Greensboring.com | Greensboro, NC

Had a cracked tooth for sometime, which hasn't bothered me (oddly enough, not even in Egypt), but with the summer heat, and a bike ride yesterday it finally decided to reek havoc upon me. Finally after a painful breakfast, I told Shannon to call the dentist, but they couldn't get me in till tomorrow. The pain became bad enough I went into the bathroom with vice-grips and and a flat heat screw driver. Couldn't get the screwdriver, I mean elevator, in between the tooth and the gum- not sure what the trick is to that. The vice grip just crushed half the tooth, leaving shattered pieces in my mouth, and blood in the sink. The pain became excruciating, I spent the next couple hours in bed, and feel pretty shaken at this point. Not looking forward to the pain, or cost of the extraction tomorrow. That's if they even do it. So tired of my for-profit health-care here in America.

Not sure how people pull their own teeth, but I haven't managed it yet.

That's just insane

You needed a root canal and cap. I doubt you made it any cheaper and you may have destroyed what's left of the tooth so it may not be salvageable.

Extractions, like liposuction, are best left to paid professionals

I work at a dental school clinic, and this sounds just like many horror stories that have come our way. If cost is your concern you should find out if there is a dental school in your area, preferably one with residency programs for the different dental specialties. It's the cheapest way to get major work done without sacrificing quality.

It was already screwed up. I just helped it along a bit....

Oh well... feeling a bit better tonight...

There's a niche in home dentistry.. maybe drive-thru dentistry.

Look at that fucker!!!!!!!!!!! Let's just say there was no way this thing was coming out under my power.

They couldn't get it to numb at all, I screamed, I yelled! And that was just the cost of it all!

They wanted $3000 for a crown.... so, I got the next best thing... a giant hole. Yeah for American health care.

I'm going to go enjoy my anti-biotic now while the puss oozes into my mouth.

About $250 for the extraction, $50 for the drugs.

Just... Fucking hell.....

You got to love the noise, like hard-candy cracking in two when they pull it. Just lovely.

The good news is, I get all the ice-cream sandwiches I want for the next week.

There's no way I'd pull a tooth with good roots. That $3000 will look pretty cheap in 10 years. If you'd had a root canal and temporary crown it would've cost around $1,000 and you could have saved up for the permanent crown. But hey your priorities are not mine.

BTW dentistry is not covered in Canada, and only basic work is covered in the UK. You have to pay for a good quality permanent crown in the UK too, although the root canal would've been covered

I'm sure it would, but I already have a partial bridge when I knocked some teeth out when I was younger.

It didn't make sense to crown it, since I can just add on to the bridge for a few hundred when I want.


And when I can actually afford $3000 on a tooth... I'll just get my robo-teeth installed I've always wanted.

Goddamn Liv!!! What the hell were you thinking? No, I take that back...I've had a toothache before, I know exactly what you were thinking....they do hurt bad enough to want to just do it yourself, but OMG...I can't believe you did that! It makes me feel faintly queasy just thinking about it.

I've pulled 6 of my own teeth. Once you snap the nerve, it hurts for like 2 seconds. You bleed for a bit, but I use water and gauze, and a final rinse of peroxide. The relief is almost instant. I have used needle nosed pliers, and my own fingers. I currently have a back molar that I need to remove, but I can't get it out even with the pliers. Yeah dental care in the United States sucks. Even eating bread now hurts.

I think Midiwriter is my new hero.

Yeah, I used vice-grips and a towel, and that didn't work.

For the record, the dentist even had a hard time getting it out, so I don't feel so bad.

Now in addition to the molar, I have 3 more teeth that are loose. Trying out all the new flavors of applesauce.

Just pulled yet another one using needle nosed pliers. Got 2 left that need to go. Got to admit, this last one hurt like a motherfucker.....but again....pain is sometimes relief. It hurt for like 3 seconds...the sweat was intense....but after doing this 7 times....I now know what it's like giving birth....or at least I assume that's what it's like.....grins.

I really think the next one should be on video.

Next teeth I pull will so be on video. You're not gonna like it. They will just call it fake.

Soon, I have yet another tooth that needs to go. I will film this one. Using needle-nosed pliers. Once you pull one, it weakens the one's next to it. It's on the bottom.....so single root.