Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Broken.

So, Monday morning started out well. Cold, but sunny.

I went to Half-Price Books, and then headed back into Broad Ripple for a leisurely lunch at the Indian buffet...

...where I broke a tooth. Not just any tooth, either; snapped an incisor off, right top front and center.

I spent Monday evening and all yesterday in bed, curled into a fetal ball. I have neither the time, money, nor willpower to deal with this right now.

59 comments:

Mattexian said...

Oh, Jeeze, you have my strongest sympathies on this! That the kind of thing I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy (well, ok, maybe for a second). I hope you can get it taken care of very soon.

wv: cycloco- bike crazy?

Fodder4Thought said...

Re: Money - Isn't there a dental equivalent of getting one's hair cut at barber college?

Anonymous said...

Time: Who you kiddin'...unemployed bums got nothin' but.

Money: There might be some help from the cyber tooth fairy there; couple dozen of 'em just might drop a twenty in the jar and you're there.

Willpower: A toughie that sounds like it's about more than your toofie; you'll have to deal with that internally. Maybe talk to Mom?

AT

John said...

Seek ye a recommended dentist. Talk extended payments. They can use cash-bearing customers, says my dentist's sec/acct.

BTW, in empathy, in my approaching dotage, I have apparently developed jaws of steel,because I have SPLIT three major healthy molars from crown to root in the past year. Extraction ain't easy, neither.

But the good extractor guy lets self-employed me pay on monthly plan. Please accept my concern for a worthy fellow dental sufferer, and hie thee hence, soonest, for relief.

Also, don't neglect the old sunshine lamp. It's THAT time of year, already.

Ancient Woodsman said...

Two things make me pass out: hand and tooth injuries. This from one who almost self-amputated a leg, among other stupidities.

Sympathy in action is the donation already sent PayPal. Small but hope it helps.

Best wishes.

Don M said...

Oh come on, show us a gap toothed smile (or grimice)!

Mossyrock said...

"Money: There might be some help from the cyber tooth fairy there; couple dozen of 'em just might drop a twenty in the jar and you're there."

Done. You have my sympathy and contribution to the Tamara Dental Fund.

perlhaqr said...

Ooooh. Done that before. Had no insurance. I seem to recall it wasn't that expensive to get corrective dentistry applied. Significantly less than I was fearing, anyway.

But yeah, it was a mighty unpleasant experience. I was a mighty cranky individual by the time I got it fixed. Mad sympathy.

Joseph said...

I've had three molars break in the past four years. Isn't cheap to fix, sad to say. So far, all have been salvageable. The first time it happend, though, I was just a bit upset.

Stranger said...

You have my sympathy. Been there, done that. One long day's drive from home. Fortunately, my coffee drinking buddy Dr. Max Williams put me a crown on. And Max died in 1960.

The crown is still there, although it gets some startled comments from the 14 YO who is my current Doc Yankem. Even the truck stop strength coffee I favor will not stain it.

See the dentist, arrange a plan, get a crown. And be glad of the tip jar.

Stranger

Anonymous said...

Another vote for checking under your cyber pillow.

Lissa said...

Oh no!! So sorry Tam :-(

(Out of curiosity, were you eating anything weird? One *should* break teeth on peanut brittle and rock candy, but my stepfather broke one on pistachio ice cream, and my mom's tooth lost to a pita chip. Go figure.)

WV: flogin. Yeah.

Britt said...

Call your local dental college. If your injury matches something they want the kids to get practice on, they'll take you. The prof sits next to the student and supervises every move, so it takes a lot longer, but you can't beat the price.

BobG said...

Helluva deal; what were you doing, opening beer bottles? Do we get to see some Billy-Bob pictures?
Hope you're able to get it taken care of soon.

Anonymous said...

Lets see a picture. I bet you really look like Alfred E Newman now!!

CIII

alath said...

Indianapolis is a great place to have expensive health problems and no money to pay for them. No, really.

