most vertebrates
it is still a novel experience to be complimented on my cleaning by a dentist. too many years spent being harangued for my lack of dental hygiene, i suppose. it's a nice feeling, though.
at my checkup two weeks ago she found that the upper tooth with a shadow last year had developed a cavity in the second layer, so i had that drilled and filled today. i am always fascinated by the experience of a local injection. how quickly it enacts versus how slowly it disperses. the oddness of the numbed sensation: being able to feel pressure but not specific areas, the way my teeth feel bigger in my mouth, and heavier, the way it spreads upwards into my nose and cheekbone. i think this dentist uses a different anaesthetic to the last one because i didn't have the racing heart, floaty feeling i used to get. today it seems to be affecting my eyes strangely, possibly because the injection was so high and the numbness has extended up to my eye socket.
afterwards, i got molded for a splint, which i am supposed to wear at night to help me stop grinding my teeth. or at least help ameliorate what it's doing to my teeth. i have a very strong bite. on one hand, i feel sort of proud. check out how strong my jaw is, woo! on the other, it's actually a problem. if i hadn't spent years neglecting my teeth, they'd be healthier and stronger and it probably wouldn't be so much of a problem yet, but since i did, they're cracking and wearing down too quickly. poor teeth. i'm sorry.
so she did the bottom teeth, easy peasey. then she went for the top ones. now, see, if i were a dentist, i would warn people about what was going to happen and the possibility that they might have a reaction to it. that way they wouldn't, like me, panic when the stuff goes in and it hits the back of your mouth and your gag reflex kicks in and you think you're going to choke. i tried to grab the thing out of my mouth—a completely reasonable action when one is choking, i think—but she got me to sit up and breathe through my mouth and, after some entertaining gagging, i made it through.
but, i mean, if she had just told me at the beginning, "this might make you gag a little. if you start to gag, don't panic, and don't try to take out the mold. just sit up and breathe through your mouth," then there wouldn't have been a problem. i would've been prepared and we could have avoided the flailing and panic.
oh well. i guess i know for next time.
so on the way home, i bought myself ice cream because i'm hungry and i'm still too numb to eat anything solid without biting myself. my mouth will be happy, if not my intestines. i like to eat ice cream with a long spoon, the kind you use for cocktails or old fashioned ice cream floats. i don't know why i have cutlery preferences. it seems an odd thing, really.
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This entry was originally posted at Dreamwidth. If you feel inclined, comment there.
at my checkup two weeks ago she found that the upper tooth with a shadow last year had developed a cavity in the second layer, so i had that drilled and filled today. i am always fascinated by the experience of a local injection. how quickly it enacts versus how slowly it disperses. the oddness of the numbed sensation: being able to feel pressure but not specific areas, the way my teeth feel bigger in my mouth, and heavier, the way it spreads upwards into my nose and cheekbone. i think this dentist uses a different anaesthetic to the last one because i didn't have the racing heart, floaty feeling i used to get. today it seems to be affecting my eyes strangely, possibly because the injection was so high and the numbness has extended up to my eye socket.
afterwards, i got molded for a splint, which i am supposed to wear at night to help me stop grinding my teeth. or at least help ameliorate what it's doing to my teeth. i have a very strong bite. on one hand, i feel sort of proud. check out how strong my jaw is, woo! on the other, it's actually a problem. if i hadn't spent years neglecting my teeth, they'd be healthier and stronger and it probably wouldn't be so much of a problem yet, but since i did, they're cracking and wearing down too quickly. poor teeth. i'm sorry.
so she did the bottom teeth, easy peasey. then she went for the top ones. now, see, if i were a dentist, i would warn people about what was going to happen and the possibility that they might have a reaction to it. that way they wouldn't, like me, panic when the stuff goes in and it hits the back of your mouth and your gag reflex kicks in and you think you're going to choke. i tried to grab the thing out of my mouth—a completely reasonable action when one is choking, i think—but she got me to sit up and breathe through my mouth and, after some entertaining gagging, i made it through.
but, i mean, if she had just told me at the beginning, "this might make you gag a little. if you start to gag, don't panic, and don't try to take out the mold. just sit up and breathe through your mouth," then there wouldn't have been a problem. i would've been prepared and we could have avoided the flailing and panic.
oh well. i guess i know for next time.
so on the way home, i bought myself ice cream because i'm hungry and i'm still too numb to eat anything solid without biting myself. my mouth will be happy, if not my intestines. i like to eat ice cream with a long spoon, the kind you use for cocktails or old fashioned ice cream floats. i don't know why i have cutlery preferences. it seems an odd thing, really.
--
This entry was originally posted at Dreamwidth. If you feel inclined, comment there.