I hab a new fiwwing...

[jducoeur]

... and if you think that sounds silly, you should hear me try to recite the "On Yonder Book" poem I'm rehearsing for Lodge.

The dentist has a new novocaine-injecting device, with a needle hooked to a tube hooked to a small pump. Apparently, the idea is that most of the pain of the novocaine shot comes from shoving all that gunk into your cheek at once; by dripping it in one drop at a time instead, it doesn't hurt as much. But she's still getting the hang of the dosing, which is no longer as one-size-fits-all. The first try didn't *quite* get it all numb, so we had a second go-round, and *boy* is it numb now.

I'm one of those odd people who finds dental work kinda interesting. Despite a strong and idiosyncratic gag reflex (dental film is always problematic for me), I don't have any problem watching as two people work with five different gadgets in my mouth at once. Trying to puzzle out what they're doing with all those devices (okay, that's some kind of clamp, and that thing she's turning must be some sort of wedge to lever out the old filling) is a fine distraction from the drilling noises coming from just below my nose.

But I am suddenly realizing that it would have been smart to have lunch *before* going to the dentist, when I still had some dexterity in my tongue. Oops...

Comments

[aneirin-awenyd.livejournal.com]

You would love my dentist. He is a dental geek to the highest degree. Loves explaining what he is doing while he is doing it, along with going into the theoretical reasons why this choice made more sense than the ten other possible ways he could have done whatever it is that he is doing.

Might be too far for you, and maybe you love your current dentist anyway. He's in South Hadley, MA. I absolutely (heart) him, and I'm a die-hard skeptic when it comes to trusting medical/dental professionals (evidence, if you need it: my planned unassisted homebirth of my last child).

I love hearing him talk about his work. The guy is truly in love with what he does. I will have to ask him about this novocaine-drip-technology. He told me that he overly researches anaesthesia options because he hates the whole ordeal - it makes him crings to administer them and it makes him cringe to not administer them. He's always done a good job of giving me *just* enough, to my specifications...he's amazing. (I prefer to be out of pain but not completely numb, and he has nailed it every time - he has replaced four or five fillings and done a crown for me, and did two without anaesthetic or pain, and the others with the right amount of anaesthetic but not too much).

Anyway, your post made me think of him! Dr. John Kellogg. Good guy. I trust him with my teeth, and that doesn't come easily.

Glad you got to try out some new technology...er...or have it tried out on you, anyway. I also hate that injection feeling and the drip sounds like a good idea.

BTW, large doses of Vitamin C will carry the anaesthetic out of you faster - wears off the numbness faster. Large quantities of orange juice, if you can get it. I take 1000+ mg of vitamin C after dental work and it seems to help quite a bit. You don't want to take it *before* the dental work, though!

[jducoeur]

I'm reasonably fond of my dentist, and she's quite convenient (only about 15 minutes away), so I'm not particularly looking to switch. Yours does sound like fun, though.

And thanks for the Vitamin C recommendation. I'm *still* somewhat numb, almost four hours later, so I think I'll give that a try...

[martianfencer.livejournal.com]

Hey! My dentist is Dr. Kellogg too! I love your description of him as a dental geek. That about sums it up.

[jducoeur]

Hmm. And now that I check a map, South Hadley is *way* too far for a dentist for me, almost two hours away. But possibly quite good for my mother, who recently moved to Amherst, so I'll have to keep him in mind...

[dryfoo.livejournal.com]

Awed yandah boog
Dad owed I dook
Add wiw I bweak id nebbah!


(Also, thanks for the dental recommendations. I've been trying to convince myself to go back to a dentist after a few years without, but I just didn't want to return to the Same Guy -- well-meaning and nice, and not unskillful, but incompatible. He managed to turn me from someone so relaxed he could fall asleep during dental work to Mister Fullblown Panic Attack. So, maybe a nice skillful geek might be the answer.)