Skip to main content

Southwest Airlines Community

Dental Comeuppance

Bill
Employee
Employee

Okay.  I've shared a LOT with you guys.  But here's a new guilty secret revealed (and not a good one)--I have really, really bad teeth, through neglect....and because of fear.

 

Now at the risk of not “holding myself accountable” for the issue, I had an incredibly abusive dentist as a child.  Seriously.  Psychotically abusive.  He used to slap my brother and me if we’d whimper in fear or pain, and when we’d make that “SCREECH!!” face when he’d spear a nerve with the Novocaine needle he’d yell “BULLSEYE!”  And do not EVEN get me started on having my wisdom teeth extracted.  Grisly.  Let’s just say that if they were to make a movie of this guy’s dental “practice” it’d have equal parts of Little Shop Of Horrors and Marathon Man with liberal doses of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Mommy Dearest thrown in for good measure.

 

So fast-forward to today.  I’ve been scrupulous about brushing my teeth all these years, but despite the *excellent* dental plan I have as a Southwest Airlines Employee, 30 years of phobia-induced dental neglect have taken their toll.  I have 14 amalgam (silver) fillings that need to be replaced, need a “deep planing and cleaning” (read:  lots of novocaine and then cram the dental probe as far down my dental roots as the hygienist can reach, then scrape like crazy), and extraction of my lower left third molar which has become infected.  To add interest to the story, the tooth infection started on a Friday afternoon, so I got to sit through a whole weekend looking like I had the mumps on my left side in absolutely miserable pain.

 

So when I declared a “dental emergency” (yes, I actually used that phrase) to the new dentist Monday and went in for my consultation, she examined my teeth and her summary remark was “…oh, my…..”  The suggested plan of dental treatment would take me through at least four lengthy appointments involving nearly two dozen separate procedures, which had me imagining entire salvos of Novocaine missles landing agonizingly in my gums as my alarm level neared Defcon Four.  Then the dentist added, “or, we could do oral sedation, and get it all done in one day.”

 

Say what???

 

You’ve probably heard radio ads for dentists crooning “take a pill before your appointment and sleep right through your dental procedure."  Well, that’s what she was talking about.  Although it’s not one little pill—its several little pills, and you still wind up getting the Novocaine shots and all that stuff….the COOL thing is that the pills are supposed to make you (1) sleep right through even lengthy treatments and (2) not remember  ANY of it.  Still, my Southwest Employee dental insurance, while superior in every measure, doesn’t cover the sedation. 

 

But after thinking about it—condensing the series of four or more appointments into one and minimizing the time away from work, plus not having the procedures done while I’m as jumpy as a platoon of Paratroopers about to leap from an  airplane, PLUS not feeling or remember anything of the procedures, made the additional out-of-pocket cost worth it.  So guess what?  Very soon--in less then two weeks, in fact--I’m having seven hours of dental work done while I “snooze” through the whole process (which makes me wonder--when will the staff have lunch?). 

Now, let’s be honest.  If I wasn’t going to take advantage of sedation dentistry and I was facing this array of procedures, I would either be already jumping through the ceiling or wouldn't have scheduled the procedures at all.  My phobia is, seriously, that severe.  But I’m currently feeling pretty relaxed about the upcoming process.  I suppose it's a testament to the hope of better living….through chemistry.      

 

So we’ll see.  I’ll post something after the procedure, and we’ll see how it goes.  Who knows….maybe this is the alternative to being miserable, hurting, giving into fear, or simply doing nothing and letting your teeth rot.  We’ll see.  Updates to follow!

 

 

Bill had his procedure on Thursday May 7, and all went well.

11 Comments
blusk
Aviator C
Hey Bill, While reading your post I had alternating images of Austin Power and "Brit Teeth" and images of Steve Martin as the dentist in "Little Shop of Horrors." Martin's character sings: "I thrill when I drill a bicuspid It's swell, although they tell me I'm maladjusted." Blog Boy
Anonymous415
Explorer C
I'm so sorry to hear about such bad experiences. I actually enjoy going to the dentist. I recently had an implant put in my mouth. I fell asleep while listening to music on my Ipod. The dentist sets the tone for the visit. Bad dentist = Bad experience.
Bill
Employee
Employee
Had it done. Wow. Three comments: 1--I seriously didn't feel, hear, or taste anything--nor can I remember anything about the procedures. I slept for about seven hours in the chair, plus about six more when I got home. (VERY glad I followed their instructions not to drink any liquids after midnight!!) 2--Yeah, they give you a few "small pills" but good HEAVENS do they pack a punch. I arrived at 0800, and by 0845 I was "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds." 3--I was completely fine the next morning. Went to work, no pain, no soreness, no horror stories, and GREATLY improved dental health. And the kicker? I found out today that the dentist, to whom I have now completely bonded--is leaving the practice, moving to North Carolina with her husband. Great. Was it something I said? Bill
vzerbee
Explorer C
Wow. That is a lot of dental work for one person. However, I would choose the same as you.. I would not like to be awake for any part of it and getting it done in one sitting would be preferable. I would go with a Friday to have the weekend to recuperate! All the best to you.. have soy protein shakes for delicious nutrition and milk shakes (because you can).

