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The Annoyance of Teeth
All in all, it could have been worse -- this could have happened a few days earlier in the middle of BayCon. But there it is, Tuesday evening, and as I'm eating dinner I notice that I get a sharp pain any time something contacts my right lower rear molar. Like, a SHARP pain. Given the tooth's history, I figure we're either dealing with the crown coming loose or something more dire. I pop off a message to my dentist that I'll be calling to try to get an urgent appointment the next day.
In the morning, in addition to the pain at contact/pressure, I'm getting a constant throb in time with my pulse, plus extended pain and a swollen lymph node along the jaw. OK, we're definitely talking something more dire. I got an appointment for just after lunch, they took xrays, but the dentist basically said, "I could diagnose this from your description alone. We're calling around for an endodontist who can take you this afternoon."
SURPRISE ROOT CANAL!!!
All in all, taken care of very efficiently with little fuss. (I will spare you the description of what emerged from the tooth as soon as they drilled through to the root.) I'm on antibiotics and it's taking a while for the pain to subside, though at this point it's mostly the aftereffects of the procedure rather than the residual infection.
I had an interesting side-conversation with the endodontist. They used an interesting 3-D imaging device that I'd never encountered before and I asked about what sort of imaging technique it used (turned out to be ordinary xray-type). In the course of the discussion I commented, that I assumed you couldn't use MRI type imaging for dental work because of the metal interference. He says, well but that's only a problem with iron and not with the metals used in dentistry. But, says I, what about stainless steel posts for implants and the like?
And he says, "Stainless steel doesn't have any iron in it."
"I beg your pardon?" I say. "Stainless steel is an alloy of iron, carbon, and other components."
"No," he says. "Stainless steel doesn't have any iron in it."
And at that point I dropped the subject, hoping that his abysmal understanding of molecular structure didn't suggest similar defects in his understanding of endodonty.
I have now researched the question of MRI and stainless steel dental implants and found articles that confirm that it can, indeed, be an issue. It's nice to be confirmed that my compost-heap memory came up with a reasonably accurate anecdote as usual. But really: "steel doesn't contain iron"?????
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Yesterday's tea (which I didn't write up at the time because pain makes me grumpy) was Stash Double Spice Chai (in bags). Black tea, cinnamon, ginger, clove, allspice, cardamom. Some flavors in the form of oil rather than ground spice. Brewed at 212F for 5 min after which I tucked the tea bag up under the lip of the lid since I hadn't brought a dish to put it on. I sweetened it, though sometimes I try it without and sometimes I also add milk to the chai-type teas.
This currently represents my favorite chai-type tea, both in terms of the spice mixture and the intensity. The unbrewed tea has a strong enough aroma you could use it as a sachet among your clothing. Hmmm... The clove is prominant but not overwhelming and mostly it's an integrated blend of flavors.
When brewed, the aroma is mildly spicy but as a blend, without an overwhelming specific note. Taste is clearly spicy and, again, an integrated blend of flavors. I did one bag in my usual pot (ca. 24oz volume), but when I use the larger pot I'll put two in and the flavor is stronger. The flavor gets your attention and this is a consideration if I'm pairing it with a snack. I'd be less likely to drink this to accompany a meal -- I'd want to be paying attention to the flavor. Comparing it to other chai-type teas I have in stock, it reinforces that I dislike the black pepper presence in the Trope Teas blend, and prefer the greater complexity of flavors compared to Bingley's Novel Chai. Comparing it to, say, Bigelow's Constant Comment, which I'd also classify as a chai-type, the Stash isn't overhwhelmed by cinnamon like CC is (though I do like CC for it's own sake).
In the morning, in addition to the pain at contact/pressure, I'm getting a constant throb in time with my pulse, plus extended pain and a swollen lymph node along the jaw. OK, we're definitely talking something more dire. I got an appointment for just after lunch, they took xrays, but the dentist basically said, "I could diagnose this from your description alone. We're calling around for an endodontist who can take you this afternoon."
