Do you perform your own dentistry?
That is to say, yes, I can confidently exchange batteries (clean my teeth). I'm not confident in modifying those batteries with a welder/soldering iron.
If I clean my teeth and they still hurt you bet I'm going to the dentist.
That's not a rational response. Everything is dangerous. The issue is how dangerous they are.
So far I have become adept at removing and replacing my own crown, including heavily modifying when needed, filling if they aren’t too deep (or temporary fillings if they are deep) and one extraction when I was at sea and had no better choice.
I don’t recommend it if it’s not necessary, but for those who may find themselves in that situation there is a book called “where there is no dentist” that outlines most common procedures and tool use. It’s worth learning if you’re likely to be away from “civilization “. Also “where there is no doctor “ can be a lifesaver.
I think because of the infection it was quite loose, and prying a little with the elevator was all it took to get it to where it could pull it out with my fingers. If I had not had dental tools, it might have been much harder.
The pain is already really bad, yanking it out really wasn’t much worse than the steady state and once the nerves were severed it was instant reduction in discomfort.
Half a bottle of gin made it easier. The hard part was having to wait until the sea conditions were good enough that I felt like I could safely be numb-faced drunk.
I think the gatekeeping around all of this stuff from people is frankly kind of ridiculous. It's not like the battery repairmen are doing asbestos abatement naked in their living rooms while their families are watching TV. But people are treating it like the same thing.
It seems like the questions from my end bend back toward proving yourself when a situation breaks, not when it works, which is what sometimes happens when you do work yourself. Have you heard the parable of the nuclear boy scout, David Hahn?
A fundamental of expertise is knowing the terrain, what you can and can't do safely and reliably. A fundamental of knowledge is becoming aware of far more that you don't know; only in ignorance do we imagine there is little outside our personal boundaries.
Highly experienced professionals will tell me, 'I don't know how to do that, you should talk to ...', and will refuse to even venture advice. My doctor tells me to talk to a specialist. Naive, immature amatuers assure me they can do anything, and can diagnose and treat my medical condition via social media.