Bite Your Tongue.
Patients July 1st, 2009
The Girl needed a root canal on a lower left molar and so I was voluntold to do it.
I’ve had some previous experience doing dental work in her mouth. We’ve come a long way since those early days.
She still needs nitrous, but is now ok without oral tranquilizers and we don’t yell at each other as much. In fact there were no raised voices yesterday.
The procedure went well. I had to numb the crap out of the tooth because it was undergoing an irreversible pulpitis.
We went out for dinner afterwards to celebrate a job well done.
Because her tongue, cheek, and lip were still numb on the left side, she tried to do all of her chewing on the right so that she wouldn’t accidently chomp down on her tongue or cheek on the left without realizing.
Instead she chomped down on her tongue on the right and definitely realized. That’s a pretty ugly hematoma that has developed.
She’s not in too much discomfort at the moment. Although I do sympathize with her, my happiness at coming through the whole experience unharmed, myself, is something that money can never buy.
July 1st, 2009 at 1:22 pm
It’s like giving driving lessons to your spouse: Just don’t do it!
July 1st, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Exactly…except driving lessons don’t usually involve drugs and sharp instruments.
July 1st, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Ouch! She really got her tongue good. That probably hurts more than the procedure you did on her.
July 2nd, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Actually she says that it’s not too bad (yet). We’ll see in a day or so how things progress. Currently the swelling is down, but the bruise is bigger.
July 3rd, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Holy cow, what an ouch! That is the reason why we always tell/remind patients NOT to try and eat anything after a dental procedure, or drink hot coffee or chew on gum etc.
I just might need to show them this picture of what happens when you eat when you’re still numb. ouchie!
July 7th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Yup, that’s exactly why. And we’re especially strict with children following those instructions. You’re welcome to use the pic!
July 18th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
yikes! that looks horrible! im not in the dental field, but i was wondering what products you typically recommend for canker sores? i buy a lot of my products from dentist.net- but id like a professional opinion
Thanks!
Sandy
July 23rd, 2009 at 9:23 am
Results vary from person to person and where the canker is located in the mouth. Over the counter help usually consists of a topical anesthetic that you use until the sore naturally heals (as far as I know, nothing has been shown to heal cankers faster than they would heal on their own). I generally look for a product with Benzocaine and a component that allows the gel to stick for an extended time (eg. Zilactin-B). There are lots to choose from so trial and error ends up being the case for people to see what works best for them.
Professional treatment involves drugs or therapies that cauterize the nerves inside the sore. This prevents the sore from hurting, but again, it takes just as long to heal.
August 26th, 2009 at 11:04 am
ouch… it’s a weird pict.
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