My 6 month cleaning @ the dentist.............

Yep it was that time again on Wednesday.  This was the third time I had been to this dentist, but as yet I am not getting the same warm fuzzy feeling I got from the last dentist.  Mind you we were patients there for 25 years.............

The first time I visited this dentist I didn't see him as he was "running late," second time a female dentist popped in had a quick look and left.  This time I finally met "the man."  Nice enough chap; very strong manly handshake; I commented on that and he offered to shake my hand again.  I said no thank you as I need my fingers un-crushed so I can knit...he thought that was funny.  He did his quick exam and left like the other one did.

Now back to the cleaning.  The first thing I do when I sit on the chair is put my sunglasses on.  They have LED lights and they are so bright, tears are streaming from my light sensitive eyes, if I don't protect them.  She then offers me some mouth rinse, which of course I decline, as it tastes icky.  She has to hand clean my teeth as I do not like the "pressure washer" way of cleaning the teeth.  I have some what sensitive teeth and with that machine it has a habit of pointing out where my most sensitive areas are!

Then we have the question, "do you floss?"

My answer is always the same:

"Flossing to me is like running your nails down a chalk board.  Please feel free to give me a lecture about it.  I will take no notice of you, but if it makes you feel better, go ahead."

She giggled at this point and said fair enough.

The only time I will floss is when I have something stuck between my teeth and I need to remove it.

At the end they want to polish your teeth.  Once again I decline as it tickles and it's icky.  As I point out to them I am a like a cheap date as I only use half of their things.

She also checked my gums to see how big the "pockets" were.  It turns out mine were fine other than the one "between my wisdom tooth and back tooth."  I sat there digesting this news for a few seconds, then realized I don't have any wisdom teeth. I had them out years ago.  I point this out and she says oh yes you're right.

Now this got me thinking............which means things will go down south very fast.  I couldn't remember if dh had, had his wisdom teeth out and also couldn't remember if the kids had, had theirs out.  What sort of wife and mother am I who doesn't remember these things????

So a flurry of emails went back and forth between the kids and I, which resulted in:

• daughter had hers out in her early 20's
• son-in-law has had his out
• daughter-in-law has had hers out and I  actually remember that
• son hasn't had his out, but as he pointed out he has a big head and has plenty of room....that sort of made sense to me
• dh has no idea {{{SIGH}}} but like son he has a big head and I told him to ask when he is at the dentist.
• I had mine out after I had our son, but before I had our daughter and I do remember having an extra root in each tooth, otherwise everything was fine with the process

So there you are my 6 month visit to the dentist is over and done with.  I had no cavities, everything is looking good and they'll see my at the end of July, poor things.  I am one of those people who doesn't like going to the dentist but goes faithfully every six months; as these are the only teeth I have and they have to last me until I die. 

However I would rather go to the dentist than have my eyes tested any day.  That I dislike with a passion, as my eyes are so light sensitive.

Oh and I had a headache and toothache for the rest of the day, but that's normal after a visit to the dentist.

How often do you go to the dentist?

FINALLY - THANK YOU FOR ALL THE TIPS YESTERDAY.  I CLEANED THE WASHING MACHINE AS SUGGESTED SO LETS HOPE THAT DOES THE TRICK.

Surgeon's, Optometrist's and Doctor's........

Been a busy week health wise for dh and I.  On Wednesday we had to be at the Toronto Western Hospital for 8:30 am, as he had an appointment with the Eye Surgeon at either 9 am or 9:30 am, no one could make up their mind which one it was?  Didn't matter as no one got in on time.  Dh had to have a Laser Iridotomy.

Laser iridotomy is a surgical procedure that is performed on the eye to treat angle closure glaucoma, a condition of increased pressure in the front chamber (anterior chamber) that is caused by sudden (acute) or slowly progressive (chronic) blockage of the normal circulation of fluid within the eye. The block occurs at the angle of the anterior chamber that is formed by the junction of the cornea with the iris. All one needs to do to see this angle is to look at a person's eye from the side. Angle closure of the eye occurs when the trabecular meshwork, the drainage site for ocular fluid, is blocked by the iris. Laser iridotomy was first used to treat angle closures in 1956. During this procedure, a hole is made in the iris of the eye, changing its configuration. When this occurs, the iris moves away from the trabecular meshwork, and proper drainage of the intraocular fluid is enabled.

Read more: http://www.surgeryencyclopedia.com/La-Pa/Laser-Iridotomy.html#ixzz2CETKCuxu

In layman's terms, there are channels around your eye ball's, that slowly close up.  If allowed to close up you can go blind.  So they make a hole in your iris and this allows the liquid to wander around the eye and releases the pressure.

It was very successful and he goes back in two weeks for a follow up appointment.  I couldn't even sit through the consultation and testing as it totally grossed me out.  We all should pray and hope that I NEVER EVER need anything done with my eyes as I am a total baby when it comes to eyes.  It was $28 to park for over two hours at the hospital, luckily I found a parking spot across the road for $10.  It took us two sodding hours to get to the hospital from our house.  How people commute to down town Toronto is beyond me!!!

On Tuesday morning I went to the Optometrist's to have an eye exam.  I would rather go to the dentist and have my teeth pulled than have my eye's tested.  I DO NOT DO DROPS what so ever, so he made me do a slew of tests on my eyes and charged me $60 for those and $90 for the actual eye test.  My prescription has gone up to 1.75 from 1.50, so I need to get new lenses for my eye glasses for reading and close up work.  Otherwise my eyes are fine, and I left the office telling him I was NEVER EVER having those tests done again!!!

I then went to the doctor's about my rotten hand.  I have arthritis in my thumb joint that is why it is so sore.  Anyone with arthritis in their hands what do you do/use to get some relief.  I am being sent for another nerve test in my hand to see if the nerves are pinched AGAIN.  I also need x-rays on my hand to see what else is going on.

I wish I had never let her touch my right hand.  I can only type for a certain length of time now.  Driving kills me, hoovering is not much better.  I have very limited strength now in the right hand.  Once I have had the nerve test done I can then book an appointment to see the hand surgeon again.  There is no point doing it now until I get all the test results back.  My mam has arthritis in both of her hands, so it is maybe a hereditary thing?

If anyone has first hand info on arthritis I would love to hear your story.

So there you are.  I am hoping that's it for doctors for the next week or two!!