Getting Teeth Pulled
I had two wisdom teeth pulled out last week and I’ve been thinking about why I waited so long to have this done. Around 30 years ago I had my first wisdom tooth out. It was a relatively uneventful event. I was around 21, and living at home in Elizabeth, NJ. I rode my bike to the dentist, he numbed me up with Novocain, and he pulled it out. It was straightforward, except I remember that I felt uncomfortable with the amount of pressure he put on my jaw. I remember riding my bike home and feeling blood pool in my mouth. And then, as the local anesthetic wore off, I remember the aching, pounding, unrelenting pain that I felt. It went on for more than a week. I didn’t sleep much and I could barely eat anything. It was the summer of ‘79 or ‘80.
I don’t know why I didn’t call the dentists office to report my difficulty. Surely they could have offered assistance. My older brother offered me a bottle of whiskey, but I wouldn’t take it. I just couldn’t imagine that anything could quell the pain I was feeling. I was completely unable to distract myself from this pain. Gradually, over a period of weeks the pain lessoned . The end result of all this was that I wasn’t in a rush to get my other two teeth out. (The fourth wisdom tooth never erupted properly and is sitting high up in my gums at a right angle to my other teeth.) Clearly, I was at a time in my life where I didn’t know how to get the help I needed. And I had difficulty to receive what help was available.
Over the past 30 years many dentists have recommended I get my wisdom teeth out. I always declined. No way was I going to go through that again if I could help it. I figured, as long as they weren’t causing trouble, I was going to keep them. We moved to California in 2007 and I knew that I’d have to find a new dentist. I put it off for a year. I had a sense of foreboding about going and for good reason. After not having any major problems with my teeth for many years, there were all sorts of things that needed attention. Big cavities. Small cavities. Major plaque buildup. And then Dr. S. put a little camera in my mouth next to one of the offending wisdom teeth. The T.V. screen in front of me started broadcasting a live close-up of my tooth.
“See all those dark parts?” Dr. S. said. “That’s decay. You’ll need root canals in both wisdom teeth, they’re going to need a lot of maintenance and even then I’m not sure I can save them.” I definitely was at a power disadvantage. I couldn’t really talk with the camera in my mouth. And there was no turning away from the magnified image of my rotting tooth on the T.V. screen.
“O.K., O.K. I’ll get them out.” I garbled. “Can you please turn off that T.V. now?” It was easy to give in to him. I didn’t put up any fight. And I felt relieved. I didn’t want those rotted teeth. I was ready to let them go. When I went to the oral surgeon for a consultation, he was able to explain to me what likely had happened with the earlier extraction. “It’s called dry socket, and if that happens we have ways to treat the pain.” he said. It was all very reassuring to me, that he could explain my former difficulty and also have a remedy for it.
So I had two wisdom teeth pulled out last week by the oral surgeon. And though my mouth is still sore and a little swollen, there has been relatively little pain. I had no need for prescription pain relief. I’m glad I finally got it done and I wish I hadn’t waited so long. Going through this whole scenario made me think, is there other things in my life that I’m ready to let go of? Things that I’m better off without?
