It's Gone!!

Yes, the tooth is gone. What a huge sigh of relief, and my neck and head have already thanked me.

My dentist called me early Monday afternoon and we talked about the tooth. He told me that the oral surgeon who could extract it was leaving town today (Tuesday), and was willing to see me yesterday afternoon. I went gladly and willingly as soon as I could.

When the assistant brought me back and sat me in the chair, I was nervous and excited at the same time. Nervous I still might not be better when the tooth was gone, and excited that I might be better afterward. I decided I was only going to have novacaine, and I'm glad I did. It took longer to let the novacaine do it's job than what the oral surgeon did! When I was ready, he and the assistant came in and got the extraction tool ready. Within a matter of a minute, the tooth was out (in pieces), and gauze was dropped in it's place. I got to see the tooth, and it was not pretty (if there is such a thing as a pretty tooth!). It had broken open in the root area and I could see the posts that my dentist used to give support for the crown. I wanted to investigate longer, but they weren't willing to let me stay there very long.

A matter of hours later, I commented to Sparky that my neck didn't hurt much any more. It didn't!! And the pain in my head slowly disappeared, too. Of course there is still pain in the jaw, and now I feel achy in that area from where the novacaine was administered. The doctor put me on clindamycin, and gave me a prescription for motrin 800 mg. He also gave me a prescription for vicodin, but I chose not to fill it. The pain has been tolerable, and my neck is not tight and painful at all today. I've had some head pain, but it is minimal. I'm a little disappointed that I'm still having dizzy feelings, but they could be from the motrin, since it can be a side effect of the meds. Another thought is the infection that the antibiotic is addressing. It could just be a matter of time and it might go away. I'm hopeful, anyway.

BUT IT'S GONE! I'm very happy about that. It feels strange to have a big gaping hole there now, though. I'm concerned about dislodging the blood clot, too, since I've had dry socket before and it's even more painful than what I've been going through recently. I don't want that to happen again!

I will also be patiently and eagerly watching to see when zirconium implants will be available, that's for sure.