The Dentist…A Boomer’s Nightmare!

Visits to the dentist these days are vastly different to those of my 1950s childhood. However,  this does not guarantee that the experience will be any less horrific.

Remember that bowl we had to spit into? 🤮

A DENTIST VISIT DECADES LATER

It all began with a broken tooth, which left a fifty year old filling suspended in mid air.  The filling had been  done while I was on a working holiday  in New Zealand. I suspect the dentist used footpath concrete, because it was as solid as ever.

At first  a razor sharp edge of tooth threatened to slice my cheek open and it was tempting to use a nail file on it. However,  I somehow adjusted  and was able postpone  treatment. Oh the stupidity.

I would probably still be avoiding action, except that a couple of days later the filling fell out and I swallowed it.  That was it, even I couldn’t let an exposed cavity remain without attention.

My partner Rob  had been undergoing treatment himself and kindly transferred  his next appointment to me. Greater love hath no man, as they say.

As a new patient, countless photographs and x-rays were taken,  including a panoramic x-ray; a first for me. Images include  the whole jaw area, which had repercussions I will return to  later.

My poor old teeth  appeared in the x-rays  as rows of weathered tombstones.

The colour photographs were even more confronting. I could see fault lines, like those that appear in our local cliffs.   This is what happened a few weeks ago, and the parallels are confronting.

My  dentist  was describing each problem in excruciating detail when,  to my horror, Rob walked in. Now we may be in our seventies, but romance is not quite dead…although I feared it may be after those pics!

When I remonstrated with Rob later he said, ”But I thought I’d be a comfort to you.‘ Oh for heavens sake!

AN UNEXPECTED WARNING  FROM THE DENTIST

On a serious note,  here is some important medical information I am sharing for the public benefit.

After viewing the panoramic images Dr X  asked, ‘Have you had any cardio issues? ‘ I was dumbfounded. What could my heart possibly have to do with my teeth?   He explained that he had noticed  patches of plaque in my carotid arteries,  See those yellow areas in the following diagram? In the worst scenario this can lead to a stroke, due to  reduced blood flow to the brain. Good grief, what a nightmare! Of course I’m grateful he told me. Now I have to decide what to do with this scary information.

In an odd co-incidence there was a radio programme the following day about women and the silent symptoms of heart disease. Apparently mammograms can also reveal plaque in blood vessels and there is a move to use this as a  diagnostic tool.

THE DAMAGE IN DOLLARS

At the end of an intensely stressful morning  Doctor X blithely told me that  proactive measures to protect my aging teeth would cost about  $30,000. OMG!   My previous dentist would the merely note areas of concern and record , ‘Watch and wait‘. Watching and waiting is a far better fit for my personality.  Anyway. I said I’d worry about the broken tooth first, so a two and a half hour appointment was made.

The world may be ending soon given all  political and climate problems we face, but do you know what? After that dental appointment I think I’m almost  ready. 😵‍💫

NOTE – Early next morning there was a call from the surgery. The dentist  had reviewed my  split tooth overnight and decided he would need an extra 30 minutes to fix it.  At first I thought  he wanted half an hour to convince me that spending that $30,000 was vital, but I misjudged the poor man.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CAROTID ARTERY DISEASE, CLICK HERE.