Dental Drama

I went to the dentist yesterday for the first time in, oh, forever, and, unfortunately, it looks like he and I are going to become very good friends over the next few weeks.

It seems that I have several fillings (which range in age from 15 to probably 30 years old) which are deteriorating (chipping off, peeling away, allowing things to get under them, etc), which is what's causing most of the pain and sensitivity that I've been experiencing.

So, I've got a lot of restorative work to do, as well as a couple of new, small cavities to fill, and a good bit of cleaning around the gumline, which he said he won't do without anesthesia.

Because these issues are so extensive, and are scattered all over my mouth, he wants to do the repairs in four separate appointments, each addressing one "quadrant" (upper left, lower right, etc). I asked if he could do more than that at a time, but each quadrant will take 2 - 3 hours, and there just aren't 6 hour time slots available on his schedule, without waiting for several months.

Of course, I had told him about my pregnancy plans, and since he doesn't like to use any anesthesia (even local) during the first two trimesters, he wants to get this all done as quickly as possible, before our first IVF attempt (which could be as early as late February).

I must admit that I am rather, well, maybe "phobic" is too strong a word, but not by much, about going to the dentist and having my teeth messed with, so I asked what he can give me for anxiety, in addition to the actual local anesthetic.

I was hoping to get a little laughing gas, followed a blast of oxygen to sober me up, and then be sent on my way, but he doesn't use nitrous oxide at all.

Instead, he recommended Xanax, one the night before and then one an hour before the appointment. The only catch there being that then I'd be out of commission for the entire day, of course.

I'd like to avoid that if possible, because I really can't afford to take off four full non-baby-making-related days of work right now, but I don't know if I can.

What I'm kind of thinking right now is that I will try the first round with no Xanax, and ask him to start with the easiest quadrant.

I'm also thinking that I'm going to take along my CD player and an audiobook to listen to while he works, so I have something - anything - else to think about, besides what's going on in my mouth.

If I do ok with that, I'll do the others with just the local, as well (unless he says that one or more might be particularly bad).

On the other hand, if after the first one, I can't face the idea of doing it three more times like that, I'll take the Xanax for the rest.

The dentist's office called back today, after talking to my insurance company, to let me know that it looks like our share for the whole thing will be around $600, and I'll max out my $1000 total benefits for the policy year, so I'll essentially have no more dental coverage until July.

Yippee.