Off and on through the years I have dealt with pain on my bottom left wisdom tooth. No big deal, just food particles occasionally caught in the area and had to be worked out. My top two never made an appearance and never gave me problems.
Out of the blue, 2 weeks ago, my bottom right wisdom tooth decided to start throbbing with pain. At first I endured it, trying to clean it out, supposing food particle was the issue. After 5 days of pain only worsening, I decided to call an oral surgeon and make an appointment. Discussion caused me to pursue having at least both bottom teeth removed, so I could have the sedation for minimal pain during extraction.
Wednesday, January 20, I went in for my appointment at 11:00 am. An x-ray showed the "root" of the problem: my teeth were impacted. My bottoms were pushing against my molars while my tops, though not causing any issues externally, were turned against the roots. OUCH! So, the decision was made to cut all four out at once. No pain, no gain, right?
The last thing I remember is the IV being started and the doctor telling me I would begin to feel sleepy soon. He was right....
The first thing I remember is the nurse helping me into the van while Dennis loaded the kids up. He told me later that I had conversed with the doctor about a follow-up appointment and that he and the kids met me in a room (not the same one I had surgery in) and walked with me out of the building to the van. Wow! talk about sleep-walking! He also tells me I was making goofy faces at the kids, but that's not unusual...
Dennis stopped at Chick-Fil-A for a mint chocolate chip milkshake to comfort me. Then on to the house to get me situated while he went to Kroger to pick up my prescriptions and ingredients for supper. Antibiotics and oxycodone taken, I settled in bed with an ice pack. A few hours later a tantalizing smell wakes me from my sweet slumber; Dennis had prepared manicotti from scratch, along with fresh homemade breadsticks! He had the gall to ask me if I wanted to eat ramen noodles!! I had manicotti, chopped up in tiny bites that I could savor on my tongue before swallowing, and boy, was it delish! Chef Boyardee, you ain't got nothin' on my hunny!
By the second day, my cheeks were swelling and day 4 I was bruised. I endured being called "Chipmunk Cheeks" for a few days.
A week later, the swelling is completely gone down and the bruises are fading. I am still waiting on the stitches to dissolve and will be glad to have a completely normal diet (I miss chewing up a good slab of steak!). I can talk and sing with minimal pain and am close to having a good laugh without hurting my jaws.
Hmmm, don't think I'll be pulling this stunt again any time soon...
