Cracked/Split Tooth...

[Robby]

This morning my dental visit identified the need to extract tooth number 31. Much pain and discomfort was eradicated by the tooth extractor and sleep potion was applied so as not to experience any more discomfort than already seared into my memory.

My concern, in regards to this situation, causes much grief if my castrated state contributed to this condition.

I eat right, as opposed to eating left, my food choices are wonderful and in line with recommended nutritional values and I brush and floss twice daily.

Just as an F.Y.I., this is my first ever tooth to be pulled. I have 31 remaining in my mouth. Here is a link to teeth numbers: Click on Me...

What are your thoughts on teeth?... Let us know.

[jane_says]

I have recurring nightmares about losing my teeth. I am very weird about my teeth in general. I never had bad-looking teeth, but my parents made me get braces at the same time my sister got them (maybe they got the family package; I don't know). In my dreams my I discover my teeth are crumbling, and I stand in front of the bathroom mirror in terror and disbelief, picking shards on tooth out of my mouth.

A few years ago two days before Christmas, when no dentists could be found ANYWHERE, one of my molars in the verrrrry back became abcessed. I went to the ER three times in two days with it. The ER doctors wouldn't even *look* at it. My dad went with me the third time and the charge nurse was my best friend from high school. Between the two of them they found a doctor who finally got in touch with an oral surgeon, and they gave me an IV with high-powered antibiotics and precious, precious Dilaudid. By then my cheek was so swollen it was touching my collarbone. They tried to admit me, but since it was Christmas I begged off and they left the IV catheter in my hand and I had to go back every three hours for meds. They gave me a huge (and I mean REALLY huge, and that's coming from a former Pain Dope Fiend) bottle of Percocet 10's to take home, but since I hadn't been able to eat anything for a week, I puked them right back up. So I snorted them. That made me puke too, so except for about 20 minutes three times a day when they were pumping me full of liquid heroin, I was in hellish, horrifying pain. I shit you not, natural childbirth was less painful.

Two weeks later, I'd lost 15 pounds and my infection was "gone". The tooth was salvagable, but since it was in the back and my wisdom teeth had come in on that side with no problems, so the dentist said we'd might as well pull it. I had no idea how barbaric the process of have a tooth pulled is. I had never even had a cavity! He numbed me up, of course, which was kind of painful itself, but the act of sitting there holding my mouth open while he wrenched the tooth from my jawbone was the most masochistic thing I've ever done. He gave it a yank, and all this nasty, bloody, stinking, foul-tasting pus filled my mouth. I tried to spit, but the dentist shoved me back in the chair and yelled "Swallow it! Spitting will make it bleed!" I thought he was joking at first. I barfed all over him.

One day when you can't get away, I'll tell you about having two of my wisdom teeth removed.

[dl_mooney]

Robby. Ive had my share of extractions (on the job injury & wisdom teeth). No fun at all. Also a impacted eye tooth on the roof of my mouth (out for that one). I go every 6 months have my teeth cleaned,that way any problem should be small & early stage, Take Care. dl

[Christina]

I too have had my share of extractions, root canals, fillings and such over the years. Just this past week I've had the unmistakable pleasure (I doubt anyone would call it that) of having a tooth extracted (#17 wisdom tooth).

I doubt that castration has had any effect on tooth decay. There are some studies linking hormone use and gum disease. Don't see any more, or less, problems now that I am post castrated, in fact I have been more diligent in keeping with oral care these days. Pehaps any of these problems that arise post castrated, could have been developing in the years prior to it.

[jane_says]

Just wanted to say that, WOW, Christina, you look BEAUTIFUL.

[Riverwind]

Just wanted to say that, WOW, Christina, you look BEAUTIFUL.

Yes she does, I totally agree, Christina is beautiful and a wonderful person too.

Robby how did you get to be so old before having a tooth removed. I have had 4, 3 were wisdom which explanes a lot. I have also have two crowns.

River

[Losethem]

The only teeth I had removed were my 4 wisdom teeth. Perhaps this explains my lack of judgement when I joined the army <ha>.

Of those four, 3 were impacted and the 4th was partially impacted. So I had to go to an oral surgeon. Everything went fine until 3 days after the surgery when I got a dry socket. This is when the blood clot disappears and the nerve is exposed. VERY PAINFUL. So back to the oral surgeon.

The most amusing thing to happen to me during this time was that the day after I had the teeth pulled I was visited by the Jehovah's Witnesses. I was well medicated courtesy of my oral surgeon, so I was a bit out of it. They kept coming back about once a week until I moved to Wyoming. I think they though I had a brian transplant or something. <ha>

Other than this I've had various other things including a root canal and most recently an onlay (which cost $800). So I can understand the hassle and pain to that goes along with dental work. <shrugs>

So does dental work hurt worse than castration?

--LT

[Robby]

Update on the pulled tooth:

Well, all is going well since I had #31 pulled last Thursday. To respond to a couple of questions...

I must be lucky to have received good genes to go 50 years before a tooth was pulled. I do take care of my teeth but you know how that goes... when its time, its time.

