By the time the dentist finally came into my little cubicle, I was ready to go home. Before she even looked in my mouth, she showed me the x-rays. The good news was that the rest of my teeth are still in great shape. The dentist was actually impressed by how good they looked. I still don't know if that was supposed to be insulting or not. Maybe she just sees so many bad teeth all day that good teeth are a rarity.
The bad news is that she wants to tear out my wisdom teeth. She said that they are going to cause nothing but trouble in the near future. I don't even notice them now, but she seemed pretty certain that I would when the time came. I decided that we should just concentrate on the crown for now.
She took a mold of my teeth and put on a temporary cap. I have to go back when the crown is ready. It was all pretty much the same as when I did the first crown a million years ago in Minnesota. Either the technology has not changed much or Hong Kong is behind the times. The hospital is as modern as can be and none of the equipment looked especially old. The only disappointments I had with the facility were the cubicles instead of rooms and the long wait time.
Four hours after my appointment time, I went home.
I went back to finish the crown, but I'm definitely going to a different dentist about this whole wisdom teeth issue. In Hong Kong, or anywhere, you should get a second or third opinion before you let anyone cut into you. I know that I should go to the dentist more often, but nothing about this visit gave me any enthusiasm to do so.
Dentists all and always tell you that your wisdom teeth are useless and will cause you grief later on. Well, maybe, maybe not. My advice is to get them taken out when you have to, not before. Hailey, I'm 75 years old and have had bad teeth since I was a boy. But I still have two of my wisdom teeth that just haven't needed to be taken out. The other two were extracted when they got holes in them, and fair enough. But extraction-procedures have gotten a lot gentler than they used to be - and will no doubt get even more gentle in the future. So. Don't rush it!
ReplyDeleteI'm in no hurry. I don't even notice them yet, so I don't see any reason to do anything about it now.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I live in a place where I can have them taken out for about $5. If and when I go back to the United States, it will cost a lot more than that.
You're probably right about the procedures. Hopefully, they'll be able to do it holographically so you never feel anything.