At age 83 I’m increasingly aware that, no matter what I do to stay in prime condition I also have a lifelong dental “liability.” And that, no matter what I do or don’t do, it’s likely to take me out in some way at some time. But obviously, something will take me out; and I’m totally willing to go NOW, if necessary. But would rather not. I still “have stuff to do.”

Okay. So the reason I bring this up is because I have an 11:00 AM appointment this morning with my old dentist. We’re billing it as a “consult.” Not sure what will come of it.

Back story:

I had been with this dentist ever since I arrived in Bloomington Indiana, nearly 24 years ago now. And I was always a good girl, getting my teeth cleaned every four months. Then, at his suggestion, I made a sudden, drastic change.

Further back: I had braces as a kid, due to big teeth in small mouth, so buck teeth. Plus many mercury fillings. Sometime in the 80s (I think it was), I had those fillings removed, and crowns (gold and/or porcelain) put on each tooth, with a continuous Vitamin C infusion during the entire procedure each time.

So, at least I got rid of the mercury!

All these decades, besides getting teeth cleaned regularly, I’ve brushed my teeth daily, and flossed each time I brushed them.

At one point a front bottom tooth got so loose that it finally came out. My dear dentist constructed something down there so that you can’t even tell it happened.

(Huge back story to why that tooth was loose, having to do with clenching my teeth in my late 30s to the point where my left jaw got infected during a toxic male/female relationship.)

When I, or anyone, looks at the history of our mouths, and the teeth we use to bite and chew our food, I’m sure the back story is endless, fascinating, and likely, infuriating as well. Plus, of course, the mouth is where we express ourselves linguistically, in song, and through guttural sounds into the world, creating relationships that aren’t just physical, but mental, emotional, spiritual.

Okay, back to the back story.

About two years ago, my dear dentist and his wife (who serves as his receptionist and assistant in his very private practice),  told me I should probably get a dentist that is “in the system,” so that I could get delta dental insurance.

In other words, that they wanted the best for me, no matter what it meant for their practice.

Okay, I searched around and found a dental office that takes the dental insurance I was supposed to have.

Spent two years with that office, which had two actual dentists, plus numerous assistants, techies, receptionists, billing people, etc. A VERY busy place, and tightly scheduled.

The very first thing this new dentist did was look at the situation on the back top right side, and say “these three teeth have to come out, right away.”

Wow. These were the teeth where admittedly, a deep hole had developed between two of them, and I was both doing oil pulling three times a day, plus my old dentist’s meticulous work to clear out bacteria there each time I saw him.

So, being a good girl, I made an appointment with the oral surgeon, got those teeth out the very next day.

Ever since then, I can only chew on the left side.

Which is important, since the next thing that happened was, according to my new dental office, I needed to get a root canal on the crowned bottom left molar. What? Yuck. I’ve always heard bad things about root canals. But one good thing here: this dental office sent me to the “best endodontist in Indiana,” who happens to live in Columbus, one hour from here. And yes, the procedure was done there, and I have to admit, it felt right; the dentist was done in one hour, both precise and exacting.

Plus, I hardly felt any pain afterwards, which apparently is quite unusual.

Of course I could have chosen to simply yank the tooth out, but that would mean the only side where I can still chew would be compromised. So I opted for the root canal.

(BTW: my jaw bone structure is so eroded that I cannot have implants. Which I’m glad about, having learned since that they are a bad idea.)

Okay, so the next time I went to the new dental office, I was told I needed a filling, also on the left side, but above, near the front.

This of course after X-rays, over and over through the years. My mouth is permanently radiated. . .

A tiny filling, but they claimed I needed it.

 

By about this time I was beginning to get concerned, seeing myself eventually toothless, having to eat baby food until I died.

It was about then that I discovered Ellie Phillips, a dentist with an entirely other way of working with teeth, and oral health in general.

I began to follow her protocol.

I’ve already written one post that refers to her.

And today is the day I see the dentist, a different dentist, my old dentist, the one who is NOT in any system. I will tell him the saga of what’s happened since I left him, tell him about my new protocol, and ask him to look at my teeth. Do they really need to be cleaned? That is the question; because if they do, then I’ve been on the wrong track.

Will report back on Monday.