Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Sometimes No Answer is No Answer at All (or Watch and Wait THIS)

Well, the dentist appointments.  I know, you've been waiting.

In a nutshell?  My appointment yielded no answers.  No bad news, but really no news at all.  They say there's nothing wrong with the punky bicuspid on the right.  They say the x-rays show nothing wrong with the (never-was-necessary) root canal on the left.  And yet both are clearly having issues.  Or, actually, the root canal (that never was necessary) is fine--it's the jaw above it, and it's the same now as it was in November.  No better, no worse.  And they can't explain what its problem is, but I'm assuming their "watch and wait" approach is actually more an "oops, her insurance only covers one root canal/retreatment per tooth, per year" sort of thing.

Do I sound jaded?

On the down side, that pocket I've complained about?  You know, the one I never had until they put the crown on that cracked molar last July?  The one I went back in for TWICE, and again mentioned in November?

It's a six.  You know, the depth?  Ones and twos are happy?  It's a six.  I floss, I brush, I rinse, yet there it is.  They tried to tell me (get this) that the pocket long predates the crown, that it's clearly visible on prior x-rays.

Really?  Because you folks sang the praises of my beautiful gums, even as recently as June.  "All ones and twos," you told me.  But now it's a "long standing" thing that's due to my hygiene rather than your dentistry?


I did, just recently, snap up a Water Pik Ultra Waterflosser, and I'm hoping to see improvement. It's got a gaggle of attachments, is easy (though a bit wet) to use, and it certainly does seem to clean that space out.  I grabbed it because of my dad's long history with the product.  Yes, he's about to get dentures, which doesn't sound like a glowing recommendation, but know this--he's almost EIGHTY, and he was a smoker for over 65 years.  Smoking is hell on your gums and teeth, but he's been using a Water Pik since I was a small child, and the result has been him hanging onto those teeth until nearly his 9th decade.

That's a heck of an endorsement, I think.

Speaking of my dad, he's still hospitalized.  Yes, that's going on four months.  He's got an aneurysm with which they've adopted a "watch and wait" approach.  His "ICU Psychosis" seems to be improving, though I still haven't spoken to him.  He said he didn't want to talk to me until he had his mental act better pulled together.  So I talk to his wife pretty frequently, keep track.  He's made great improvements, they closed up the tracheostomy hole, and he's moving about pretty well, though sometimes with a walker.  My step-mom seems to think he'll be home by the end of this month, but I've learned to be wary of her optimism.  She thought he'd be home for New Year's, too.  I'm not dissing her--I think it's great that she's feeling so positive, and I want to encourage that.  But I'm going to sit back and see.


Back to the dentist and "watch and wait" (seems to be a running theme), my son's appointment went well.  No cavities, which wasn't even vaguely a concern.  No, that's not ego or pride, that's this:  he has two unidentified masses in his right mandible, one of which had grown last year, the other which had APPEARED out of nowhere.  See, we've been "watching and waiting" on his jaw for going on three years now.  With that in the offing, who gives two spits about cavities?  At this point, the masses have not grown or changed in the past year.  No new ones cropping up, either.

So I can breathe.  For a few months.  Maybe six.  And then the panic will start again, slowly inclining in pitch until next March's x-rays.


We've had great snow this year--much better than the previous two winters.  It's been great, having snow days and beautiful scenes.  No "cardinals in the snow" postcard shots, but a fun video of Charlie, our Cairn, getting a bit hung up.

No need to worry--his subsequent forays were better, once we stomped out a trail for him.  And now?  He rings the bell frantically to be let out just so he can snuffle through the snow.


And that's about it.  I did notice today while on Amazon that they have a "free 30 day Amazon Prime" thing going on.   We've been Amazon Prime customers for a few years, because it really does save us a lot in shipping AND gets our Prime-eligible orders to us faster.  Plus, it's a  lot like Netflix and Hulu in that there are tons of freebie shows and the like.  If you've never tried it (or if you've got a lot of stuff to order and want to take advantage of the free shipping), go give it a try!  

Oh, here's the Amazon Prime link, which might be helpful.  And no, I don't get paid for your purchasing a membership.  No bounty for your annual subscription.  I do, however, get a little something if you just do the free 30 day.  Personally, I think you'll like it enough to subscribe, but I don't make money if you do.

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