I could rant about my dental issues enough to write a freaking book. I have dreadful teeth. They look great to the naked eye. They are nice and straight and I have a very pretty smile (so I have been told a thousand times)

But get to the nitty gritty of my teeth and they suck. And they have and will continue to suck every dollar from my bank account. I mean certain dental conditions can cause heart disease and what not, but there isn't a dentist alive that will take payments. Whatever. But that really isn't my rant for today. at least not directly....

I have 2 teeth that have major issues. One is totally broken in half and now needs a root canal. There is not enough left of the tooth to be able to put a cap on so I would need a bridge (only 2x as expensive).

The other one had a root canal and cap put on it back when I was in high school. Now I did not know that root canals that were done over 20+ years ago weren't made, or rarely lasted forever. I thought that once it was done, it was done. Yeah, not so. This one get infected and needs a "retreat", basically a second root canal (as if the first one wasn't bad enough). Did I fail to mention that the cap on that tooth just fell out tonight??

But I did not have the $1000 for that retreat. Which I found out I needed a year and a half ago. Instead I spent $2000 on a bridge that was needed for another tooth that had also broke in two (give me a break).

So, now it boils down to this. I get to pay $300 (great price) to get two teeth EXTRACTED! (not so great). Ohhh, and the best part? They are both molars, on the bottom and one on each side (see diagram below)


And they will do them at the same time. Well hell, that's one way to loose a few pounds lol. It is funny, to look at that diagram. It looks like there are still a lot of teeth on the bottom for chewing. But when you try to chew without using your molars it just doesn't work that well. I know because I have been trying. The broke one hurts if anything touches it, hence the need for the root canal. And the other one I was trying to avoid since the cap was getting looser all the time (that didn't work huh?)

I have found that pretty teeth does not mean healthy teeth, no matter how much you brush and floss. It is in my genes because I have the same teeth as my mom. Thanks mom, love you tooooooo.......

I guess I should say I hate "going" to the dentist. I don't mind my dentist at all, as a person anyway. I have teeth issues and always have. I take good care of them but it is just in my genes for my teeth to be a problem. Within the past year or two they have really gone down hill. Last fall I went to a dentist that said I needed $10,000 worth of work (I don't think so). So I started going to the dental school in Mesa, AZ. They are good and I like my dental student that is assigned to my case. Of course I have since moved to Vegas, but decided I didn't feel like starting over at the school in NV. Therefore I come to AZ for my appointments. It isn't bad really because with my dental student's schedule sometimes it is four to six or even more weeks between appointments. I just take a long weekend and bring the kids to see grandma and have my appointment. Oh, and the beat part is the dental school is about half the cost of a regular dentist. I can get everything I need done at the school for $3,900. Still a chunk of money, but more realistic in my world.

Yesterday was one of my appointments. It was a fun one too (NOT). I had to get a fractured tooth extracted. So now my face is semi swollen and I have a semi toothless grin lol. You really can't tell unless I smile really, really big so I am not looking too red neck, thank God. Nothing like missing a tooth AND living in a trailer (um, RV that is). My attempt at humor must be lacking due to my Vicoden intake. la la dee da....