i just saved almost 2 grand!!

so i had this cavity in my molar, but the dentist didn't want to work on it until after the baby was born, just to be on the safe side. he said to call him if it gave me any trouble.

well,about 5 months goes by, without any problems, them my tooth breaks. of course, all of this happens on a weekend, when the dentist isn't open. my tooth being in pain, i rummage through our medicine cabinet and come across something called "dental gum" which is some stupid wax substance filled with benzocaine (or something similar) to kill the pain. i stick it in the hole in my tooth and immediately i'm in the throes of agony. i managed not to scream, because clay was already in bed, and gingerly take the stupid dental gum out and throw it in the bin. now, not only my tooth, by the whole left side of my face is throbbing. i foolishly take a drink of cold water, thinking that will help. it does not help, and i wonder if labor pain is anything like this (clay was c-section).

the pain is so bad that i start visualizing taking it out myself. i get a vivid picture in my mind of tom hanks extracting a tooth with an ice skate and rock in that stupid movie where he gets stuck on that island for a couple of years. i then remember we have a pliers and hammer in my toolbox and wonder -- if i put the pliers in the right spot, and a get a well placed blow from the hammer to knock out the tooth, if it would work. i decide, maybe, if i'm still in this much pain in the morning, that i might be desperate enough to try it.

i try to go to bed, thinking that perhaps the pain will soon subside, but it does not. then i realize that clay has some orajel in the bathroom medicine cabinet downstairs. frantically i run downstairs like a herd of stampeding elephants and rip the cabinet apart. of course, i can't find it right away. finally, i discover the tube of orajel, and grabbing it triumphantly like it was the holy grail, i almost weep with relief. i slather it on and immediately my lips feel numb and fat. this is a good sign. sure enough, my mouth finally stops throbbing and i eventually fall asleep. i scheduled an appointment with the dentist and discover that the nerve root is indeed exposed and that i need a root canal and a cap, neither of which (surprise!) are covered by insurance. the root canal alone will cost about $900 and the cap (a stupid tiny cap the size of the tip of my pinkie) will cost about $1,000! oh and by the way, it will probably break anyway and have to be pulled in the future, i am told. my other option is extraction. so i tell them to forget the root canal and just pull the stupid thing. i had mentioned the dental gum; he tells me next time i have pain, not to use over the counter products, but to call him right away. i don't mention the pliers and hammer idea. i don't think it would have gone over too well. so i get to have the tooth extracted. i hope they give me lots of novacaine, because i don't want to feel anything.

i mentioned the hammer and pliers idea to my mom today on the phone and she was horrified. "oh, don't," she said. "i get sick just thinking about it!" (maybe that's where i get the weak stomach; maybe its not the pregnancy at all.)

at any rate, we have saved some money. so there's a positive spin. and i discovered something else. that orajel stuff is great.