Hello, friends! Welcome to another general life blog. Yesterday I went to the dentist and had an impacted wisdom tooth removed.
a couple of pothos leaves I pruned the other day that had turned yellow were about the size of my hand! :)
I have had plenty of dental problems over the years, so this is the TENTH tooth I have had pulled out of my mouth. The top two wisdoms went in my 20s, but the bottom two were impacted, so I left them alone until and unless they started causing me trouble.
Many of my teeth break pieces off. This started when I was 22 (our best guess is because for most of my life I had the kind of acid reflux that washes into your mouth at night while you sleep, the stomach acid is the cause. I don't seem to have that issue since I started on the allergy diet some years ago, but the damage was already done). They don't generally hurt when they break, but they may do months later. This particular wisdom tooth had slid forward most of the way when the molar in front of it had been pulled years ago, but not all the way out. Then during pandemic times, it suddenly pushed the rest of the way forward and I thought, yay, I can get behind it now with floss and my toothbrush ...but it broke within a few months. It must have been the pressure of it being about to break that pushed it the rest of the way out. But it didn't hurt, and I didn't think it was a good idea to go to the dentist with my mouth wide open during a pandemic if I didn't have to, so I just let it be.
Sanglainn the snail on a pothos leaf in the aquarium
Pain had flared a few times, but it was really bad about a month or so ago, so I decided it was time to Deal With It.
I was in the dentist's chair for about two hours. It was the most difficult extraction I've ever had to endure. And again ...I've gone through ten of these now. The dentist had to cut it in half with the drill in order to get it to come out. I have stitches, but I didn't ask how many (and my eyes were closed, lol). He had to put a ton of novocaine shots in there before he even started, and added more about halfway through, and even still, at the end, I felt pain. Right as I was thwapping the chair arm like OWOWOW I NEED ANOTHER SHOT it was the last yank of the last piece and it was out. Thank goodness.
My dentist (who is actually very kind, and reassuring for those of us who are afraid of going to the dentist) was talking to the tooth as he worked like, "I know you don't want to come out. But Wren wants you to go. So it's time." LOL
(yeah he still calls me Wren, I prefer Phoenix but I usually don't make a fuss in healthcare settings where they already have me down as Wren)
Laeg the betta fish chilling in the aquarium
So I am very swollen right now but the pain isn't bad. I've had a lot worse pain when teeth were waiting to come out than I usually have after they've been yoinked, ha ha ha. The worst part is not being able to eat properly for a while. Protein shakes are my friend. :)
So that was my ~adventure~ yesterday. I hope y'all had a more pleasant Tuesday than I did (I am writing this on Wednesday my time). I'm just glad it's over with!
Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day! :)