August 11, 2001
Dental Diva: The Saga Continues

Well, the first of my four dental appointments to deep clean my teeth went off without a hitch yesterday. Root planing is really not as bad as I expected it to be. No worse than a regular cleaning, in fact, I don't even hurt as badly now as I do after one of my usual scraping sessions. I don't know if that means my gums are better than they were, or if it was the funky scraping machine my hygenist used (it used ultrasound vibrations and water - lots of water! - to break away the crap around my teeth), but whatever it was, I'm feeling fine today and thankful for it.

The procedure itself took about an hour, I think. I didn't actually time it. It didn't feel like that long, but I think it was. I was a little late to begin with because of some last minute stuff I had to do for work, but as it turned out it didn't matter, because the hygenist was busy with another patient, and I ended up waiting about a half hour before going in. That was fine with me: It gave me a chance to cool off! It was hotter that hell yesterday, and is supposed to be today, too, or so I hear. I really need to get a car with AC! Anyway, I sat in the waiting room, cooled off and read the September issue of Seventeen magazine. I know, I know, I'm a little old for that 'zine, but there really wasn't much else to read: Disney's Adventures!, several parenting magazines, half a dozen older Seventeens, a gardening 'zine that was boring, an Us that I'd already read, and a GQ. So with that selection, I chose the latest Seventeen. Can't say I really learned much, except that Seventeen is basically a baby Cosmo, but with make-up and fashion tips. (By the way, apparently clumpy mascara isn't the way to go. Gee, I'd've never guessed!)

Anyway, back to the dental portion of the entry. Once I was in the chair and properly numbed up, the hygenist began scraping away the plaque, tarter and other crap from around the roots of my teeth. Not all of them, just the upper right quadrent. She's only doing one section at a time, I guess because it's suppose to be a really awful procedure. Seriously, though, she could easily have done my whole mouth. My jaw aches a little today, as do my gums, but there's really no pain, and no serious discomfort. There's not even that annoying itching that I usually get after a cleaning. Nothing. Just nice, clean teeth!

Another thing she did while she was in there, was cut away some of the dead gum tissue that was irritating my gums causing them to pull away from the tooth, causing a pocket to form by the root, and where all the bacteria live and play. Sorry if that grosses you out, but that's the truth of it. Floss, and you likely won't have the same problem. Anyway, getting rid of that crap should help the irritated gum tissue heal, which will in turn close the pocket, and hopefully save my teeth. Yay!

The novocane wore off just as she was finishing up, which was perfect timing! I got to walk out of there without the fat lip and huge dead face one usually has after getting a filling, or undergoing any other invasive dental procedure. I got more fun things to play with - a toothpick holder to clean around the gums, a juvinille toothbrush (smaller, more compact head) for massaging my gums, a new regular toothpaste, floss and additional instructions. No lecture this time, though. Either I've been doing better, or she figured it would be a waste of time. Either way, it's fine with me. I really have been trying to do better, and I think I have. I guess next time I should ask her. Next time is the 29th.

Cheers,
Hez