Cav's Place

I seem to keep writing on Thursdays lately, don’t I? It’s usually the day when I realize I can’t delay posting something any further and have to come up with something, because I still never feel like writing… At least this time I actually have things to say, though they’re only personal matters.

Went to the dentist on Tuesday, said I think the problem is with the tooth that’s next to the canine, but she looked around that area and said she can’t see any cavities. There was a lot of tartar, which she said was what I was seeing where I thought there was a cavity, but nothing else, so she sent me to have it x-rayed to see if that would reveal anything. Her assistant asked which tooth, she said 34 and I started counting teeth with my tongue because something seemed out of place. But I was given the piece of paper and sent on my way before I could be sure that there was a mistake.
Once back home, I looked at the paper and saw that 34 was, obviously, the fourth lower left tooth, counting from the center. In that case, I was talking about 32! Looked up the numbering system too, just to be sure.

I went to have the x-ray done yesterday and found the place completely empty, though someone else came in right after me. (The other place, where they sent me two years ago, was packed full.) Dad explained that I wanted it done for 32, not 34, and asked if they could catch both of them, but the clerk said they can’t catch three teeth well on film, since the canine was in between them as well, just two, so it’ll either have to be two separate ones or just have it done for 32. I said just 32 then. I wasn’t completely sure that the problem was at that tooth, but knew it was not at the other one.
Next problem came from the fact that there were just two people operating the equipment and they wanted to take both me and the other person at once, so neither would be kept waiting. They separated and I was apparently left with the assistant, because she went out and asked the other what settings to use. That didn’t seem to work out well, because ten minutes later we were both called back and told they had to repeat the procedure (free of charge, of course) because it didn’t turn out well the first time.
This time it was both of them for each of us and, at least in my case, the one who seemed more skilled actually remained in the room and held that arm to make sure it stayed exactly where it should, didn’t get out as they usually do in order to avoid getting irradiated each time. So I didn’t escape having two x-rays done after all…
Once all of that was over and I got to look at the film, I saw that it was centered on the one I asked for but also included two other front teeth on its right and the canine and half of 34 on its left. So if it’d have been centered on the canine it could have caught 32 and 34 just fine. I didn’t see anything wrong with 32 though, but the canine seemed to have a small problem.

So today I went back to the dentist. Showed the x-ray, explained why it showed a different tooth than the one she had asked for and she said it should have caught both of them. I said I thought so too, but they said they couldn’t do that, though the end result certainly seems to prove them wrong. Also mentioned that I had it done twice because I was told it didn’t turn out well the first time. The dentist said it didn’t turn out well this time either, but it’s good enough to see where the problem is. It was on the canine, just like I also thought after looking at it.
So she cleaned up that tooth, saying it was a very small and hard to reach cavity, but that it was close to the base so that’s why I could feel it already. Then she meant to put in the filling, but couldn’t do it due to the bleeding. My gums are in a sorry state, so that’s what happens all the time. It stops quickly enough, but it restarts as soon as they’re touched again, so she couldn’t finish the work on that tooth and moved on to removing the tartar from my bottom teeth.
That was the hard part. Not as bad as two years ago, but quite unpleasant to say the least. There was a lot of blood too, but there had been a lot of that from the beginning anyway. She showed me some of the things she was putting in my mouth to clean up and I’m quite surprised that I didn’t taste it, because it sure looked like my mouth was full of blood. Some dripped out too, likely being washed out, made it through the piece of cloth they put on me and even resulted in a stain on my clothing.
So now I should try the same treatment I tried two years ago, for the same reason, and go back next Thursday, when she hopes she’ll be able to put in that filling and then also take care of my upper teeth. Was told to expect pain if I’ll eat or drink anything either hot or cold for the next two weeks or so, but I knew that already. Been through this before after all, two years ago.

As for the dead cat… While walking back from having that x-ray done, I was pointing out the recycling bins that have appeared relatively nearby some months ago, as part of my ongoing attempt to convince dad to recycle. So I said “over there is where you should drop electronics, over there’s the place for paper, over there’s the place for plastic” and then I noticed something lying on the road, turned to get a better look and continued the phrase with “and over there’s a cat run over by a car”. Poor thing… I just hope it died immediately at least. But I can’t figure out how did it happen right there, because it’s quite impossible to drive with any significant speed in that place…