11/24/09

Can I get a hog snout with that?

I hate going to the dentist almost more than anything. Maybe not as much as I hate public speaking, but it's a close second. I haven't had a cavity in probably 20 years, but I still hate it, even if it's only for my 6 month cleanings. I go religiously, however, since I know that the longer you put it off, the worse it will ultimately be.

Unfortunately, my regular dentist decided to retire and he sold his practice to some new guy, who I'm not sure I like. Suddenly, I have all these teeth on some sort of "watch list" - which I assume is like the one Homeland Security has for suspected terrorists, except this one's for radical bicuspids and suicide molars instead. The teeth that have made his list all contain 20-year-old fillings that he thinks need to be replaced because of tiny fractures he can see in the enamel. He wants to replace the existing fillings with that composite stuff, which supposedly holds the tooth together instead of wedging it apart, like the old silver fillings do. It sounds logical but I'm not sure I'm buying it.

There are a few reasons for this. First of all, he looks exactly like this guy, whom I've always hated. Has that guy ever not been a dick in any show he's been in? Seriously. He's a dick. Second of all, these are cracks my old dentist never mentioned, which I find a little suspicious. Even if they really are there, he apparently didn't think they were an issue. So I'm trying to decide if this new guy is practicing progressive dentistry and trying to fix small problems before they become big ones, or if he's practicing progressive bullshit because he has a new building to pay for.

I think he suckered me in though. He already knows I hate that place more than anywhere else on earth, but as much as I hate the thought of him drilling old fillings out, I hate the thought of someday breaking a tooth and being faced with a root canal and a crown even more. The bastard has me cold.

There was a new receptionist too. While she was swiping my credit card, I looked down at the counter and noticed a stack of the new guy's business cards sitting there. Up until that moment, I hadn't known his name. Turns out it's Dr. Moreau. I asked the receptionist if he had his own island and if she thought maybe I could get some quick tail work done next time, but she just looked at me like she was going to call the cops so I let it go.

In other news, I went to a fantastic rock show on Saturday night. We drove down to PA to see the reunion of The Badlees. You might remember them from the late 90's when they were signed to Polydor. They had a video on VH1 and a couple of pretty popular songs. (You can check out the videos on that link to jog your memory.) My buddy Pete is/was the lead singer, and they have a new record out, so they're doing a couple of shows to promote it and have a little fun. You can sample the new tunes here at CDBaby. Check it out if you get the chance. (There's a kick ass tune on it called Anodyne that I can't get out of my head.)

As for the show, all the guys were in top form, and the new songs sounded fantastic live. It's been five years since they shared a stage, but it was like they never stopped playing together. Jeff, their old rhythm guitarist, apparently found Jesus and doesn't play the devil music that much anymore -- so Aaron Fink from Breaking Benjamin was playing guitar with them in his place. We saw a lot of old friends and had a great time.

The funniest thing was the Pottsville PA crowd. Holy crap. I don't think any of them have changed in the last twelve years. The same hair, the same clothes, the same Yuenglings. It's like the land that time forgot down there.

It was a blast from the past, that's for sure. I haven't stumbled into a hotel room at four in the morning in a longggggg time. I had almost forgotten what that was like.

I kinda miss it.

26 comments:

  1. David7:03 PM

    I have a long-time history of clinching my teeth while I sleep so I have "stressed" my teeth - especially my molars that mostly have some large filling due to the porous nature of my teeth. My very reputable dentist has replaced most of those 30+ year old amalgam fillings due to those tiny fractures. Unfortunately, a couple were so far gone that the tooth crumbled from drilling out the old filling. I'm not suggesting you would have that problem - my molar fillings were huge and left little tooth around it.

    What I'm trying to say is this is a legit issue.

    Good luck with your dental care.

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  2. miss the accompanying hangover too?

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  3. Johnny, You make me laugh.... I had a similar experience. I was sitting in the dentists office getting ready to hear I needed a third root canal. I was staring at the 5 flat screen tv's (this was 7 years ago) when one of the professional basketball players from the local team walked in. I decided then to get a second opinion. The second opinion was the to get the fillings and a night guard. (HOT)

    As far as the sharing humor with people and thinking they will get it.... I'm right there with you. I teach middle school and I am constantly making references that are 100 percent awesome to me, but not so funny when I have to explain them to a 13 year old.

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  4. It may be a legit issue, but it might not hurt to get a second opinion.

    Beats having to puree all your food in a blender, though.

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  5. Hahaha Dr.Moreau! Nice Dr. Romano reference too :)

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  6. That guy guest starred on the X-Files, didn't he? Oh wait, did I just identify myself as a nerd? Oh well, it was going to be obvious sooner or later.

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  7. David, thanks for letting me know. Hopefully that won't happen to me.

    Kiki, no, that part I did not miss.

    rockin, that sounds like hell to me.

    comrade, can you blender up a steak?

    Jess - YES! He was also a crazy record producer on Wiseguy.

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  8. Certainly nothing wrong with hangin' on to the same beer for 12 years. Especially when it's a Yuengling!

