Caylyn's Blog

Yes, you read it right…Don’t Pay the Ransom!!  Why??  Well…simply…I’ve ESCAPED!

It has been so long since I’ve written here!  I get busy on little projects that I do for others, and time just flies, especially when caught in a time warp!  I’m back again now though.  Do I hear the little pitter-patter of happy feet doing the happy dance?  Or is it just my wild imagination again thinking I was missed…

The latest website project I have been working on has been a lot of fun, but has been extremely time consuming.  It’s winding down now and I will post a link to it once it’s finished so all of you, who may be interested, can go and see what I’ve been up to with that site.  I stepped into the Wayback Machine going back in time to the 1950′s and floating through the decades to the present.  The site is for an actor friend who wanted a place he could post stories and photos detailing some of his experiences in Hollywood, such as hanging out and working with, Rock Hudson, Kirk Douglas, Carol Lynley, Walter Brenenn, Ben Johnson, Steve Cochran,  among others.  And that’s where I came in.  After a few weeks of intense labor, he will now have a record of his film and TV career for all time.  He also wants to have the capability to write future blogs of memories and daily “diary” type writings.  Being he was one of the last signed contract players in the era of the Studio Contract Players at Warner Brothers, he has many stories to tell.  It’s been fun seeing all the pictures and hearing all the stories.  I have enjoyed my time learning about him and the days of ol’.  More on all that at a later date.

What have I been up to?  I’ve been away a lot on little summer trips – a week here, a weekend there – to get out of the desert heat. I didn’t take many pictures or much video while I was away, so I guess you can say I have nothing to show for those trips…well…except that the little trips kept me semi-sane, so at least there’s something to show for them, right?

The big new is, I FINALLY got my teeth completed!  HOORAY!!   I probably should have made a little video of the happy dance!  Hopefully next time I will remember the camera!  If you have been around here for awhile, or if you have been reading my blog recently, you know that I have been in a nightmare with my teeth!  The saga continued and has now come to an end!  I wanted to wait for the refund check to clear before I wrote anything more about it!

No need to read any further unless you were wondering where the update to this story was or if you care to hear more about my pain and suffering at the hands of “The Booger Eater”*, and how I was left with a lisp and NO feeling in the tip of my tongue, and/or the resolution spilling into my conclusion.  I just wanted to document it for all time for myself as a reminder of the torture and yet ANOTHER reminder to NOT TRUST or have FAITH in all these so called, PROFESSIONALS !  Trust only MY instinct on it and make my decisions accordingly to MY instincts!

Without further ado, here is the basics of The Dental Story.

The Dental Story

I went to this dentist who claims to be a holistic dentist.  As it turns out, I really don’t think he is since I do NOT think shooting electrical pulses into the face for an hour of two is a “natural” way of doing things.  I endured that for nearly a year (10 months to be exact).  I have had a long string of TERRIBLE dentists in my lifetime and he is now at the top of the list for the WORST!!  The last good dentist I had was back in 1984!  The rest have caused more damage than I had when I went to them.  For example:  one dentist crowned a tooth that didn’t need crowning AND he put the crown in crooked!  The dentist before The Booger Eater*, filled a filling with silver (which I specifically asked him NOT to do because I don’t want mercury in my mouth!) without removing the OLD porcelain filling!  He just added the silver filling on top!  Are you starting to get the picture of the problems I was having?

Due to all this horrific dentistry, my bite was so messed up that I was having trouble chewing and it hurt just to close my teeth together.  I found The Booger Eater* on the web while looking up, “holistic dentists” in my area.  He said I needed an “orthotic” to fix things.  I was thinking just new crowns should do it, and I did mention it, but he said this would fix it all.  So…I endured that first plastic piece in my mouth and went along with his other torture treatments constantly for 10 months.  That first orthotic was misery!  It would catch my lips, my cheeks, and my tongue in it!  My tongue would also stick to it on all sides which has resulted in not having any feeling in the tip of my tongue from that thing!

The Booger Eater* continued to treat me for what he has since called TMJ-TMD problems (that is what he calls it now and since my request for a refund, more on that in a bit).  I want to make this perfectly clear, I NEVER had TMJ or TMD problems or complaints.  Just because The Booger Eater* wrote that in his records, does NOT make it so!  My complaints when I first went to him were; I had a broken tooth (the one with the silver overlay broke) and my teeth weren’t fitting together well due to crooked and poorly constructed crowns!

