Here are some parts of today's trip to the dentist that I didn't love:
--Three shots of Novocaine. Okay, so I liked them because they made later pain much less than it otherwise would have been, but there's something about a big, fat needle entering the roof of my mouth that I just am not crazy about.
--The water from the dental hygienist's squirter cascading down both sides of my face, down my neck, and into my hair/shirt.
--Feeling around my mouth with my tongue at one point, only to discover almost my whole tooth had been shaved off. There was just a wee bit left. I want my tooth back.
--The smell and sight of tooth shavings coming off the drill
--The laser the dentist used to burn off tissue around my tooth. Why this is necessary is beyond me. Even with three shots of Novocaine, I could feel that one. I did get to wear special green sunglasses during lasertime, though.
--The taste of the crown mold I had to keep in my mouth for 5 minutes. That purple crap tasted awful and stuck my numb lips to the molding stick. I'm still finding traces of purple on my lips.
--After 45 minutes, when the dentist gets out the drill and says, "Let's see if this area is completely numb." Umm must we do a trial and error experiment? Why not just stick some more Novocaine in there?
--How it wasn't completely numb. I could feel the work they did on my bottom pre-molar. But for some reason, even when the dentist asked, "You doing all right?" I said, "Yeah!" Not just "Yeah," but "Yeah!" I should've just asked for more Novocaine.
--The "rubber dam" (damn's more like it) that they put on my face. I especially have bad feelings toward the elastic contraption that they seem to shove up into the brain region based on how much pain it causes. Even being completely numb, I want to cry when they jam those things into my gums.
--When the dentist told me my temporary crown can be pulled out by pulling straight down. In his words, "If it comes off, you won't feel any pain, but it will look kinda funny." Um, yeah, based on how much tooth was left before you put the crown on, I think "kinda funny" is a slight understatement.
--The temporary crown. As I looked in the mirror after my appointment, I was less than enthusiastic about it. It looks like my tooth went through the war. And the gum above it looks angry at how it was treated. I'm pretty sure it feels violated.
Why do I pay this man to hurt me?
But hey, at least I can chew. Thanks, dentist.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Skeletons or cobwebs?
I'm definitely not one who claims deep or comprehensive political knowledge, but I do have a brain. So, lemme get this straight--based on today's news and the comments people are making, our nation would apparently prefer a poor candidate who doesn't know how to handle money to be a key figure in handling the national budget? Everybody seems to be so up in arms over Mitt Romney's wealth and his tax disclosures. Firstly, Romney paid the taxes required of him by the government. That's a good thing, right? He didn't set the tax rate on his income, contrary to what people's reactions seem to imply. Second, people seem to be upset about his charitable contributions to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Getting a deduction as a result of paying tithing is not the same as doing it in order to GET the deduction. Correlation is not causation. But people just can't possibly believe the best of someone when there's another option open to them. In a country where religion is becoming more and more taboo, so many don't seem to be capable of understanding faith-based actions like tithe-paying.
So the apparent favorite is not the business-savvy, clean-cut, principled, well-to-do Mitt Romney
but rather the hypocritical, unfaithful, explosive Newt Gingrich?
I must be missing something here. It's incredibly sad to me how mistrusting people are of Mitt Romney--like they just can't believe that somebody could be as strait-laced and genuine as Mitt comes off to be. And if they believe it, they don't like it. "He's too cold," they say. Our society is much too accustomed to skeletons in the closet to believe it when they see a closet free of skeletons. So they point out the crooked shelves or the cobwebs. And somehow, for more and more Americans, Newt's numerous skeletons pale in comparison to Mitt's cobwebs. Mitt Romney has been criticized for flip-flopping. Apparently it's better to remain in one stance, oblivious to the other side of the argument, in ignorance, than to learn, think, and change. I'm not in favor of a candidate who's constantly back and forth, but it's natural for people to progress in their thinking. More obviously and importantly still, I think, is this: Mitt Romney was governor of a state. Does it occur to anyone else that someone's ideas of what is appropriate on the state level might differ from what they believe to be right on the federal level? Isn't that the whole reason we have different levels of government? I dunno, maybe we need another 4 years of Obama (cuz let's be honest, Newt ain't gonna win that one!) as a metaphorical slap in the face for America.