Check out Indy HealthNet:
http://www.indyhealthnet.org/index.php/patient_care/

It's a network of 7 (and growing) not-for-profit health centers. They have dental, in addition to all the usual medical specialties. You can pay on a sliding scale.

Give them a call. Seriously.

I have good insurance, and I take my kids to HealthNet because it's the best health care organization I have ever been around.

Bubblehead Les. said...

Ouch! Wife and I are going through several weeks of dental work right now (she's recovering from root canal work, while I'm getting replacement crowns), so I know how much this costs. Find a dentist, and take a payment plan. Don't suffer in unnecessary pain. Hope it works out well for you soon.

the gripping hand said...

Tam:
There's a great dentist in your neck of the woods. Dr. Catton is at 49th and Penn (across from the hardware store) and does great work. I'm a huge wuss, and I've not had a problem with the work he has done for me. I suspect he'd be reasonable about payments, as well.

Chad said...

Find a "softie" dentist, it worked for my brother.

He went in for an extraction and asked the cost of each part of the procedure. When it came to anesthesia, which was a big part of the bill, he said no, he couldn't afford it. The argued for a while about it. The dentist quickly threw it in for free, realizing it was easier to just lose a few bucks on than to have a patient in pain.

But just make sure you don't get a hardass who goes "OK" and reaches in with the pliers...

LauraB said...

Been there as a "kid", made payments on complete wisdom tooth package for months.

Been there recently, with insurance, and still had to make payments.

Thus, an early Festivus gift for you. There is much feasting to be done and you need to be in fine form for it.

Rabbit said...

Crap. I feel for you, Tam. I sheared off a crown on an incisor awhile back and I'm waiting to do an implant, once they figure out how to graft something big enough into what's not plastic or cement on my face and upper maxilla.

Steve C said...

Or. you could get a Caterpillar hat and become a Nascar fan.

Discobobby said...

Tam,
A small gift from the tooth fairy.

Stingray said...

Oh sweet bleeding jesus, that made me clamp a hand over my mouth out of reflex. I'm gonna be shuddering for the rest of the day. My hat is off to you for being able to post anything more complex than the f-word repeated 5,487 times followed by "ow." Yeah, check for some tooth fairy lovin' on that one.

wv: adedsta - the noise I made reading about the injury.

staghounds said...

Ouch!

If the fairies haven't done enough, hit up the VIAB fund.

Keads said...

As someone that funded my Dentist's children through College I can feel your pain. Small toof donation on the way!

dsmith512 said...

Go rent Cast Away with Tom Hanks. You'll feel better.

Will said...

I'm told that teeth get more brittle as we age.
Shattered a rear molar on a Jordan Almond last December. Wasn't paying attention to the fact that the candy shell seemed a bit harder than normal.

wv: staingy. Yep, time for a Whitening kit.

Anonymous said...

Toof fairied yo grill, G.

At least $10 of the donation goes to you posting while s*tfaced on pain meds.

Rhett III

og said...

Having a bad tooth is right up there with "non running car" and "non flushing toilet" in the panoply of personal disasters. I belong to Unicare 200. It costs a little over a hunnert bucks a year, and isn't dental insurance. it's one of those "managed care" plans, and it gives substantial discounts on a lot of spendy things like implants and crowns. I paid out of pocket $600 for a crown, got this plan and paid under $200 for the crown on the adjacent tooth. This website has a dr locator so you can see the drs that take which plans. Hope you're better soon.

I know this seems like spam, but I really do use these products, and they have saved me hundreds of bucks on dental care.

Unknown said...

OUCH!! With a major front tooth like that, you really only have two choices. Either get it fixed, or buy yourself some overalls and a banjo. I've broken a couple of teeth, but never that badly (and never painfully, thank goodness).

NotClauswitz said...

Ow! But take a picture with your wicked new smile. It will be useful later.

Hat Trick said...

Another small gift from the tooth fairy.

Now seriously, remove the whining label. That's serious pain, can't call it whining.

Was there any foreign material in the food that caused it?

Anonymous said...

"Was there any foreign material in the food..."

Yeah, like...the food.

Matt G said...

Let's see what we can't do about this.

Give me a quick hand here, friends. Let's fix this right quick.

Turk Turon said...

OW!

Had some extensive painful dental problems m'self some years back.

I hit your tip jar and I hope others do the same.

Anonymous said...

::Clink::

Let's help her get that tooth fixed!

FormerFlyer

doubletrouble said...

Merry Christmas, Bucky...

Richard said...

Ouch. Teef hurt in sympathy. Have some cash.

Anonymous said...

Been there, too! Condolences on your "new" smile. I hope that you can get it fixed, & soon!

I didn't realize how poorly I felt about my gap-toothed smile until I had my new crown in.

You're still a beautiful woman, even without your buck-tooth!

Ulises from CA.

Chris said...

Ow!

Dental injuries truly suck. I hope this helps a little.

-C

Eric said...

I broke off a filling from #2 eating, of all things, a Pop-Tart! Dentist took one look and said "crown!"

Stretch said...

Oh! Great opportunity for some serious Mouth Bling.
Gold?
Or an 1911 silhouette enameled on a pure white crown?
You be da baddest bitch in the hood with that!

benEzra said...

You have my sympathies. My 9yo daughter broke off her two upper incisors a few months ago from a bike accident (ouch). Got them reconstructed the next day using a UV-setting polymer, which was actually pretty neat. She is bummed about not being able to eat corn on the cob, though.

Not to be a nag here, but you probably should have it seen to fairly quickly so you don't lose the rest of the tooth; the nerve canal is exposed to bacteria, and if you get an infection then dealing with it could ultimately be even less fun.

IZinterrogator said...

Ouch. Tooth fairy money sent.

Anonymous said...

Tam. My heart goes out to you. You some good friends helping you. Get it seen about ASAP. When I had similar problems, I wasnt lucky enough to have friends helping with $$. In had to wait. Waiting means more pain and more $$. Get to a dentist fast

TBeck said...

You deserve to have your two front teeth for Xmas. Don't go spending it on obscure ammo!

Kristophr said...

Eric: Old fillings always pop out .... it's just a matter of when.

Cybrludite said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUsM4eVXvVQ&feature=related

Had to be linked. Contributed to the Toof Fairy fund as well.

Larry said...

Stingray, would you really count the number of F-bombs dropped?
Toof fairy donation made!

Larry said...

Also linked, for all the good it may do. Maybe one of my three or so readers will see it.

Skip said...

Threw a coupla dead presidents into yer hat for the toof.
With your Tammalanch group goin' on I figger you can get a new grill and some old iron from an estate sale of somthin' in .32.
Who loves ya kid?

Tango Juliet said...

Best o' luck with the tooth Tam!

Flintlock Tom said...

Dropping a 20 in the tip jar makes me feel justified in a tiny bit of ridicule. In love, of course.
When my daughter was 16 she was in a high school play: The Chronicles of Narnia. During a sword fighting scene she got hit in the face breaking a front tooth. Not only did she catch the tooth in her hand, stay in character, finish the play, but she also insisted on pictures before we had it fixed the next day.
Character will carry you through even this.

Moose1942 said...

Ouch, as someone who chipped his front permanent tooth as a kid I know how much that hurts and sucks.

It's okay to feel bad about something as traumatic as chipping a tooth.

Stay strong and soldier on.

Bob in Tampa said...

Did what I could. Hope it helps.
Hope you feel better soon.

GOOD LUCK!!

blindshooter said...

I have traded gun repairs for tooth repair, know any dentists that shoot?

JPG said...

Bad news, Sis - -
I HATE having broke teef.
Suggestion: Find a dentist with a sympathetic-sounding payment person. Take a printout of your current Sitemeter figures, and tell SSPP that bucks ARE forthcoming.

Somewhat more solid help: Holly and I just made a modest contribution.
JPG

Mark said...

Fucksocks! I wish I had more to give you, but I've been in-and-out of a job since July. I wish I could do more.