Wisdom Teeth

I think I need a day planner/address book thingy. It seems like this year has kicked off with a bang so far; appointments left and right. Today I had an appointment with an oral surgeon. Apparently at my last dentist appointment, the x-rays showed that my wisdom teeth are really needing to come out. I've always planned on leaving them where they are because they hardly bother me. Only one ever twinges and the pain will last a day or two and then go away. Well, that one is nearly about to come through and the other bottom one is really close to the surface too. And apparently they are impacted.

Ugh.

So today I met with the guy who will do the surgery to remove them. According to my last panoramic x-ray (which was 3 years ago, so I had to take a new one, which we are hoping shows improvement...), both of my bottom wisdom teeth are directly on a nerve that runs along your jawline. This nerve controls the feeling in your jaws and cheeks. The upper two are close to the sinus cavity.

What does this mean?

It means I am possibly at risk of bad things. We don't know how high the risk is, since that xray was so old. There is a chance that the teeth have pushed away from the spots. If he hits the nerve, my face will be totally numb. He said for 4 to 6 weeks, although I'm assuming if he were to somehow disconnect it, it'd be permanent. (When describing it, he said if he were to bump or pinch the nerve...) If he hits the sinus cavity, he has to make a hole (in my face!) to repair the cavity with stitches.

The surgery will be February 15th (I wanted it after the fun match and after my mom goes back home)... It will cost either $1,800 or $ 1,600, I forget which. Our insurance will cover most of it. We have to pay $640, on the day of the surgery. Which really sucks. We have no savings. No spare $600 laying around. So this has to go on a credit card. LUCKILY we will be getting our tax return not long after that (I think we normally get it at the beginning of March, just depends on when the W2s come out and how soon Caayn gets into the tax office place--thats right, we do it ASAP), so we can pay it right off. The second downside? This will use all of our benefits for 2008. Meaning our dental insurance won't pay for anything else this year. Ugh. At least it's only me and Sully on it, since Caayn gets free dental work, being the active duty member.

Yuck.

On a more happy note, I FINALLY paid for Athena. !! Yes, we've had her since November and hadn't paid. Carol was wanting to make sure we really wanted her, and that she fit in with our family, before sending the money in. She is such a sweet woman. I don't think I have ever met someone in my whole life who would trust a stranger with their dog, out of state. I am very thankful to have met her.

Tonight is obedience class number two! We didn't finish our homework--Athena still won't sit when I come to a halt, unless I push on her rear. (She won't even sit for a treat, unless she jumps on me and I nudge her away, THEN she'll sit.) However, I've been having them wait at the door, and that is working great. Achilles will sit on command (albeit a little slow sometimes, and with a tendency to want to go down). Both will hold their sit while I open the door, and Achilles will go out the door when I tell him to. Athena usually needs a push, she's not fond of the cold air outside. I can't wait to go tonight and see what we learn. Plus to get more practice walking around with other dogs and people. So much fun! Maybe I'll manage to get my nerve up and talk to the instructor after the class tonight. She's a breeder/handler of golden retrievers (Ambush is her kennel), and I'm pretty sure she occasionally does handling classes for the kennel club... so I wanted to talk to her and see if she was doing any sometime soon. I hate being shy. Once I start talking, I'm fine. Especially on a topic I love, like dogs... it's just the whole approaching someone I don't know and initiating the talking... EEKS! I'm pretty sure I blush every time. And it's not even like she is mean or anything--she's totally a nice lady!

OH!! I think Athena chipped a tooth. I was checking her teeth over before brushing, when I noticed a strange outline on one of her incisors. I'm not sure if her puppy teeth have come out (these look like adult teeth to me, although I've never seen whippet puppy teeth before)... Luckily one of the vet techs from my vet's office attends all the obedience classes, so I'm going to have her take a look and see what she thinks I should do. Athena doesn't seem to be bothered by it... I'm pretty sure it happened when she was pulling metal off of her wire crate. :P

Anyway, I'd better be getting my butt in gear... I need to get a crate out to the car and get ready to boogie!