Ow

[susanreads]

I had a tooth out today.

My regular dentist didn't think she could do it cleanly given the position it was in and the existing damage (or didn't want to do it with me freaking out in the chair because I feel as if I can't breathe), so she referred me to a specialist clinic that usually does sedation. At the consultation a few weeks ago I decided against sedation, so today's dentist was leaning over doing stuff to my mouth with me in a semi-reclining position, as opposed to lying with my head below my shoulders (probably not, but that's what it feels like) hyperventilating. That was a much less unpleasant experience.

But now the local anaesthetic is wearing off, and ow.

Re. an ongoing conversation about healthcare systems
It's all covered by the NHS; if I wasn't on benefits it'd be a standard charge, which is under £50 for one extraction. The maximum for a course of treatment is under £200. Then I went and got the prescribed painkillers, which are also covered, and would be £7.20 otherwise, except that I use so much medication I'd get a prepayment certificate if I had to pay. In spite of the efforts of Thatcher and every government since to privatise everything that moves, we still have a healthcare system fit for a civilised country (whether we fit that adjective otherwise is a question for another day).

---

In other news, another ongoing conversation has flared up again (argh, I haven't finished the reading from IBARW yet!). People have been waving their privilege around at cons and online, and other people have lost patience. I wonder why that could be? (/sarcasm)

Coffeeandink has links

Comments

[sami]

I've had several teeth removed, and with the exception of my wisdom teeth (which were under general anaesthetic) they've always been in the mostly-upright position. I'm kinda freaked by the *idea* of doing it fully reclined - all that pressure and so on would be kind of overwhelming. When you're mostly upright, you can brace yourself against the strain, pressure, etc.

[susanreads]

I think the fully reclined position is standard here, unless that's just my dentist. I suppose they can see better that way, but it's a horrible helpless feeling even without a mouth full of icky stuff which is going to go the wrong way. You're presumably supposed to breathe thru your nose, but I've never been any good at that.

[gwendraith]

I used to be terrified of the dentist years ago and had to be totally put out for treatment. Then after two very sympathetic dentists my fear is almost nil. Thankfully I rarely need treatment! I'm with an NHS dentist too, and no charge as I'm also on benefits :-) Hope you're now recovered.

[susanreads]

I keep meaning to come back and reply to this and then not doing, because the answer is basically "not recovered, recovering". It stopped bleeding and my face is more-or-less back to its usual shape, but it varies enormously in how much it hurts. I wish I'd started taking the antibiotics (which were prescribed "just in case", if I understood the dentist) on Friday instead of Monday (when the dentist was talking about it I was groggy, so I didn't have a good idea of how to decide whether I needed them, and then I guess my brain wasn't firing on all cylinders).