Broken Orthotic – #1

The first plastic piece broke! The Booger Eater* said he has never seen one break to which I replied, “See…that’s proof that it’s not fitting right and confirms all my complaints about the pain from it”.  He replied that it was needed to get us where we were today, so no, there was nothing wrong with it.  I kept talking about the fact that it broke, so…it was obviously not fitting right!  He finally conceded to the fact, stating that it’s a good thing that it broke since things have changed so drastically, and he began measuring for a new one that he said he would talk to the lab about, so it shouldn’t cost me anything for the new orthotic. Low and behold, it cost me and when I asked if he talked to the lab about it, he said he didn’t.  He did state he would split the cost with me on it!  Here is a BIG surprise…He did NOT!  I almost ripped off all his “gear” from my face when he was “remeasuring” (for the new piece of plastic crap), and told him to go f**k himself!  He was so condescending and when I’d answer any of his questions, he would yell at me for talking saying, “now I have to start the measurements all over again.  Please shut up!”  I was furious, but being hooked up to all the equipment and thinking since he already had my money, (just under $7,000!) I had better give this a bit longer to see if it would work itself out.  I was pretty much finished with him at this point for several months, and still wonder why I continued to take the abuse and torture!  This bit was really the last decision maker as to what to do after this “shut up” statement.

Doesn't that look comfy? NOT!

After the adjustment for the new piece of plastic, The Booger Eater put that goopy stuff in my mouth that they take impressions with that dries rubbery.  He then instructed me to WEAR that for the next two weeks while waiting for the new plastic piece to arrive.  It tasted terrible and it was so big, it choked me!  I had to wear that around the clock and sleeping was nearly impossible due to the choking when laying down.  I did as he told me to do, (I’m a great little “subbie”, ha!), all the while wondering how I was going to get out of this mess AND get at least SOME of my money back!

I added the picture for all to see!  Can you imagine wearing that out everywhere for TWO weeks?  Everyone I knew was questioning The Booger Eater’s* techinques and telling me to get the hell away from that quack!

BEAUTIFUL for two weeks! Lucky Me!!

I kept thinking he MUST know what he is doing since he is the professional and has been in business for a couple of decades.  Maybe this is some new fangled treatment that will be amazingly wonderful when it’s completed!

I continued on…having faith in his professional opinion, (he did have my money, after all).  I was just happy that this goop piece no longer stuck to my tongue or caught my lips, cheeks, or tongue in that weird suction thing that was happening with the old one that broke.  Whenever I told The Booger Eater* that this was torture for me, his reply was, “No it isn’t”.  I was always so stunned when he would say things like that I just didn’t know what to say!  I felt so stupid for letting this get this far and allowing him to talk to me that way!  I KNOW better than to have any FAITH in anyone or particularily anything!  BUT…being the fool that I was, I continued on, although I was working on a way to get out this mess!

The new plastic piece arrived and I went to the dentist to pick it up.  I put it in my mouth and commented about it NOT creating that suction so that was good.  I left to “try it out” for a couple of weeks.  I went back and he started to make adjustments to it.  I did tell him that this new piece was the best yet since it didn’t catch my lips, cheeks, or tongue in it and it didn’t do that weird suction thing I had complained about for the last 9 months!  He started to make adjustments to this new piece, which always seemed to make things go from bad to worse.  He left for awhile (mind you every time I was there, I was hooked up to that electrical shock machine sending pulses of electricity into my face for no less than an hour!), and when he got back, I told him that I wish I could explain to him what it felt like for me and what I was experiencing.  I told him that it now feels like it’s “slipping”, to which he told me, in his standard condescending manner, “No it isn’t”.  I then told him again that I was trying to figure out a way to explain to him what I was feeling to which he answered, “I don’t need an explanation”, which stunned me yet again.  I knew at that moment it was ALL OVER!

The working relationship had deteriated to the point of no return.  He wasn’t interested in hearing what I was saying or what torture I was going through.  He started to take the electrodes off me (it had been 50 minutes where usually it was 1 to 2 hours, which I’m now guessing, depended on how much torture he wanted to put me through), saying that 50 minutes is enough and go try out this new piece.  He then said he would see me in SIX weeks!!  It had been, for the last 10 months, 3 to 4 weeks, so I guess he decided I needed SIX weeks of torture this time!

As I was walking out complaining about SIX more weeks of this shear torture, he said that if this piece doesn’t work by the time I got back, “we will have to start drilling on YOUR teeth to make it work”.  That solidified my thoughts of getting the hell out of there!  He KNEW I didn’t want him drilling on my natural teeth to make this crap fit!

I went up to the desk to make the appointment for SIX weeks later.  The woman at the desk seemed surprised too and she said, “Six weeks??  Are you sure??”  I told her yes, that is what he said.  She went back to the back, where is office is, to clarify that with him.  She came back and said, “yes, he’ll see you again in six weeks”.  She made the appointment and said, “See you in six weeks”, which I replied, ”Maybe”, as I walked out the door.  When I returned home, I began my search for a new dentist!

This experience was the WORST I have had with dentists, and I have had a few, including some trips to Mexico for dental work!  Due to wearing that plastic piece so long and having my jaw opened up so far for so long, my lips stretched to close over the plastic pieces,  I now have a lisp!!  I’m hoping with continued exercise of my face (which was advised from the new dentist to have a chance to correct this problem), that the lisp will, one day, go away.  I now have a little idea what it must be like for the people that put plates in their lips, then they remove them and try to talk!  Spit flies and the lisp is there as you try to move all that stretched out skin to talk!

