My bearings were off in regards to where BU Medical Center was and made my appointment just in time thanks to the parking situation as a result of the rainy weather. I do the paper work song and dance, list Mike as my next of kin, hand over the insurance card and pray they accept it. They do and I question how much they cover (which I had done with the insurance company too, when I started this pain in the ass, er, mouth process). Dental covers 6 extractions and health covers the impacted, which needs approval. I believe the insurance company referred to any impacted teeth as "completely boney". Quite a lame term if you ask me.
I play the guessing game of which doctor was going to be the one I was meeting with. I guessed right. A nurse escorts me to an exam room where I crack jokes about adult braces and what a fun process this surgery was going to be because of my sideways wisdom tooth. After waiting 10 minutes, I realize I should've taken a picture of my pan x-ray that was up on the light board. But I got nervous, thinking that the second I reach for the camera, the doctor would walk in. Within 5 minutes, I meet the doctor, a tall man with an Indian accent.
He has a no bullshit way about him, which means I can't gauge if he thinks my comments are funny or annoying. He gives me the run down and tells me that because I'm 26 and not 16, that I run a higher risk of complications during surgery. Well, I think to myself, this is not starting off on the right foot. He gets into detail about how he will extract the wisdom teeth - the top, piece of cake; the bottom, not so much. The lower right is also impacted but easy to remove. The sideways tooth, he might possibly have to cut the bone (yikes) and will definitely have to break the tooth in half to remove. He tells me that because the root of the tooth is so far back in my jaw, he may just leave it to avoid damaging the nerve. If the nerve is damaged, I run the risk of losing all feeling in my lower lip and possibly my tongue for the rest of my life. Wowzer! However, the surgeon says that he routinely handles such difficult extractions, which is a relief.
He answers my inquiries: he can do all 8 teeth at once because whether you pull 4 or 8, it will hurt just the same since it's all on the same nerve. May as well get it all out of the way (agreed). I will have to get an IV (ack! I've never had one before and that makes my knees weak just thinking about it). The surgery will take 30 to 40 minutes (I was thinking 3 hrs). I will hate him for at least 4 days afterward and can only eat ice cream, mashed potatoes, etc. I told him I would love him for that, at least the food part. I will swell up like a small chipmunk because of the impactions. I also run a high risk of dry socket and cannot suck (don't go there) anything like straws or cigarettes (well, I don't smoke cigarettes). I forgot to ask if my preventative steroid inhaler for my asthma counts. It will probably take 2 weeks for me to heal.
So D-Day is February 12th, 2009 at 8:15am. Unfortunately, February 11th is the one year anniversary of Achilles. Hope we have the party beforehand. I'm also inviting over all my friends to hang out on our pull-out couch and watch movies on Valentine's Day to cheer me up.
With the date locked on my oral surgery (and if all goes well), I will probably be getting the braces at the end of March. This now means that I will be wearing braces until April or July 2011. Hopefully this will all be done with before my 29th birthday. Jesus, that makes me feel old. And lame...
[sidenote: Mike and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary this month. While many people (including his mother) expected for me to return back to Boston sporting a new piece of fine jewelry, it didn't happen. Mike did mention though, that I should hurry up and get my braces off so we can get engaged... or at least get the damn things on. Predictions, anyone?]
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