The Tooth

 

Walmart to the rescue!   DIY dental gadetry--Mirror kit, dental putty, and mouthguard piece, after I cut it in half, to raise my bite so bad tooth doesn't touch anything and send shockwaves of nerve pain through my mouth.

I feel like an idiot.

All the pain I was having in my jaw joint and facial nerves on left side--it wasn't from sleeping crooked up Quartzville road after cats.  I couldn't figure out why it was getting worse not better.   TMJ and neck issues often inflame my facial nerves.   They make my left eye twitch too, can give me specific lines of pain on one side of my forehead, pull my left nostril closed, make my teeth ache on one side, all kinds of painful irritating stuff.   But usually I can deinflame fast, by doing specific exercises, using ice, all that.

But it had been a week almost.   There'd been no jaw clicking, popping, ice--my best friend, hadn't helped much.  By yesterday morning, one sip of coffee, that sent pain rocketing through my mouth and I knew this was a tooth issue.

I'd lost a filling on the back of one front tooth.  Then a bit more cracked off.  I thought it was actually part of the tooth that broke off and wouldn't be a pain issue.  I had been trying to find a dentist taking new patients, but not looking as hard as I should have been.  I took two mirrors, one my smaller auto mirror, for looking in small hard to access spots (I use it looking for kittens under things) and a bigger mirror and had a look.  Yikes!  Huge hole in back of one tooth where that filling had been, clear down to the gum on one side.

Even touching that spot with my tongue was killer.   Closing my mouth same thing because the tooth touched the back of my bottom teeth.

I spent the day trying to find a dentist.  No luck.  I changed plans with my Medicare Advantage, so I could try more places.  That went into effect today.  And finally this morning, I got a new dentist and an appointment for next Monday.  Other places either wouldn't see me at all or were out two or more months.  Private pay emergency dental would have cost close to $1000 or more.  Which is about right, considering what it might cost if I took a cat in with an emergency need, like an extraction.   It might be cheaper than if I took a cat in for same thing.  If you can believe that.  Which is why I ended up going to the coast clinic for things like that--far more affordable!

In the meantime, I went to Walmart and got some of that dental putty, meant to be used to fill holes temporarily, where a filling has fallen out, or to reattach a crown that fell out, temporarily.  I filled the hole with it, so touching it with my tongue wouldn't hurt.   I cut my mouthguard in two pieces, too.   I got it at Walmart a year ago.  Pretty darn decent for an otc mouthguard I'd thought.   You microwave it, so its moldable, then put it in your mouth and hold it for a couple minutes.   Anyhow, I thought ok, I can cut this in two pieces, then cut out the part where my bad tooth is, all to raise my bite so that when I close my mouth, that bad tooth doesn't touch.   It helped a lot, although trying to eat with it, one side kept popping loose.  I was able to eat a little bit though last night.

I can survive this way a few more days.  I was thrilled to be able to get an appointment on Monday.   Joyous!  And they take my insurance!!!   Big plus.  Don't have to be in debt forever over one tooth.  .  I felt so lucky!  I've been living with the pain of it for almost a week already. Only thing was it got so much worse.   I can't believe how my brain decided it was the tmj and neck issues and settled on that, given the circumstance of awkward sleeping, although doubts had crept in.

Since the five Quartzville road cats were fixed Monday, I kept Prissy, one of the four gray tuxes Julie had been holding in Lebanon, so Tickle, the all gray girl I'd had here, would have a buddy.  They instantly were cuddled together like long lost friends, and that may well be.  They're so darling together.

There's a lot of mystery over how all those cats got out there.  If they had been there long, all the girls would have been post partum, if not pregnant again.  WTH.

Now there are two being seen near Thistle Creek, five miles closer in, same road.  I don't know if the Sweet HOme ladies have set traps for them yet.    I'm sure they will soon.  It appears there are no more at the original location.  It was thought there could be one, but now that is possibly one of the cats being seen closer in, so may have decided to book it out of there.   But its possible too there never was another cat out at the far location.  Its all very sad.