I have been paying for dental insurance since January 2012 when I first started my job at the school. Only this summer I finally used my insurance and went to a dentist. I picked a dentist that my cousin, her mother, brother, friends, and children go to. She highly recommended it to me as she has to many others. In my first visit, I discovered that I have peridontitis, gum disease. I had not been to a dentist in about over 12 years, probably longer. While this news was unfortunate, the good news was that I had absolutely no cavities, my teeth are in good condition. Except that my wisdom teeth are still present and creating a problem. Nearly 2 years ago, one wisdom teeth has partially erupted. This prompted me, slowly, to finally see a dentist. While I have noticed pain here and there, I always assumed I may have had a cavity or two. But now I know it is due to my bad gums and the fact that my wisdom teeth are growing forward rather than upwards/downwards. So I made a plan, I got my cleanings done before the insurance year was ending in July. And I upgraded my dental plan in hopes that I would force myself to get my wisdom teeth extracted before this year ends. The cleanings I had done in June were deep cleanings and cost me a great deal of money. I had to get deep cleanings because of my gum disease. The numbing shots I got lasted unfortunately too long. Upon that experience I recognize that I absolutely hate the feeling of numbness. They did one half of my mouth the first visit, and the other half a week later. Even in the second visit after asking for a less intense numbing shot, it still lasted a few hours longer than expected. Despite the discomfort, I'm glad I got it done. The dentist urged me multiple times to get my wisdom teeth out and referred me to an oral surgeon.
I finally had my consultation with the surgeon a little over a week ago and scheduled for surgery this upcoming week. I have planned everything out. My dad will be taking me to my surgery, wait, and take me home. My mom will be staying at my house for several days to take care of me post-surgery. With this being my first surgery and my first time taking strong pain pills, I am expecting many different outcomes. I'm very relieved that someone will be at home with me given who the hell knows what I'll be feeling. I am honestly hoping that I become loopy enough that the pain isn't too bad. I will have my mom on hand to record me if I start talking random drugged up gibberish. I really don't like taking pills thus have no experience and not a clue what it will do to me. I bought ice packs, various cold and soft foods.
Aside from what's been mentioned I do have some other fears just barely lurking in my mind. Because I am almost 29, my teeth have had a lot of time to grow in the weird fashion that they have. We discovered with various x-rays that my bottom teeth are very close to nerves. My left side actually is squishing a nerve as we speak. Because of this, they have to break my bottom wisdom teeth and take them out piece by piece to avoid any nerve damage. The surgeon mentioned that there may be temporary numbness in my lips/chin area. Hopefully the surgery is successful that it will not result in permanent numbness. Second, I have never had anesthesia and that always has its risks, while yes, I want to be knocked out for the surgery, there's no knowing if I will come out of it, or how long. Let's just say I'm really pushing this to the back of my mind. I've always had a fear of surgery, and I just have to hope for the best. I forgot to mention that great news! I was reluctant to making my appointment with the surgeon mostly due to cost. However, since I am leaving my job the first week in November, I want to use my benefits and PTO before I leave. I'm grateful that I upgraded my dental plan for the estimated out of pocket cost for the surgery is $166.90. Granted this is estimated, things could change if the surgery proves more difficult, etc. But this was stunning news, the total cost is nearly $3,000, so I will gladly pay only 200 bucks for this. I was prepared to get a payment plan but knowing the out of pocket cost isn't nearly as much as expected, I was thrilled to no longer needing a payment plan. I didn't even ask many questions during the consultation because that mattered less, I needed to know what it cost before I could really decide if I could do anything at this time. It all works out for the best, since I won't be able to take any time off soon once I start my new job.
I have prepared for just about everything, given I survive. Now we just have to wait until I am sober to make a post-surgery blog post!
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