Don’t Put Off Going to the Dentist!

My house is in shambles! My mouth feels like a war is going on inside of it. I ate a sardines sandwich about ten days ago, and I bit down on what I thought was a bone, but now, I believe that I was wrong, because of the unbelievable pain I am in today.

I admit that I wondered at the time if I had lost part of a tooth, but no pain came after a couple of days, so I thought that everything is just fine, just a bone. Even when I felt a twinge of pain, I did not want to go to the dentist because I don’t have dental insurance.

Let me correct that. I have some dental insurance with my Medicare Advantage Plan, but it is not worth the paper it is written on. Many dentists in my area will not accept it, including my favorite dentist, or at least, the dentist I am the least afraid of seeing.

Our teeth are a treasure, but we don’t seem to understand that until we start to lose them. I have tried to be good about brushing and flossing, but admittedly, I never went to the dentist as a child and cannot remember having brushed or flossed much.

We were just too poor, and toothpaste and toothbrushes were luxuries in our house. I think my mother thought it was cheaper to just have the teeth pulled when they started to hurt.

Therefore, as an adult, I have lost quite a few, so many that I only brush for one minute with my electric toothbrush, thinking that the two-minute suggestion is for people with a mouth full of teeth! When you start to lose teeth, it seems like a cascade effect occurs, as one after the other start to need a root canal or extracting.

So, I am reluctant to go to the dentist also to avoid the seemingly inevitable march to dentures or bridges. But, the pain finally caught up with me today, and I am surrendering to its domination and going to the dentist in the morning.

I sent Douglas out for two types of numbing medicine, liquid and gel. Keeping my mouth numb works a little, but I will be counting the hours until 10:30 in the morning. Today would have been my late son’s 43rd birthday, and I had plans to go out to a restaurant and celebrate his birth with his favorite food: a large steak. But, that is out of the question now.

So, take it from me. When you feel the first twinge of pain in a tooth, go see the man or woman with the scary, noisy dental tools. Better still, if you still have a fair amount of your teeth left, skedaddle to the bathroom, grab that toothbrush and toothpaste, and go for it!

Then, floss like your life depends on it. And, just a side note: can sardines don’t usually have bones in it! That’s more likely something you want to get taken care of pretty fast, particularly if your smile is one of your best qualities!

Fandango prompt is Treasure. Ragtag prompt is Bridge. Word of the Day Challenge is Shambles. Scott’s Daily Prompt is March. Your Daily Prompt is Cascade.