mouth gets tender and I freak out about going to the dentist, end up not going, and wait until another mouth issue comes up before considering the dentist again.

And I got cavities. My teeth are looser than a drunk girl on rohypnol. I need help!

I think I get this wariness of medicine from my parents - especially from Dad. He doesn't like going to the dentist because he knows they'll have to give him dentures. If he thinks he broke his leg playing soccer with Cody, he'll "wait and see." He just muscles through it. Seriously, I think if we had a Meyer family crest, it would have a hog, a turtle and the Latin words for "Work Always in the Avoidance of Immutable Inevitability."

Any of my cousins out there agree?

So there's that,

Laura

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree with the Meyer family crest. I hated to tell dad the other day that Scott had to get an epidural for back pain because I knew what his response would be. He said he was a "wuss". Gotta love him!

Michelle K said...

Oh my God...MOM is exactly the same way. I actually had to make a doctor's appointment for her when I went this past week. I know she won't cancel it, because that means she would have to call. It's easier for her to just show up. I swear they if they lost a limb, they would just grab what is handy to support themselves and say...that will do.


Here's the kicker, this comes from our Grandfather. He always said..."It'll get better". So we can expect no less from our parents.

Now I also hate going to the dentist, infact I hate it so much I would rather go get a pap test before going to the dentist. I'm not sure who you go to, but I along with other family members go to the Freak of Ferdinand. I never knew I could ask one question and it would take the entire time it took for him to clean my teeth to answer it...and at the end said it really doesn't matter. What did I ask him...What kind of tooth paste do you recommend? So my guess is that he is dentist that is missing from the "4 out of 5 dentist approve". They just fucking gave up on him....

jt said...

the dentist is the least scary of doctors to me. because no matter what he says, his news can never be too awful. it's not like he's going to tell me somehow i have feline aids from all the sour patch kids i eat. or that I have an inoperable cancerous tumor from the soda I drink.

the eye doctor - those bastards freak me out. however, my exam this past month - i was greeted by a FC alumnus. ha! she was sassy.

and i'm not a man's man - i go to the doctor for everything. because my thought is, if i pay for insurance, for fucks sake i'm gonna use it. you bet i'm gonna put in claim after claim after claim. and make the cost of the group go up at my work. ha! :) so there's THAT