We've seen these posted on Facebook or received them as e-mails:
You know you're old if you remember:
When we listened to music from 8-track tapes. (Boom Boxes)
When we watched "Lawrence Welk" every Sunday evening.
When "Leave It To Beaver" was a first-run show.
When the family car was a station wagon with wood grain side panels and no seat belts.
When soda pop was in glass bottles and cost a dime !
When your telephone number was two long rings and a short ring! LOL
When you could listen to other peoples phone conversations because you were on a party line.
When you had to get up to change the black and white t.v. channel by turning the antenna with a pipe wrench.
And on . . . and on . . . and on . . .
You're also fairly old if you know what mercury fillings are, better known as amalgams.
Back in Antlers, Oklahoma, our town dentist was Dr. Witherspoon. I can still see those huge needles in glass bottles staring at me as I sat in that dentist chair surrounded by spit sinks and all kinds of machinery hanging above my head.
It was during those days that fillings were made of mercury and other metals.
These days, there is much disagreement about whether these type of fillings can cause health problems.
But, from most everything I've read, the two mercury fillings that still remain in my head could be one of the reasons for my migraines.
Or should I say, the two that WERE in my head . . .
Yup. Got 'em drilled out today. Of course, they were on opposite sides of my head which meant being numbed with two different shots.
Bless his heart, my sweet dentist who looks like he's not old enough to have a driver's license knows how apprehensive I am about those shots. (See paragraph above about Dr. Witherspoon.)
Because during the procedure of removing alamgams, the patient breathes oxygen during the amalgam removal so as not to inhale the 'mercury dust,' my dentist asked if I would like to have nitrous oxide.
Knowing that I am more than just a bit tense during dental procedures, and since I was going to be breathing oxygen anyway, the 'sweet air' could be filtered in.
At this point, the title of my post changes to:
"To Infinity and Beyond !"
I've never had Nitrous Oxide . . . Laughing Gas . . . Sweet Air !
But, I did ask my dentist if I could just sit in the chair after the procedure and remain hooked up to the oxygen tank.
He laughed and said no.
Then I asked if I could get a prescription for it.
He laughed again and said no.
Regardless if removing the amalgams will help alleviate my migraines, my latest experience in the dentist office was a memorable one.
At least I think it was.
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If you are interested in the studies about amalgums, here are two links that give information about that subject from the Internation Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology:
The Scientific Case Against Amalgam
The Toxic Effects of the Mercury in Dental Amalgam Fillings
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Thank you Dr. Christopher Lepisto for all your guidance.
Life is good !
