We've already discussed the ERA so I'll tell you about my tooth. In the past few weeks I've had a tooth bothering me. When I was young I had lots of problems with my teeth because I didn't brush. Once I got braces they taught me how to floss and told me that if I don't brush the braces will ruin my teeth (or some such) and ever since then I didn't have any new problems. So I haven't had a cavity or dental issue in nearly 10 years... until last summer. I go for my cleaning every six months and the dentist is like, ok see you in another 6!
Maybe it's related to the hormones, or maybe not, but the issues started last summer, right around when we started treatment. I've also noticed that ever since we started treatment my nails have been less strong than usual and I have to take special care not to crack or chip them. So could it be a coincidence? Maybe.
In September I went to the dentist with discomfort in my upper jaw. He said there is a start of a cavity in my wisdom tooth. All four of my wisdom teeth erupted at around age 15ish and were perfectly aligned. I had no issues with them until that point. Because of the location of the decay, he said that it's not possible to fix it and recommended getting the tooth pulled. Since I was getting the top pulled I had to get the bottom one pulled as well. And if I'm already getting those two out, he basically recommended getting all four wisdom teeth pulled at once. What?? Get 4 teeth pulled for a tiny not-yet-cavity? Are you serious?? So I went for a second opinion and also asked one of my good friends who happens to be a dentist specializing in TMJ issues for their opinions.
Consensus was that the best thing to do was to get rid of all four at once before they become a problem later on because, and I quote, "They will eventually become an issue." The one that had the start of a cavity couldn't be fixed and it would just continue to decay until it hurt. Not one to procrastinate, I got on it and made an appointment.
In October, at age 31, I got all 4 wisdom teeth pulled out. Because they were all erupted it was actually a simple procedure and took all of 5 minutes once the local anesthesia kicked in. I didn't get the laughing gas or whatever it is that makes you loopy. I had the procedure done on Thursday morning and by Monday I was back at work. Minimal swelling, some discomfort over the weekend, but nothing too traumatic.
Fast forward to June and I start getting some pain in my lower right jaw. It's not a shooting pain but I noticed I was favoring my left side to chew and got headaches more often. I knew it wasn't going to go away on its own but it came and went so I kind of forgot about it when it wasn't actively bothering me. More recently it started coming up more often, especially when I had hot or cold food. As inconvenient as it is to get it checked, there's no reason to push it off: if there was an issue it should be dealt with sooner rather than later.
On Thursday I went to the dentist to check it out. Prognosis is that, due to grinding, a tooth with an old filling in it cracked. The crack can be fixed by putting a crown on the tooth. Crown runs about $1,375. In addition, the dentist suggested a nightguard to prevent grinding and future damage, an additional $450. Insurance will cover about 2/3 of the cost.
It's a sucky thing to deal with right now, but avoiding it won't help anything. If I don't take care of it now, the tooth will continue cracking and eventually also need a root canal in addition to the crown, or worse, needing an extraction. At least now the tooth itself is healthy and doesn't need a root canal.
I took the day off tomorrow for the biopsy because I have extra vacation days that are use-or-lose expiring at the end of the month. I was planning to go to the biopsy in the morning and then veg out the rest of the day. If I'm off anyway, and will be uncomfortable anyway, I may as well deal with this crown and get it over with, so that's happening in the afternoon. The permanent crown takes about 10 business days to come in so I may have to deal with a temp crown and mikvah but I'm not thinking about that unless it becomes relevant.
I hate it when my mouth and lip are numb so I'm expecting to be miserable and complain-y most of the afternoon. My husband has already been warned.
As for the ERA, I was told it shouldn't be too painful but who knows. I took the day off because I didn't know what to expect. I'm working on keeping my mind off the what-ifs of the results. I know that logically we decided to do this for multiple reasons so I just have to keep reminding myself those reasons. If anyone ever asks me in the future about ERA, I'll refer them to these posts and tell them they better be sure because the mental aspect is a big challenge. It's helpful to have a list of reasons to refer back to when the second thoughts start creeping up.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. I'm hoping everything goes well tomorrow with no complications. Right now I'm watching Survivor on the laptop with the Olympics on the TV in the background while I write up this post. I love the Olympics and see no reason to have to choose between the two.
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