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  9. The new dentist is probably right, much as I hate to say it. Old fillings wear out, wash out, or fall out and need to be replaced. If you live long enough, the old fillings are no longer good. It's one of the fun things about growing up they forgot to tell you.

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  10. I'm going through that filling hell right now. And one of them resulted in a crown, which is an ongoing drama even without Romano, so...he may have a point.

    PA, Yuengling and live Badlees. Christmas came early to your house! Lucky.

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  11. I'm a dentist, I'm your age, and I would recommend that you get a second opinion. (I'd tell you to come see me, but I'm even further away than Pottsville.) I'm certainly not saying the new guy's full of crap, and a lot of people tend to think their old dentist is a saint because he only told them what they wanted to hear, knowing he'd be long gone before stuff started to fall apart. Just get another opinion to split the difference. See somebody who can show you the cracks on an intraoral camera. Composite is awesome, but it's not going to hold a truly cracked tooth together; for that you'd need an onlay or even a crown. And unless there's decay in those cracks as well, I'd be hard pressed to recommend a wholesale replacement of multiple fillings, especially for someone who hates the dentist.

    If you need more info, let me know. I like to talk about the teeth, and I've definitely gotten more than a free dental consultation's worth of entertainment from your site, so I owe you. Seriously. And Dr. Moreau? What, was Dr. Horrible busy?

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  12. The filling replacement thing may be legit - they don't last forever. And the fact that your old dentist never mentioned them may go hand in hand with his retirement - he just may not have seen the fissures. My old dentist, it turns out, should have retired years before he actually did - a whole practice full of people whose dental care was about two years past the point of no return. Great biz for the new dentist but pretty painful in the mouth and wallet for the patients. It's not like you can see your own teeth to see if he is right - so get a second opinion.

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  13. Dude... The Badlees? SWEET!

    Thanks for the heads up on the new album. I can't wait to check it out! I loved them back in the day. I just about wore out my copy of River Songs (if you could do such a thing to a CD).

    That's awesome that you have a personal connection to the band. Keep up the great posts... I read your site regularly.

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  14. DO NOT make fun of the Yuengling. It's the best beer EVER. Oh how I miss the quart bottles for a buck fifty.

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  15. Dentists are evil. I'm shuddering uncontrollably just thinking about going.

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  16. p jane11:51 AM

    Aw, he wasn't an asshole on Fame. (Hey, my college roommate had every episode on tape and watched them frequently...)

    Dentists? Yeah, I've found a root canal is less painful than having an old filling chiseled out and replaced, but far more costly. Going isn't my favourite thing, but it's not TOO bad. My husband, OTOH, can fall asleep in the chair. (His dad was a Navy dentist so he and his older sibs were expected to be model patients.) Get a second opinion and good luck.

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  17. Dentistry is a big racket.

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  18. My dentist has retired and I have a new dentist which put 8 of my teeth on a "watch list" and informed me that at some point I should think about getting a dental implant for one of the molars I had pulled 15 years ago. I'm not sure if I like her but she did tell me that I have a wisdom tooth that is completely horizontal. My dentist never said anything and I thought that was rather strange but I knew she wasn't BSing me since I was looking at the xray with her.

    Eh dentists are evil and expensive

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  19. Don't do it! I had a very old filling replaced, the tooth became super-sensitive after that, got a root canal that never stopped hurting, had a granuloma and an epichoectomy...not fun. Don't do it! Leave well enough alone. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!

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  20. Watched the older videos on myspace. Pete looks a lil bit like Bob Geldof only with awesome hair!...and prolly not the poopy ruiner attitude. LoL Off to check out their new stuff.

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  21. I had my first "new filling" in over 30 years 3 years ago. The old fillings are all still good (there is only 4 but they are all STILL GOOD and this new one has been replaced twice so far. It sinks. It's awful.

    I agree with you on Dentists.

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  22. Anonymous1:25 PM

    yeah p jane - i was about to mention him being montgomery in Fame!! he was sweet!!!

    poor dentists - the only profession where people HAVE to go to you but hate you. i had a friend who was a navy dentist who quit dentistry b/c he was tired of ppl hating him and being scared of him...

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  23. My husband had a dentist like that. Every time he had a cleaning the dentist would come up with some new expensive procedure that he had to have done. I reckon the guy was driving a lamborghini and had lots of vacation homes.

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  24. Anonymous11:32 AM

    I can relate about the stumbling into the hotel room at 4am. About a month ago we went to Vegas and had a wild night the likes of which I haven't had in many a year. Hard to believe I used to do that nearly every weekend.

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  25. As the daughter of a dental technician (you know, the dude that builds crowns and bridges), I can tell you the "old filling" issue has been argued from both sides for forever. My experience is that the local hockey team's dentist insisted I needed those fillings removed and new ones put in, so I let him (without talking to my father, which was stupid). . .but my next dentist told me the first guy only made the situation worse and I ended up having a root canal. Yeah. No thank you.

    Go to another dentist, dude. And David should've had a nightguard.

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  26. Henry Clay, represent!

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