So the apparent favorite is not the business-savvy, clean-cut, principled, well-to-do Mitt Romney
but rather the hypocritical, unfaithful, explosive Newt Gingrich?
I must be missing something here. It's incredibly sad to me how mistrusting people are of Mitt Romney--like they just can't believe that somebody could be as strait-laced and genuine as Mitt comes off to be. And if they believe it, they don't like it. "He's too cold," they say. Our society is much too accustomed to skeletons in the closet to believe it when they see a closet free of skeletons. So they point out the crooked shelves or the cobwebs. And somehow, for more and more Americans, Newt's numerous skeletons pale in comparison to Mitt's cobwebs. Mitt Romney has been criticized for flip-flopping. Apparently it's better to remain in one stance, oblivious to the other side of the argument, in ignorance, than to learn, think, and change. I'm not in favor of a candidate who's constantly back and forth, but it's natural for people to progress in their thinking. More obviously and importantly still, I think, is this: Mitt Romney was governor of a state. Does it occur to anyone else that someone's ideas of what is appropriate on the state level might differ from what they believe to be right on the federal level? Isn't that the whole reason we have different levels of government? I dunno, maybe we need another 4 years of Obama (cuz let's be honest, Newt ain't gonna win that one!) as a metaphorical slap in the face for America.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Broken record
I'm allowed a few broken record posts, right?
Just have to say that I am so much more excited than you even think to go to school in London!
I just pow-wow'd with a co-worker who lived in London for quite some time. She was giving me all sorts of tips and pointers as we looked at Google Maps. Man, oh man. I. Am. Pumped.
Pumped and wary. Because it seems like sometimes I get all psyched up for something amazing like this, and then it doesn't happen. I've got 7 1/2 months until I'd be heading over, so I'm trying to cautiously plan.
I'd like for these places to be in my future. Please.
Just have to say that I am so much more excited than you even think to go to school in London!
I just pow-wow'd with a co-worker who lived in London for quite some time. She was giving me all sorts of tips and pointers as we looked at Google Maps. Man, oh man. I. Am. Pumped.
Pumped and wary. Because it seems like sometimes I get all psyched up for something amazing like this, and then it doesn't happen. I've got 7 1/2 months until I'd be heading over, so I'm trying to cautiously plan.
I'd like for these places to be in my future. Please.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
"The other dentist"
Let's talk about a man I call "the other dentist." Some background: this past week or so, I've had some bad pain on one side of my mouth, resulting in hyper-sensitivity to temperature and an aching jaw. Finally I caved and decided to go to the dentist. Since I'm in Orem now, I looked up dentists covered by my insurance provider and basically just chose one. I don't even know what his name is, so I just call him "the other dentist." Because I really resent him lol. Here's why:
I went to see him, let him know the symptoms and where it felt like their origins were, and his assistant took an X-ray--one X-ray of one part of my mouth. Really thorough, right? "The other dentist" brings the X-ray in, and starts talking about molar 19 and how it's starting to crack, blah blah blah=$1400. With insurance, I'd be paying $458 out of my pocket. He wanted to put a crown on that bottom molar. In his words, "We'll put a crown on it, see how it does, and if it doesn't do well, we'll have to do a root canal." In my head, I'm thinking, "You want to make me pay $458 for a procedure you're not even sure is the right one? How bout we get it right the first time?" He gets up to leave, and before he can take off and forget all about me, I ask him what I can do for the pain in the meantime. Isn't it his job to address these issues?? He decides maybe he'll prescribe me amoxycillin (which I'm allergic to) and lortab (which I hate with a fiery passion.) Then he forgets to give me said prescription. The heck, man?
Nuh-uh. No way. I'm not about to let this dude operate on my teeth when he's not even sure about any of the things we've talked about. He inspired about as much confidence as a drunk weatherman.