SURPRISE ROOT CANAL!!!
All in all, taken care of very efficiently with little fuss. (I will spare you the description of what emerged from the tooth as soon as they drilled through to the root.) I'm on antibiotics and it's taking a while for the pain to subside, though at this point it's mostly the aftereffects of the procedure rather than the residual infection.
I had an interesting side-conversation with the endodontist. They used an interesting 3-D imaging device that I'd never encountered before and I asked about what sort of imaging technique it used (turned out to be ordinary xray-type). In the course of the discussion I commented, that I assumed you couldn't use MRI type imaging for dental work because of the metal interference. He says, well but that's only a problem with iron and not with the metals used in dentistry. But, says I, what about stainless steel posts for implants and the like?
And he says, "Stainless steel doesn't have any iron in it."
"I beg your pardon?" I say. "Stainless steel is an alloy of iron, carbon, and other components."
"No," he says. "Stainless steel doesn't have any iron in it."
And at that point I dropped the subject, hoping that his abysmal understanding of molecular structure didn't suggest similar defects in his understanding of endodonty.
I have now researched the question of MRI and stainless steel dental implants and found articles that confirm that it can, indeed, be an issue. It's nice to be confirmed that my compost-heap memory came up with a reasonably accurate anecdote as usual. But really: "steel doesn't contain iron"?????
# # #
Yesterday's tea (which I didn't write up at the time because pain makes me grumpy) was Stash Double Spice Chai (in bags). Black tea, cinnamon, ginger, clove, allspice, cardamom. Some flavors in the form of oil rather than ground spice. Brewed at 212F for 5 min after which I tucked the tea bag up under the lip of the lid since I hadn't brought a dish to put it on. I sweetened it, though sometimes I try it without and sometimes I also add milk to the chai-type teas.
This currently represents my favorite chai-type tea, both in terms of the spice mixture and the intensity. The unbrewed tea has a strong enough aroma you could use it as a sachet among your clothing. Hmmm... The clove is prominant but not overwhelming and mostly it's an integrated blend of flavors.
When brewed, the aroma is mildly spicy but as a blend, without an overwhelming specific note. Taste is clearly spicy and, again, an integrated blend of flavors. I did one bag in my usual pot (ca. 24oz volume), but when I use the larger pot I'll put two in and the flavor is stronger. The flavor gets your attention and this is a consideration if I'm pairing it with a snack. I'd be less likely to drink this to accompany a meal -- I'd want to be paying attention to the flavor. Comparing it to other chai-type teas I have in stock, it reinforces that I dislike the black pepper presence in the Trope Teas blend, and prefer the greater complexity of flavors compared to Bingley's Novel Chai. Comparing it to, say, Bigelow's Constant Comment, which I'd also classify as a chai-type, the Stash isn't overhwhelmed by cinnamon like CC is (though I do like CC for it's own sake).
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I love the description of the Stash Double Spice Chai. I make my own Chai from scratch and I love those smells. Just reading about it is triggering the memory of the scent.
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But still!!
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I really like the Stash chai.
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I don’t think we worked with stainless steel in my blacksmithing class, but I would guess it has a higher percentage of iron than “cast iron” does.
I’m trying to imagine what the guy was thinking that could have made this a reasonable statement. There are certainly filling-and-implant materials that don’t contain iron, and maybe some of them look kinda like steel….
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My second surprise root canal involved tooth feeling a bit grumpy on the way to a friend's new house in Boston right before Worldcon, at a time when I was living in Silicon Valley. On the first day of Worldcon it suddenly made me feel very glad that I routinely carried lovely British non-prescription codeine with me, so I sent a "help!" email to my dentist. Fortunately they trusted me to know when I had an abscess and the antibiotic prescription was waiting for me at the nearest WalGreen when we got back to friend's house in the evening.
Agreeing with the theory that dentist was getting confused about the difference between "ferrous" and "ferromagnetic".
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