Oral Surgery Update

Wow, two posts in one day!

On Monday, 5 days ago, The Girl had her CT Scan.  I called around before scheduling it to make sure that the facility could handle what the doctor ordered.  He had wanted her to have it done at the Imaging Center in the same building with his office, where he knows they know what he wants, but they don't accept our insurance.  So, I chose a small facility instead of our local hospital, thinking they would give me the best answer about doing the scan.  They told me they could do it, but didn't have "the dental software."   Maybe I should have saw it as a sign of trouble when their radiologist said she thought we should have a Panorex (panoramic x-ray) instead.  That is what she had in September that caused all the interest!  Done that!  I called the doctor's office back and asked whether that was a problem, but they didn't think so.  They didn't really seem to know what dental software was, either.  The CT Scan took all of 5 minutes and was uneventful.

After the scan we waited a few minutes and they gave me a disk with the scans on it.  On the back was a label that said, "You may or may not be able to view these scans on your home computer."  So of course, I tried it.  there's the cyst, the empty looking spot on the left.

I called the doctor's office Monday afternoon, expecting that now that we had the scan in hand, we could schedule surgery. Not so lucky.  We made an appointment to come in today so the doctor could look at the scans on the disk.

We drove an hour to get there today, only to be told that he didn't like the scans.  It wasn't what he wanted, or, he couldn't navigate the disk to find what he needed.  Not sure which.  Sorry for the inconvenience, he sent us home.  His nurse got on the phone to the Imaging Center, hoping that they could send him raw films, I think.

He did tell us that he was still debating whether to take the tooth, but that he was leaning towards taking the tooth because it offers a better chance to prevent recurrence.  Basically he has to get all the remnants of the cyst, and that is easier to do if the roots are not in the way.  Certainly I don't want her to have to go through this again.  And if her two back molars don't slide in a take the place of this tooth, she can gum it, right?  She has other teeth.  We don't actually know whether the tooth is alive or dead, anyway.  And we don't know for sure what kind of cyst this is, until he sends it all to pathology for analysis.  I am not sure why I care what "kind" it is- it's not supposed to be there so let's take it out!
So we're left no further along than we were on Monday, with the possibility that we'll need another CT Scan next week.  *Sigh.*
I am thankful that The Girl isn't nervous.  Of course, she's never had much dental work, so she's got no idea what to expect.  And they are going to put her out, so she won't know anything til it's over.   Thus far the worst of it is knowing how early we'll have to get up for the surgery, considering the long drive and the fasting.  But I appreciate the prayers so many of you are saying for her and for all of us, so please, keep it up!