So I call my family dentist who is also in my family ward. He just so happens to be out of the office for the next week. My mom calls another family friend, Dr. Larsen, and he got me in yesterday. Thank heaven. Because he looked at my mouth, took X-rays (of all my teeth) and said there was nothing wrong with the tooth "the other dentist" wanted to crown. I was kind of seething inside when I heard that. The real problem wasn't even on the bottom half of my mouth. "The other dentist" was looking at the wrong pole. He was looking in Antarctica, and the problem was in the North Pole. Problem tooth is number 5--a tooth on the top of my mouth, 4th from the back. That one needs a root canal. It was as simple as Dr. Larsen using an ice stick and placing it on each tooth to find the culprit. It took about 15 seconds for us to discover which tooth was the guilty party. The pain I was having in my lower jaw is called "referred pain," a result of the layout of dental nerve pathways which can cause pain to be felt in location different from its real source. I felt like slapping "the other dentist," but since I don't carry out violent mental plans (no matter how ingenious they are), and because he was 40 miles away from the dental chair I was in, I didn't.
If I had let "the other dentist" have his way, I'd have paid $458 for an operation I didn't need, which would have entirely missed the real problem. I'd be $500 out and still in pain, with an imminent abscess. The real problem, incidentally, will still cost me a pretty penny since it entails a root canal and a crown. But I'm content because I trust the dentist doing the work, and he even showed me what's going on, explained how it works, etc.
The more I think about "the other dentist," the more I resent him. This guy works at Monarch Dental with a whole bunch of other dentists--it's not a private practice. They're near campus, so I'm sure a significant part of their patient base is students who are one-timers. They have no incentive to provide the best service since, no matter what they do, most of their patients won't be lifetime ones. I feel so taken advantage of by the guy! It's gonna take me awhile to forgive him lol. But seriously, growing up, I guess I was ignorant enough (I call it innocent, misplaced faith) about medical matters to assume that, go to any doctor/dentist, you'll get the same diagnosis and treatment. Obviously, that's a far cry from reality, but you'd think they'd at least try to make a correct diagnosis. Right? Is my resentment apparent yet? lol I hate feeling like I have to be wary every time I visit a doctor or dentist because they don't really have my best interests at heart. I'd rather feel like I can trust them. But "the other dentist" poked a big, fat hole in that mentality. And when I think about the fact that he had the X-ray he needed to diagnose the right problem...grrr. Either he didn't look at the whole X-ray, didn't recognize the problem, or didn't tell me the real problem. Dr. Larsen, on the other hand, suspected the diagnosis from a cursory exam. He told me that it doesn't even take a dentist to recognize the decay apparent in the X-ray.
In better news for my future, I think I've flossed three times since I got home from my appointment yesterday. This girl will now floss as diligently as she has brushed. Take that, "the other dentist."
I went to see him, let him know the symptoms and where it felt like their origins were, and his assistant took an X-ray--one X-ray of one part of my mouth. Really thorough, right? "The other dentist" brings the X-ray in, and starts talking about molar 19 and how it's starting to crack, blah blah blah=$1400. With insurance, I'd be paying $458 out of my pocket. He wanted to put a crown on that bottom molar. In his words, "We'll put a crown on it, see how it does, and if it doesn't do well, we'll have to do a root canal." In my head, I'm thinking, "You want to make me pay $458 for a procedure you're not even sure is the right one? How bout we get it right the first time?" He gets up to leave, and before he can take off and forget all about me, I ask him what I can do for the pain in the meantime. Isn't it his job to address these issues?? He decides maybe he'll prescribe me amoxycillin (which I'm allergic to) and lortab (which I hate with a fiery passion.) Then he forgets to give me said prescription. The heck, man?
Nuh-uh. No way. I'm not about to let this dude operate on my teeth when he's not even sure about any of the things we've talked about. He inspired about as much confidence as a drunk weatherman.
