I started experiencing neck pain and felt a ball within my skin in the beginning of October of 2024, but I shrugged it off because my mom fell ill and I called 9-1-1 to take her to the emergency room. She had a kidney infection. It was pretty bad because she clearly showed signs of sepsis, but the medical team that were observing my mom were slow to declare a diagnosis.
The left side of the back of my head was feeling tender to the touch and I became more concerned. One night the words "swollen lymph nodes" popped into my head. I researched it on Google and found out that swollen lymph nodes was exactly what I was experiencing. There are many reasons you can have that including cancer (opens eyes). While my mom was still in the hospital, I took it upon myself to go to my PCP to check out what my swollen lymph nodes was all about. My doctor immediately asked how long ago I had been to the dentist. I replied, "Awhile." He said that I should go to the dentist to get it checked and offered to prescribe me antibiotics to lessen the swelling.
As much as I loathed the dentist, I made an appointment for a wisdom tooth extraction and the earliest they had an appointment was in December of 2024; two month wait. The last time I went to a dentist, I came home with a swollen cheek that lasted for a week. The dentist was rushing to fill in my cavities and didn't care about how the injection to numb the inside of my cheek wasn't fully spread across my cheek. I felt horrible, and refused to ever go back even though she said she wanted to extract one wisdom tooth. It seemed like I had to go back, though. However, I made an appointment to a different one that would accept my health insurance.
I thought the first time I went to this dentist, they would immediately extract my wisdom tooth thinking it was an emergency. Therefore, my mom and sister accompanied me. No, they only took x-rays of my teeth. Great! The next visit I had a wisdom tooth consultation. Again, I thought my tooth would be extracted but no. The orthodontist said that I would have two wisdom teeth extracted instead of one. Great! The next visit was a cleaning and the fourth and final visit was to extract my wisdom teeth. I get in the chair and find out that they are only taking out one; the one that is pressing up against my nerve and causing me to experience swollen lymph nodes and a tenderness on the back of the left side of my head.
Guess what? The surgeon took one look at my x-ray and obviously got scared because he said to me, "No, we won't be taking out your wisdom tooth today. It's too close to the nerve and I don't think it's necessary to take it out. You are okay. You're not experiencing any pain or infection." All that for nothing. I told him that I am feeling discomfort! He didn't care. He sent me on my way home.
Last night I was tossing and turning thinking of how I have to carry this discomfort for who knows how long. I need a second opinion. I'm not going back there if they can't take what I have seriously. It's unfortunate.
I had a really great dentist for a long time; from 2007-2020. The dental assistant, Nancy, was a doll. We spoke in English and Spanish, or Spanglish and it was the best. It was like talking to a family member or an old friend. We talked about our lives and made jokes. She was a sweetheart. The dentist had retired, though. I had no choice but to look elsewhere.
The moral of the story is to always get a second opinion, even a third or as many as it takes for you to be taken seriously. My previous dentist, that left my cheek swollen, wanted to extract my wisdom tooth on the top. The current dentist didn't see a need for that except the orthodontist said I should only because it wouldn't make sense to have it if the bottom one would be extracted. Then the dentist didn't mention it. I can tell that they don't speak to each other. That conduct is very wishy-washy.
Lastly, I was full of anxiety when it came to this wisdom tooth extraction. It drained me so much. I couldn't focus on the things I wanted to do or relax and enjoy my free time. It goes to show you that no matter what you might think about a situation or how much you prepare yourself for an event, it may not be as bad as expected. All that time I spent freaking out could have been used wisely.
Comments