they scolded me for not flossing enough, gave me a filling, cleaned me up good, complimented my teeth as to ease the harshness of it all, and sent me on my merry way. since that time i have been unable to chew on the left side of my mouth due to a most uncomfortable pain (in both the new filling and a lower tooth) triggered only by pressure. if you've calculated correctly you will find that i have indeed been eating on just one side of my mouth for a solid month and a half. sore jaw? why, yes.
hopelessly under prepared and overly optimistic as always, i did not purchase travelers insurance. but the pain became too great so i took off a few hours of work to be seen. plagued by recent nightmares of jagged and damaged teeth- which dr. armstrong informed me indicates a fear of losing my sex appeal, although i maintain that it indicates only a fear of losing my teeth- my heart was racing, my palms were meg-style clammy, and i was starting to become rather dizzy. a little perplexed (and possibly embarrassed on my behalf) by the severity of my nerves, dr. armstrong gave me a tension apple to squeeze and asked me to be brave.
upper diagnosis: dr. USA had polished my filling toooo much and left my nerve exposed. outstanding.
lower diagnosis: orthodontist USA had my bite off and my teeth are wearing in certain areas. fantastic.
so dr. N zed did her thing and she successfully mended the upper, but i was right back in the next morning with the same problem persisting on the lower. more x-rays ruled out the possibility of needing a root canal as i fought off another near panic attack. now we're waiting to see if it's just a matter of the bruised areas healing... lots of thoughts of leefer and her tooth troubles this summer. she is braver than i.
