Just curious how others approach this issue...someone recently asked about thoughts about fatal illnesses and CBT...but then there are those pesky lesser health issues that come up in between; non-urgent, but could be serious later on if not addressed. Not enough to kill you outright, but enough to be a problem if you or they don't...For me, it's currently dental issues; the dentist is pressuring me for long-term crowns and implants, when I just need what I have to last for just a little while longer...how do you deflect the concern from medical professionals without giving away your intent?
(Solipsistic personal variation starts here:)
I just came from a follow-up dentist appointment for a cleaning, which was previously postponed for a few months until a recommended mouthwash treatment course was completed for gum reasons. During my last visit, they found 5 cavities, which they filled, and said that my gums were inflamed with pockets, so they wouldn't do the cleaning until the oral rinse treatment was completed. I refused the dental scaling because last time they did that (which was my first time at this office), they hit a nerve (literally), and then, the gums went back to normal, anyway. And when the did a planing on one tooth, they wound up doing more damage than the original problem. Today, my gums were back to normal, so I suspect that they may be pushing unnecessary treatments. (Not to mention expensive crowns...)
That said, it's not as if I don't have any dental issues. But it's not that I neglect my teeth and gums, beyond a sweet tooth. I'm diligent and I do my followups. But despite that, my teeth get worse each year, and much of that is do to physical stress and years of grinding that gets worse and worse. My teeth issues are "battle scars" of why I want to CBT in the first place. (I literally broke the bottom of my top front tooth because of involuntary stress spasms in my jaw that started because by one of the sources of my suicidal ideation, the same source caused me to go to the hospital with a breakdown that was disguised as a near- heart attack...at least they were able to fix that tooth without replacing it. )
( And I think that dentists are just making my problems worse, though, I have to say. I didn't have my first dentist appointment until I was in my 20's, and the dentist drilled a hole and forgot to fill it...didn't realize it til I got home and the numbness wore off...same tooth with the decay under the crown, incidentally...)
And that brings me to my dilemma...today they did the cleaning, but are telling me that one of my crowns has decay underneath to the root. (I'm not even sure if that's accurate, because it didn't show on the x-ray, and was their eyeball assessment.) They think it can wait, but if it starts to bother me, I should get it replaced with an implant. (top back molar). I've already had one back molar pulled, with no issues. I have another cleaning in four months instead of six, at their suggestion, and can assess it then.
Now, they want to keep pushing restorative services, and I'm almost 47, and not so concerned with cosmetic issues as much as health and functionality, at this point. A missing tooth in the back I can deal with, no one will see. And I don't want to get implants because of their own problems, and because my grinding and stress will just break those, too. It's a losing battle.
But more than that, I don't even know if I will be around 4 months. Already, my dental issues are a losing battle, and I'm already in medical debt because of kidney stones and previous dental work, and not trying to add to debt, but to wipe it out before CBT. But if I decide that this summer is final for me (and that is seriously on the table), then it's moot, anyway. But I get anxious and panicky about making important decisions on a good day, let alone now. The obvious answer is to wait four months, and see what's what. But I wonder if it's SI kicking in, too, or just covering my bases if I decide not to that soon, because that's just my nature, to think of all options and plan for contingencies... (Yet, I don't see things going past 50 at the latest, anyway...) I mean, I could just cancel in 4 months if I think it's not going to last, but the anxiety just takes over my rational mind...plus, there's that weird feeling I get around medical professionals, as if I OWE them something like an explanation, or that THEY'RE in control...If it were something like cancer or renal failure, I'd have no trouble declining treatment. But something minor I treat as life-or-death, out of a sense of responsibility and diligence...when I was dealing with the swollen kidney and severe stones, I was cleaning and preparing, even then, just in case that went south...)
(Solipsistic personal variation ends here)
Just wondering how others treat deal with this kinds of in-between issues. Thanks.
(Solipsistic personal variation starts here:)
I just came from a follow-up dentist appointment for a cleaning, which was previously postponed for a few months until a recommended mouthwash treatment course was completed for gum reasons. During my last visit, they found 5 cavities, which they filled, and said that my gums were inflamed with pockets, so they wouldn't do the cleaning until the oral rinse treatment was completed. I refused the dental scaling because last time they did that (which was my first time at this office), they hit a nerve (literally), and then, the gums went back to normal, anyway. And when the did a planing on one tooth, they wound up doing more damage than the original problem. Today, my gums were back to normal, so I suspect that they may be pushing unnecessary treatments. (Not to mention expensive crowns...)
That said, it's not as if I don't have any dental issues. But it's not that I neglect my teeth and gums, beyond a sweet tooth. I'm diligent and I do my followups. But despite that, my teeth get worse each year, and much of that is do to physical stress and years of grinding that gets worse and worse. My teeth issues are "battle scars" of why I want to CBT in the first place. (I literally broke the bottom of my top front tooth because of involuntary stress spasms in my jaw that started because by one of the sources of my suicidal ideation, the same source caused me to go to the hospital with a breakdown that was disguised as a near- heart attack...at least they were able to fix that tooth without replacing it. )
( And I think that dentists are just making my problems worse, though, I have to say. I didn't have my first dentist appointment until I was in my 20's, and the dentist drilled a hole and forgot to fill it...didn't realize it til I got home and the numbness wore off...same tooth with the decay under the crown, incidentally...)
And that brings me to my dilemma...today they did the cleaning, but are telling me that one of my crowns has decay underneath to the root. (I'm not even sure if that's accurate, because it didn't show on the x-ray, and was their eyeball assessment.) They think it can wait, but if it starts to bother me, I should get it replaced with an implant. (top back molar). I've already had one back molar pulled, with no issues. I have another cleaning in four months instead of six, at their suggestion, and can assess it then.
Now, they want to keep pushing restorative services, and I'm almost 47, and not so concerned with cosmetic issues as much as health and functionality, at this point. A missing tooth in the back I can deal with, no one will see. And I don't want to get implants because of their own problems, and because my grinding and stress will just break those, too. It's a losing battle.
But more than that, I don't even know if I will be around 4 months. Already, my dental issues are a losing battle, and I'm already in medical debt because of kidney stones and previous dental work, and not trying to add to debt, but to wipe it out before CBT. But if I decide that this summer is final for me (and that is seriously on the table), then it's moot, anyway. But I get anxious and panicky about making important decisions on a good day, let alone now. The obvious answer is to wait four months, and see what's what. But I wonder if it's SI kicking in, too, or just covering my bases if I decide not to that soon, because that's just my nature, to think of all options and plan for contingencies... (Yet, I don't see things going past 50 at the latest, anyway...) I mean, I could just cancel in 4 months if I think it's not going to last, but the anxiety just takes over my rational mind...plus, there's that weird feeling I get around medical professionals, as if I OWE them something like an explanation, or that THEY'RE in control...If it were something like cancer or renal failure, I'd have no trouble declining treatment. But something minor I treat as life-or-death, out of a sense of responsibility and diligence...when I was dealing with the swollen kidney and severe stones, I was cleaning and preparing, even then, just in case that went south...)
(Solipsistic personal variation ends here)
Just wondering how others treat deal with this kinds of in-between issues. Thanks.
Attachments
Last edited:
