Posted on 08/21/2007 5:22:27 PM PDT by Coleus
Opening King Tut's tomb brought to light treasures and curses hidden for thousands of years. One of the lat ter still haunts us -- the curse of King Tut's tooth. Tut, like many teenagers, needed a tooth extraction, in his case, an impacted wisdom tooth. Sadly, ancient Egyptian dentistry was unable to help the boy-pharaoh, as extractions were done only on very loose teeth, by the gentle touch of fingers. Even forceps (pliers) were probably not employed until long after Tut died. Astonishingly, modern dental extraction procedures are still mired in the technology of the an cient world. Recently, I was struck by the curse of Tut. I needed a tooth removed. Having taken lidocaine, I was fully conscious during the brutal and traumatic removal process. I became a time traveler, passing through star gates and winding up in ancient Egypt. Pliers still pull teeth!
In this age of high technology, what, if anything, is being done to modernize the practice of tooth ex traction? For scientists, inventors or entrepreneurs who would bring tooth extraction into the 21st century, there awaits a fortune aptly described as the Treasure of King Tut's Tooth. I sought those adventurers exploring the frontiers of knowledge to learn if the curse of Tut could be expiated.
I first ventured to the promising field of biomedical engineering, contacting Professor Arthur Ritter, director of the Stevens Institute of Technology biomedical engineering program. Numerous dentists had told me disconcerting tales of hav ing to place a knee on a patient's chest to gain sufficient leverage and force to perform a recalcitrant extraction. So Ritter and I discussed robotic extractors. Could we develop a machine with suffi cient power and torque forces to perform difficult tooth removals?
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
Does medical insurance cover wisdom teeth extractions if you’re put out? If the time comes, there is no way in hell at this point I’m going to have it done under local.
3mg of Versed makes the worst tooth extractions a walk in the park. If the dentist is generous enough you won’t even remember it.
The creator of White Fang and Black Tooth knew teeth.
Even “Luh-uh-UUuuuhhh!!!” sounds like trying to talked with a benumbed mouth.
I don’t know if med insurance covers this. Ours didn’t, but we have catastrophic insurance, so it doesn’t cover much. My dental work only cost $600 though, which I thought was a bargain.
I had a couple in the back removed years ago.
They numb the gum for the shot. You don’t feel the shot and then the shot numbs the whole area and you are not even bleeding much at all when they are done.
By the time the Novocain wears off, there is no bleeding and you are good to go.
Geez, my Dad did the same thing. I found some of his teeth in an old eyewash glass in the china cabinet. I saw him once with a pair of pliers, I couldn’t watch.
I so wish I hadn’t clicked on this thread. It’s like watching a train wreck, couldn’t turn away.
And yes, I have a cracked wisdom tooth that needs to be extracted. YEOWZA!
Valley Oral & Maxillofacial
4109 N 22nd ST
Mcallen, Texas 78504
Phone: (956) 687-7141
I’ve found that as I got older Novocaine is metabolized faster. Though I have no idea what dosages were used at various times, in my 20’s I would remain numb for an hour after any dental procedure. Now in my 50’s, despite asking for increased dosages and multiple shots, I seldom remain numb for more than 10 minutes.
I recall maybe a year ago, a man in Scotland died after pulling his own tooth with a pliers.
I had an experience exactly like yours about 15 years ago. Except that I was literally screaming in pain...yes, screaming. The office had closed, and I was in there alone with this hideous freak; I tried to tell him that the Novocaine wasn't working...but he wouldn't listen. I was traumatized for years. I could not quit sobbing for at least 8 hours after the "procedure."
A few years later, when I had worked up the courage to go back to a (different) dentist, I discovered the full extent of the horror. He looked at my mouth, then X-rays...and asked me if I realized that a very large chunk of jawbone had been broken off along with the tooth in question...he couldn't believe it.
I have lived for 15 years (since my mid-twenties) with a giant "gap" where tooth number "4" should be; and a gap in my jaw that extends well above it
I am more than willing to pay to have it replaced, but because of the complete lack of remaining bone, a bridge is not an option....there would be a giant hole above it. I have seen two reconstructive dental experts, both believe that so much bone is gone, that attempting to rebuild the area would be risky. Anyone with knowledge of new procedures...let me know!
BTW, I later read that the ghoul had his license taken away.
Man, I feel for you. By the way, did you ever read the Jim Herriot story about the dentist that knocked his tooth out with a hammer and chisel? The nurse pulled him aside before the extraction and told him the dentist was crazy, and had no idea how to pull teeth...
My son went to a dentist I suspected didn’t do a very good job on his wisdom teeth. He was actually bleeding out his nose after. The dentist told me that sometime happens. Does it? My son was absolutely miserable.
Oh yeah? Well, I had LASIK surgery performed in Turkey, and the technician forgot to apply the numbing drops in my eyes. He put the others in, just not the pain killers. Once the blade sliced into my eye and I yelled, the doc had to continue. But they sure numbed the other one up after that!
No, but looked it up. I only wish a nurse had been around to warn me. As I mentioned, I was young...it was before I fully realized that even the "professions" are comprised of a certain percentage of fools who graduated at the bottom of the class!
Honestly, I would have had NO PROBLEM filing a huge lawsuit against this barbarian; alas, by the time I realized the damage he had truly done it was too late.
The only thing (besides the pain) that I remember was when he admitted that he had broken the entire top of the tooth off past the gumline...he dug the roots out with his pliers...hence the jaw damage.
I have to say that this is the best thread I have ever seen on this website. I am going to convert this to a PDF file and save it forever.
Dear Mercat: You sure called this thread correctly!
LOL! Good for scaring the children into brushing their teeth...or maybe for Halloween. If only there were more photos...maybe some ominous music.
Seriously, current politics...bad dental stories...you have to admit it's not such a stretch.
We have 7 children, most of whom were well over 10 pounds at birth. The wife never had so much as an aspirin during each birth.
She swears she'd rather go through that again than endure tooth pain. I found that rather amazing, myself.
good thread.
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