So I call my family dentist who is also in my family ward. He just so happens to be out of the office for the next week. My mom calls another family friend, Dr. Larsen, and he got me in yesterday. Thank heaven. Because he looked at my mouth, took X-rays (of all my teeth) and said there was nothing wrong with the tooth "the other dentist" wanted to crown. I was kind of seething inside when I heard that. The real problem wasn't even on the bottom half of my mouth. "The other dentist" was looking at the wrong pole. He was looking in Antarctica, and the problem was in the North Pole. Problem tooth is number 5--a tooth on the top of my mouth, 4th from the back. That one needs a root canal. It was as simple as Dr. Larsen using an ice stick and placing it on each tooth to find the culprit. It took about 15 seconds for us to discover which tooth was the guilty party. The pain I was having in my lower jaw is called "referred pain," a result of the layout of dental nerve pathways which can cause pain to be felt in location different from its real source. I felt like slapping "the other dentist," but since I don't carry out violent mental plans (no matter how ingenious they are), and because he was 40 miles away from the dental chair I was in, I didn't.
If I had let "the other dentist" have his way, I'd have paid $458 for an operation I didn't need, which would have entirely missed the real problem. I'd be $500 out and still in pain, with an imminent abscess. The real problem, incidentally, will still cost me a pretty penny since it entails a root canal and a crown. But I'm content because I trust the dentist doing the work, and he even showed me what's going on, explained how it works, etc.
The more I think about "the other dentist," the more I resent him. This guy works at Monarch Dental with a whole bunch of other dentists--it's not a private practice. They're near campus, so I'm sure a significant part of their patient base is students who are one-timers. They have no incentive to provide the best service since, no matter what they do, most of their patients won't be lifetime ones. I feel so taken advantage of by the guy! It's gonna take me awhile to forgive him lol. But seriously, growing up, I guess I was ignorant enough (I call it innocent, misplaced faith) about medical matters to assume that, go to any doctor/dentist, you'll get the same diagnosis and treatment. Obviously, that's a far cry from reality, but you'd think they'd at least try to make a correct diagnosis. Right? Is my resentment apparent yet? lol I hate feeling like I have to be wary every time I visit a doctor or dentist because they don't really have my best interests at heart. I'd rather feel like I can trust them. But "the other dentist" poked a big, fat hole in that mentality. And when I think about the fact that he had the X-ray he needed to diagnose the right problem...grrr. Either he didn't look at the whole X-ray, didn't recognize the problem, or didn't tell me the real problem. Dr. Larsen, on the other hand, suspected the diagnosis from a cursory exam. He told me that it doesn't even take a dentist to recognize the decay apparent in the X-ray.
In better news for my future, I think I've flossed three times since I got home from my appointment yesterday. This girl will now floss as diligently as she has brushed. Take that, "the other dentist."
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
The year of the unexpected
"Couldn't have seen that one coming!"--that's how I'd sum up 2011. Here's what I thought I'd be doing in 2011:
- Serving a mission in Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Here's a breakdown of what I ended up doing in 2011:
- 3 incredibly amazing weeks in the Provo MTC
- Unexpected 6 weeks in the Lima, Peru MTC
- A couple very turbulent weeks in Santa Cruz, Bolivia
- Home at the end of March
- 5 weeks in Thailand with Janella
- Getting to participate in Elder Bednar's book for the recorded YSA group discussion
- Sending off two best friends to the same mission in August/September
- Moving to Orem with Sarah and Emily
- Being called into the Relief Society Presidency
- Getting a job at BYU
- Starting to work at the Provo Temple with Sarah and Grandma Janet (I don't have a picture of me actually working in the temple obviously haha)
- Applying to grad schools in the U.K. and being accepted so far to:
So...a very unexpected year. I still ache for being a missionary on a fairly regular basis, it's true. But this has been a good year--a great year, actually. More life experience than I had anticipated, most definitely. It's not a year I was prepared for, but I feel like I've grown a lot. I know that 2012 will be a great year. I can just feel it. Whatever happens, I'm doing what I love, and I feel much lighter and happier than I did the past few years. If all goes as planned, I'll be in the U.K. at school in 8 months. I'm excited for this year's adventures.
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