Vicki Zerbee http://AntiAgingByDesign.com http://twitter.com/VickiZerbee vicki@yourhealthwebsite.net 814.931.8041

ncordeiro
Explorer C
I know exactly how you feel. My fear was me simply being a baby though. I had braces for four years and now hate going to the dentist. Finally I went in to a friends dentist and he was awesome!! I do the local anesthesia via these little cotton things followed by many shots. (don't even feel those at that point b/c of the little cotton thingies. Then I put on my ipod and relax! I did 4 appointments last year in like a 6 month period. He even split up what I was going to end up paying in the end so each time I went in, I'd pay a 1/4th of it. Now I'm all fixed up! Shout out to Dr. Hurley in Irving! Give him a call ya'll!
Dan15
Explorer C
To be honest with you, I don't really see how a story about your poor dental hygene and your dental experiences benefits Southwest Airlines. I'm sorry you had to go through all of your experiences, but some of that stuff may gross people out. I feel that's something that you should post on your personal blog, and not on a blog sponsored by Southwest.
Bill
Employee
Employee
Vickie, the cool thing is that I had it done on a Thursday and was perfectly fine on Friday! Nicole, I'll probably do that from now on--hopefully I'll never have to have that much done at once again! Dan, I'm guessing you haven't read much of what we post on "Nuts About Southwest!" Much of it is business (or travel) related....but much of it isn't. After all, we're a company of people--individuals with their own lives, both unique and mundane. One of the things I love the most about this blog is that we're allowed--even encouraged--to share as much, or as little, of our everyday lives as we choose to. I've shared recipes; bizarre things that have happened to me that I thought people might find funny; the importance of colonoscopies; and even the sudden death of my mother. None of those had much, if anything, to do with Southwest Airlines either, but based on the feedback I received people enjoyed reading them. We, and I, also post a *lot* about the business. So please keep coming back and checking what the latest posts are here. Some will be about the business of being Southwest Airlines. Some won't. Hopefully you'll find more that you find interesting and/or relevant than not!
GB1
Explorer C
To be honest, I thought you were going to end with sigh! So, I can sort of understand the "may gross people out" that Dan is talking about. However, I do give you props for the courage to tell your Dental story. I can understand it may be painful to share it since I also had a "oh my" from the dentist when I had to go after years of neglecting my teeth as a child (too much sugar cane, not much dental hygiene, and a bad dental procedure). Anyhow, I know it was painful for me to hear those words from the Dentist (and the procedure as well) as a teen. GB
Bill
Employee
Employee
GB, You NEVER want to hear "oh my!" from your dentist, your doctor, your mechanic, or your barber/hairdresser. And BTW to everyone....my dentist also informed me at my recheck today that flossing should be done at NIGHT, not in the morning. No wonder my teeth were in such bad shape--I've been doing it wrong for 40 years!!! Bill
Dan15
Explorer C
I guess if Southwest is fine with it, then who am I to judge? My only real gripe is that it was the FIRST thing I read, and it did turn me off to the site. Luckily for you and Southwest, I peeked around further and liked a few of the other things I read/watched. But maybe other readers won't give it a second chance...just something to keep in mind when choosing what to post about.
Bill
Employee
Employee
Dan, Please keep coming back. We post a TON of business-related information, and follow a sometimes amazing amount of subsequent discussion, on this site. But yes, we do post some totally non-airline stuff on here. (BTW, if you are a Banana Pudding lover, find my recipe for it. It ROCKS. And the only thing it has to do with Southwest is I promised to the blogosphere for being late posting about a schedule change!) I'm glad you kept poking around until you found something that interested you--and I really hope you keep coming back. We have lots of content on here--both business- and non-business related, video, pictures, and links to social media. Tune out the stuff you don't want...but stay tuned for the stuff you want. In this economy--in this environment--I think you'll get your fill! Have a great weekend. Bill