Words of Wisdom (Teeth)

A couple of months ago I managed to crack a tooth (eating a slice of bread, of all things...) and needed emergency dental treatment. The broken pieces of tooth were removed and I had a temporary filling put in place. The dentist then warned me that the tooth really did need sorting out within the next couple of months.

Thanks to our friend Julie, who works at Liverpool Dental School, I was able to get an appointment with a 5th year student to finally have my tooth looked at. Before addressing the issue of the dodgy tooth, the student did a full check of my teeth and gums and it seems that some of my teeth are in a pretty sorry state. I was appalled to discover that several of them have decay. The student also expressed concern about my wisdom teeth which have grown in perpendicular to my other teeth meaning they are nigh on impossible to keep clean so are also starting to decay; this could have dire consequences for the adjacent teeth. Because of the weird angle of my wisdom teeth, fillings are out of the question so the teeth may need to be removed. After having x-rays to check the extent of the decay and to get a closer look at the wisdom teeth, it was decided that I need further appointments to have fillings in the decaying teeth and that I should be referred to the Oral Surgeons regarding my wisdom teeth. Oh joy of joys.

So, I've gone from needing a filling replaced to the possibility of extraction under a general anasthetic - this was certainly more than I bargained for when I arranged the appointment!

Lisa xxx