It seems that I will be left with NO feeling on the tip of my tongue as a result of The Booger Eater’s* poor judgement for treatment, and what appears to me, to be an attempt to make more money for his pockets in suggesting this line of treatment, which as I know now, wasn’t needed, being that all is well after leaving him and seeking help elsewhere!

The Resolution

The resolution to this horrific event in my life really isn’t a resolution as much as it is my attempt to get The Booger Eater* (and his pushy, incompetent, and money hungry staff) away from me!  I took a portion of the money I paid him as a “refund” in order to get SOMETHING back.  Perhaps I should have taken him to court to receive compensation for all the time, pain, and suffering, along with the seemingly permanent issues of the lisp and the numbness of the tip of my tongue, but I just wanted this over!  I have scars, (mentally, emotionally, and physically), from this experience.  I wanted to be away from that situation and have it all behind me and move forward.  My last appointment with The Booger Eater* was May 3, 2011 and I finally received a check from them and it cleared, September 9th, 2011.  The incompetence of the staff was as mind boggling as having to deal with The Booger Eater*!

What I have to show from this experience with The Booger Eater* is, an ugly green goopy piece of rubber, a new orthotic, a broken orthotic, a lisp, a tongue that is numb on the tip of it, loads of torturous memories of bleeding from the many “catches” of my lips, cheeks, and tongue when caught, pinched, squeezed, and ripped open from the suction of that first plastic piece, memories of two weeks of pain and agony in my teeth and gums and not being able to eat after a “root scaling”, and for all that misery, torture and condescending, incorrectness from The Booger Eater* (just because he wrote it down, does NOT make it so!), I paid NEARLY $7,000!  I did receive a small refund of little over $2,000 back from him which I used towards the reconstruction of the damages done from all The Booger Eater’s* I have had the misfortune of having crossed paths with.

In Conclusion

I am now feeling much better after having this dental nightmare behind me!  I have had all my crowns and one bridge replaced.  I have had the broken tooth (with the silver overlay on porcelain) replaced with a crown now.  Two of the old crowns actually had MOLD growing in them, so having them out of my mouth has made a HUGE difference in how I feel these days.

My recommendation to any one out there who might be interested:

• Do NOT get your work done in Mexico!  Or at the least, be aware of the issues you can have after choosing to go to Mexico for dental work.  They may not all be what I experienced, but beware!  They tend to use cheaper materials and you can get mold in your crowns as I did.  It can happen due to a poor fit, leaking, etc.
• Be sure to GET the promised references BEFORE the dentist begins working.  (I didn’t and he kept saying he would get them to me.  But work started and continued.  I NEVER received them).
• NEVER keep going back to a dentist when your gut feelings tell you there is something wrong!
• Do NOT pay up front!  If they insist on it, go elsewhere!  Half at the beginning and half when completed gives you some feeling of recourse in case you get into a switch like I did.
• When you find a good dentist…follow him/her EVERYWHERE!

I hope my story made some sense and helps someone out there somewhere.  If not…well…it’s my story and I feel a better after telling it, not to mention having this little reminder forever about my issues with dentistry!

I now have a wonderful dentist!  (I won’t name him until he gives me the OK to do so.  I will ask him at my next appointment if I can name him.)  I just LOVE him!!  My teeth are finished and they look, and more importantly, FEEL great not to mention just how WHITE they are now.  (He through in a free Zoom whitening treatment!  Thanks, Doc!)  But I have rambled on long enough, so more about my new dentist and that experience will be saved for another blog at a later date…or not…

*I refer to that dentist now as The Booger Eater because that was all I could think of with the way he bullied me and talked so condescendingly to me.  When I looked at him, I got this overwhelming sense that, as a kid, he was that fat little kid in school who used to eat his boogers which lead to all the kids bullying him!  So…now that he is an adult, he is bullying everyone else as an attempt to get revenge.  Maybe I reminded him of some girl he knew that he wanted me to “pay” for her actions?  I don’t know…just a guess…but there is the reason I call him The Booger Eater.  Also, I can’t tell my story naming him as I have been informed that I could be sued for slander if I did…so…The Booger Eater he is and will remain for all time in my memory! 

Childish name calling, I know, but it did help me to hold onto some compassion for him and what plight he may have gone through to make him the way he was to me!  Just doing what I had to do to get through another ‘bent fork episode’.  A ‘bent fork episode’ to me is a reference to my misfortunes in life since I am the one who will go to a restaurant and ALWAYS gets the ‘bent fork’!  My life is a comedy of errors, so, I keep laughing through all these errors the best I can and bend the forks back in place when and where I can!