I truely believe that hormonal changes may have caused the tooth problem. My teeth served me well prior to castration in 1998. The 6 years since total castration my teeth have changed greatly. In fact since 1993 when I had the first testicle removed, and subsequently found out in 1994 the remaining testicle didn't contribute in a normal fashion, my teeth have become brittle and chip easier than before 1993. You could assume these changes were in the making long before castration but in the last 10 years I have experienced a lot of change.

I hope with our experiences documented here, our fellow men don't go sticking their heads in the sand and do think about all the changes that could happen as time ticks away.

Luck River, luck...

I must have a great oral surgeon! No real pain and the days since the tooth was pulled have been quite normal. From my experience, the Dr. Spector visit resulted in more pain, misery and concern than the dental procedure.

Thank care guys and keep documenting your experiences...

[Falcon]

All I can say is that if you've gotten this far with just this extraction, you're doing well. I've had wisdom teeth out (one at 20, three at 51, don't ask) and root canals, and all that. I doubt that castration had anything to do with this. Severe malnutrition, or chemotherapy might, but the change in hormones won't do much of anything. Menopausal women, for example, don't lose thier teeth.

Tragically, this is about getting older. Teeth wear, they get brittle, and so on. Good dental care should keep most of the rest of them in place. If I had all the money I've spent on dental in the last ten years, I'd buy a Corvette.

Terry

[Robby]

Tragically, this is about getting older. Teeth wear, they get brittle, and so on. Good dental care should keep most of the rest of them in place. If I had all the money I've spent on dental in the last ten years, I'd buy a Corvette.
Terry

Oh man! I wanted that Corvette too. Now you're telling me my future is full of dental bills and no Corvette.

I can't take it anymore... let me have the Corvette and keep them old teeth.

[Manimal]

Without any justification,
I am of the opinion that
more attention to oral
moisture is advisable.

Conditions which cause
breathing through the
mouth, such as nasal
congestion or simply
leaving one's mouth
open, may exacerbate
a decrease in oral
mositure already resulting
from a possible age
related decrease in salivation.

I know personally that
adjustments I make to
pronounce Japanese to
my satisfaction have
caused significant drying
and shifting.

Air humidity should be
considered, as well as
a reduction in direct
air flow, as from a fan.

Also, alcohol is a wonderful
drying agent.

I've read some suggestions
that salivic arginine may
be involved in plack control.

Is there is a relationship
between testosterone and
arginine levels?

By the way, a taste for
hot foods could also be
a factor.

Hot pepper, citrus fruits,
and phosphoric acid in
some beverages begin
eating your teeth away
upon contact.

Rinse. Rinse. Rinse.

[jane_says]

Well, I guess I'm screwed then. I sleep with a fan on, drink like a fish, and gargle with hot sauce. Maybe I can get on a prepayment plan for dentures.

[Robby]

Well, I guess I'm screwed then. I sleep with a fan on, drink like a fish, and gargle with hot sauce. Maybe I can get on a prepayment plan for dentures.

I am thinking of getting them all pulled. Then the old "gummin it" routine will be a lot easier!

[Manimal]

Laugh if you will, but I have had a number
of friends older than many here, and the
tendency to not seal the lips, in my
unscientific opinion is a significant factor.

As a matter of fact, I often sleep with the
fan on. However, if someone is suffering an
uncharacteristic decline in dental conditions,
it would be reasonable to consider many
factors (if not all factors) ahead of testicular
disposition.

Onions, I believe contain hydrocloric acid,
tomatoes acidic acid, and a popular ingredient
in calcium augmented orange juice is malic
acid. Unscientifically, as a personal preference,
I would avoid things fortified with malic acid.

Unscientifically, one might consider one lightly
salted chip to tend toward the neutralization of
high acid foods. Brushing is not necessarily going
to change the chemical current balance inbodied
in the oral tissues.

And again, alcohol is a wonderful drying agent.
It dries the teeth, and dries the gums, which,
in my opinion, is undesirable.

In advertently, Jane Says, you may have
stumbled onto another potentially important
factor here: attitude and self deprication.

Self deprication is often beneficial when applied
to thinking. Applied to biology, there may be
certain draw backs. The lips and mouth are
controlled by muscles. The stimulation of this
tissue my secondarily stimulate circulation to
salivary elements. It may also cause minute
fluctutions in oral tissues, a kind of oral yoga,
reducing a tendency toward hardening. There
may also be a temperature factor involved.

Back to self deprication. The concern of making
mistakes or looking foolish may self consciously
increase as we age. The may cause a person to
neutralize their facial expressions. It may be
benefical to make a conscious effort to work
those muscles by pursing the lips or even
making funny faces, in private.

I wouldn't even be surprised if excessive
nasal tissue and nasal hair were significant
factors in the tendency of older people to
breath through their mouths. Aggravated,
perhaps, by a reduction in lung effort. It
takes more work to breath through the
nose.

Society forces social strictures on people that
often conflict with their well being. Breaking
those strictures, one may feel awkward. But
one must keep an eye to the practicalities of
existence, even if they set one to ridicule.

Gum tissue that is left to dry,
will not likely serve its intended purposes.