Dental Update #1

 Well, I did it - or had it done. I now have no upper teeth. That was on the 5th and today is the 7th.

As happy (and blessed) as I am to be able to get this dental work done, I feel another kind of way about it. 

The dentist and his assistant were amazing. I feel zero pain during the extractions. Like that told me beforehand, the shots to numb me would be the only painful thing. Even that wasn't so bad. What amazes me even more is that I now realize that not only did the dentist extract my teeth, but he shaved bone and, - gag - trimmed things...

The whole thing took under an hour. That was the easy part. The hard part was afterward.

I'm someone who has a very sensitive stomach and an intense imagination. That doesn't help when I have to chomp down on gauze to staunch bleeding. Even when the bleeding stopped - which it did after about 7 hours - there are the stitches that I can feel if I accidentally touch them with my tongue. Ugh!

I remember joking about all the weight I would lose once I was no longer eating so many carbs (that are easier to chew). What I didn't realize is that the weight loss starts the day of the extractions!

The days before the extractions, I wasn't very hungry so I had some eggs and some toast with cream cheese and marmalade. On the day of the extractions, I didn't eat anything, just had my morning coffee. My appointment was a little after noon and I'm not a morning eater. I should have eaten. I should have pigged out!

I came home with gauze stuffed in my mouth. I wore a mask because the gauze was so messy and awful-looking. I had to change the gauze every 10 to 15 minutes at least. (Remember my weak stomach? Yeah.)

I couldn't even stand to drink water without gagging. I have to force myself because I have antibiotics and Tylenol to choke down. Ugh. It's better now that the bleeding has stopped.

Today, I drank hibiscus tea with creamed honey and for lunch, I had some Cream of Wheat with Ceylon cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and a little bit of milk. Hot cereal never tasted so good! I think that Cream of Wheat is going to be my main thing for a while.

Apart from that, I mostly slept, changed gauze, gagged (and vomited once), and mourned the loss of my teeth.

Someone online made an interesting statement about having to lose all your teeth. Everyone tries to make it sound like it's such an easy thing to do - doing it is easy, but dealing with it is a different thing. This person made the point that losing your teeth is a sort of amputation. No matter how old you are - I'm 63. It's a pretty big change.

Now, I am not vain. I just want some chompers that I can finally eat with. I want to be able to choose my foods for how good they are for me rather than how easily can my teeth handle them. Also, I'd like to be able to smile again without feeling so self-conscious or to talk with friends without worrying about my gums bleeding. Yeah, that was a real thing.

I have a niece who is a bit younger than I. She had to have implants after an accident. She said that I am going to be so glad to be able to eat and drink things again without worrying about the pain or loose teeth. She said that recovery was challenging but that the end results were worth it. I trust that.

I will try to update as this goes. I have nothing else going on and no energy to do much. I'm awfully tired. Tomorrow I will have coffee for the first time! And I want to see if I can get some chores done around the apartment.

Peace

--Free