April 14, 2011: Tooth

Hola, All! Several weeks ago, 2 days after mom fractured her hip, one of my molars cracked. When I went to see Dr. Jackson, the kindest dentist one could ask for, we talked about putting a crown on it........that would be the 7th crown in my mouth! I really wasn't in any pain, which was good since he didn't have a block of time to do it for 2 days. While at home a thought lightly crossed my mind about losing that tooth, but I dismissed it, not wanting to even think about that option. One suggestion that Dr. Jackson made was to bring my MP3 player and listen to music, or for me, to listen to meditative cd's. That was an excellent idea! The morning of my next visit Dr. Jackson talked to me about how he had to pull the part of the tooth that had broken but was still attached to the root. After he gave me a shot on either side of the tooth, he pulled the broken piece, only to tell me that the root was dead. He said, in his opinion, that I now had 2 options: to go ahead and crown the tooth or to pull it, which was his recommendation. He told me that this very same thing happened to his best friend, who elected to crown the tooth, only to have the tooth die 6 months later, and then it had to be pulled, which translated to more pain in the mouth. Not really taking any time to think about it, and feeling that I had already been told intuitively what to do, I agreed that it had to come out. He was surprised that I made that decision so quickly, but thankfully, I had already been 'warned'. For some reason, Dr. Jackson always refers the pulling of teeth to an oral surgeon, maybe because of complications that could occur....I don't know. , Dr. Steele, a kind man with an unhurried air about him, had an opening at 2pm. Truly I was hoping to go straight to the oral surgeon while my mouth was numb, but that didn't happen. My good friend, Jan B, drove me to and from my next appointment, since I had no idea if I would leave there loopy or not. After receiving 2 more shots, and given gas (which I have never had before), Dr. Steele pulled the molar but it really sounded like he ripped it out of my mouth! Almost the whole time at both offices I listened to a meditative relaxation cd over and over, plus I asked that Archangel Raphael surround me in his healing light. I know that Jesus was in the room with me also. I believe these are the reasons that I didn't have much pain afterwards, and that the hugh hole in my mouth healed so nicely. With graditude, Dawnie