Memoirs of a Worker

Teeth

“Pull it, pull it now!”

“I can’t find anything wrong with it.”

“Trust me, it’s bad. It’s a traitor and it needs to be gone.”

Once the tooth was pulled, I had instant relief in my mouth and body. Then the dentist handed me a prescription.

“What’s this?”

“You’ll need this for pain.”

I laughed. “The pain is gone, it’s in my pocket. I won’t need to take anything. I finally have relief.” I went to work and worked twelve hours that day.

That event reminded me of a couple of other tooth experiences. Occasionally I worked in Yellowstone National Park and stayed the nights at my parent’s home in West Yellowstone. Late one night after a long, hard day of building in Yellowstone, I had a nice bowl of hot, homemade soup. The soup was so good that I had a second steaming portion. Then I remembered the homemade ice cream Mom left in the freezer. I scooped a hefty portion in my bowl, and took one ice cold bite, and a bottom molar on my left side split into four pieces!

Pain shot through my head like no tomorrow, and to make things worse, I couldn’t finish my bowl of ice cream. I was in a dilemma! Here it was ten o’clock at night, there was no dentist in West Yellowstone and I had to be at work by seven the next morning. I tried to sleep but sleep eluded me for the most part. All night long my tongue acted irrationally and took it upon itself to rub back and forth on the broken tooth, which sent shock waves pulsing through my head.

At six in the morning I found a pair of pliers and went into the bathroom (I needed a big mirror to see what I was doing). When the pliers touched the tooth, the jolt of pain almost overwhelmed me. Still I held on and tried to pull. When a foreign object such as pliers enters ones mouth, the mouth seems to compensate by flooding itself with saliva. Just so you know, excess saliva makes pliers slip off the tooth! Fortunately, I didn’t chip any other teeth with the several slippages of the pliers.

I found that a dry washcloth in the mouth helps with the saliva problem. Leverage is the next problem when pulling a bottom tooth. To be effective at pulling your own tooth you really need a fulcrum point. I didn’t have that so I just winged it by pulling straight up and then jerking the pliers side to side.

I found two other facts that are noteworthy when pulling your own tooth. Your eyes seem to automatically start free flowing with tears, and it’s quite frustrating. You just get a good hold on the tooth and start to pull, and then your eyes fill up with so much water that you can’t see in the mirror.

Here’s the other thing I found out when you pull a bottom left tooth. I noticed that once you finally get a good firm grip on the tooth and begin the pulling process; your left foot comes off the floor with each tug. (This process, by the way, is not for the faint of heart.) In the end, after peering through eyes with immense amounts of water in them, and numerous times of the pliers slipping off the tooth, the jaws finally released the tooth, and it slipped free!

Once the tooth was out and I regained my composure and wiped the last tears from my eyes; I made it to work (on time!). The ordeal had taken so long that I was forced to skip breakfast, and I happen to be a huge breakfast fan. At least I had relief from the pain.

I had a similar experience a few years later but this time it was with a top tooth. Do you know how hard it is to find a dentist willing to pull a tooth or even look in your mouth on a Saturday afternoon? I’ll tell you, it’s impossible.

“You have reached Dr. So and So’s office. Our office hours are whatever. If you need to make an appointment please call during our regular business hours,” I heard on all the answering machines at the offices I called.

I found that pulling a top tooth is much easier than messing around with a bottom tooth. It may have been that I was at my own home with my kids eagerly watching, or possibly gravity had something to do with it.

I experienced some of the same side effects that I had experienced with the bottom tooth, namely, eyes filling up with uncontrollable amounts of water, pliers slipping off the tooth and banging on the surrounding teeth.

“Are you crying, Daddy?” I heard. “Mommy, Daddy’s crying!”

(To set the record straight, I’m not a crier. Sometimes the body reacts all on its own with volunteer actions, like the water in the eye thing.)

My foot never came off the floor each time I yanked and pulled, but my head and neck seemed to follow the tooth with each downward pull of the pliers.  I thought my head and neck would hold firm, but that wasn’t the case. I had to fight the tooth all the way. Once the tooth finally did slip free, I again experienced instant relief.

Since I have had dental experience, I contemplated opening up my own shop for tooth extraction work. A few simple tools and I could be in business. On the other hand, since I wasn’t much on getting or giving shots, and pulling teeth seemed to be so unhygienic, I decided to stay with being a carpenter.

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I hope you enjoyed this. I also hope that none of you resort to do your own dental work, but if the need ever arises, you now have pointers on how and what to do. Don't forget to vote and share with family, friends and co-workers. I also enjoy hearing from you in the comment section. Thanks, Lloyd