my dentist, my nemesis

so everything was set for a lovely christmas - the shopping done, the gifts wrapped, the fridge stocked, the tree trimmed, all of that stuff taken care of. no need to leave the house at all until my midwife appointment thursday.

or so i thought.

on 23 december, saturday afternoon at about half-past four, a filling fell out (and took a wee chunk of tooth with it) of my bottom left molar - at the very very back, where it's hard to see. i called the dentist (knowing they'd be closed, but what else to do?) and
the outgoing message said "if you have a dental emergency, call the emergency dentist at 555-5555." so i did, and made an appointment for that evening at eight-thirty. the husband came with, as i didn't know what would happen - would they want to use nitrous, and leave me in a state unfit to drive? who knew? the answer, it turned out, was no - they gave me a quick patch - after forty minutes in the waiting room, i spent about ten in the chair - told me it would be solid by morning, and to see my regular dentist for a permanent fix as soon as the baby was born, and sent me on my way. i was famished by this point, so i ate a bowl of soup and a bowl of jell-o and went to bed.

so sunday morning - christmas eve, that is - i decide to have a bowl of all-bran. you know, the kind of cereal that turns to mush the moment you add milk. nothing crunchy or chewy. well guess what happened? that's right, the temporary filling fell out. so back i went to the emergency dentist for nine o'clock! barely twelve hours from the first patch! they tell me i have a "deep bite," to be careful, see my regular dentist as soon as i have the baby, etc. off i go home, to another day of not eating - lots of fun considering i'm past 37 weeks now! i have no doubt that i am the only preggo who has lost weight over christmas.

anyway, i putter around the house, spend way too long entertaining my sister and her weird boyfriend (hello, i didn't get my morning nap because i was at the dentist, have some consideration!), have a nap, get the veg for christmas dinner started, and decide sometime around eight or so that it must be safe for me to eat something by now. i make a salmon sandwich with soft bread (oh, and did i mention that when my tooth went the first time, it was when i had just put a loaf of nyt no-knead bread in the oven? the kind with a deliciously crusty crust? which i didn't even get to try?), chew gently on the right side only, and you can guess what happens.

at this point, to hell with the emergency dentist. i'm not going back every twelve hours for a new filling. what's the point? so i sit down at the computer to do a little research on dentistry in pregnancy, since no one - my own dentist included - seems keen on doing anything. there is surprisingly little info available on dentistry in pregnancy - the usual resources (babycenter, motherisk) just say "do get your teeth cleaned, since you are at risk for gingivitis" and talk about what to do in pregnancy if you are a dental hygeinist working with mercury. no mention of whether i can or should get a crown or a cap or a proper filling. someone on a forum thought she remembered that her dentist said she couldn't get a crown while knocked up, but being knocked up, couldn't remember the details.

of course, since i was busy reading away, i totally forgot about the veg i was cooking, until the smell of burning reached my nose...

sigh.

well, if nothing else, this has kept me from overindulging in candy, which is my normal modus operandi at this time of year. can't wait to call my real dentist first thing tomorrow. woohoo!