I’m not looking forward to this week. We have a huge decision to make in regards to Gavin’s medication and I have oral surgery scheduled for this Friday.
I feel absolutely zero excitement for either of these things and frankly, I’m very much on edge.
Doing right by Gavin is a very difficult task because it’s rarely black and white. In most cases, it’s complex, convoluted, confusing and utterly grey. There’s no clear cut right or wrong answer and we often find ourselves having to pick between several terrible options.
As far as my oral surgery goes, I’m pretty freaked out. I was traumatized during emergency oral surgery as a small child and so there’s a whole lot of baggage here.
I’m having my 3 wisdom teeth removed and the reality is, that’s not a huge deal at all. Unfortunately, all I can remember is my experience as a kid and I panic.
This is basically elective because there’s no problem at the moment. Left alone however, the one tooth that is partially impacted can become an issue. It’s best to deal with this before there’s actually a problem.
As many of you know, I was terrified of the dentist as a result of my negative experience and stopped going in college. I let fear control me and I spent 20 years wanting to return but too afraid to do so. I finally went back to the dentist in December of last year and feel great about it. I only had to have one previous filling replaced and that was it.
I also learned that I needed to get my wisdom teeth out.
In my last dental xray while in college, I didn’t show any signs of wisdom teeth and so I thought I wasn’t going to get them. Mine just came in much later in life.
My oral surgeon is a friend from high school, who’s very, very good at what he does. I’m very lucky to have him being the one to do this. He said I should be in and out of the office in about an hour. I’m getting general anesthesia, so I’ll be unconscious during the 20 minute procedure. ☺
While I’m not excited about this, I am looking forward to overcoming this last major obstacle in my life. The whole dentist thing was so consuming and this is no different. Being able to take back control is a powerful thing.
Anyway, I’m pretty stressed out this week and I’m trying to keep balanced. I don’t want to let my personal struggles impact my family.
One day at a time. One foot in front of the other.
I’m not doubting you, but how do you know that he is very, very good at what he does? Maybe it’s because I live in a much larger area with more doctors/dentists available but I always find it overwhelming to pick one out of the many and end up going down a rabbit hole of reviews during the search. Also, how are you able to take care of this out of pocket? If I recall, you said that your insurance wasn’t going to allow it and oral surgery with general anesthesia isn’t cheap. I would think that they would at least allow for the impacted tooth so it sucks that they’re not. I hate the weirdness of insurance.
Here he is: https://www.ohiooralandfacialsurgery.com/meet-us/meet-the-doctor/
We set aside tax return for this and he’s working with me. It’s already paid for in full. It was impossible to find an oral surgeon. The one I was originally referred to is this guy:
https://www.post-gazette.com/local/west/2009/07/09/Oral-surgeon-acquitted-of-assaults-on-patients/stories/200907090373 and yes, he’s still practicing.
I was supposed to have this done at the Cleveland Clinic but they only have one and he just took a new job.
Dr. Dietrich is amazing and I trust him. Check out his creds at the link above. ☺
Wait, so you are using funds you desperately need for home, car repairs, etc. for something your insurance would normally pay for all but for the anesthetic piece of it?
Way off base. I’m paying out of pocket because I couldn’t find another option. This has absolutely nothing to do with anesthesia. Where did that come from? The only person in the area who took my insurance and was relatively local was charged with almost 20 counts of sexual assault of woman while in the chair, some were kids. See the link in the previous comment. Why am I justifying myself? Please pay more attention to my words and not others comments because their views are not always accurate.