Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Dental Work, part 1 of...

...30 or so...

OK, maybe not that many, but still.

It wasn't so bad, considering. Dentistry has made some advances in the last few years. This particular dentist is also very considerate and tries very hard to minimize the pain, unlike certain military dentists who couldn't give two hoots in hell if you were screaming in pain.

Those incidents were over 20 years ago, and they still mess me up.

A couple words of advice, though:

Personally, I find that Ibuprofen helps me with mouth pain better than acetaminophen, due to the better anti-inflammatory effect. Next time I'll ask for hydrocodone and ibuprofen instead of lortabs.

Brush and floss, kids, and go to the dentist every 6 months. No insurance? Save up the money. Trying to fix years of neglect costs way more than an office visit every 6 months. It hurts more, too. Trust me.

No tobacco. Tobacco in any form will mess up your oral health beyond belief. Not just chew or dip, either. Nicotine impedes blood flow to your gums and teeth (and everywhere else, too, but that's another story) and basically starves them.

Pay attention to your teeth now, 'cause after TSHTF, you're gonna be hard-pressed to find anyone to do your dental work, unless you happen to have a dentist in your survival group.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good points Crusty. Teeth are important, and after SHTF the only remedy for a toothache is yanking it out...

matthiasj
Kentucky Preppers Network

Z@X said...

I heard military dentists believe pain is good for the soul.

Glad to hear it was tolerable for ya. Keep smiling :)