Choppers

As an adult, I have always been good about dental care.  Every 6 months I get a checkup/cleaning and twice a day in between, I diligently brush & use a Waterpik.   But that wasn't always the case. I was raised with the attitude that teeth don't last forever and eventually everyone gets false teeth.  So my mouth was a mess when I was young.

No, not this bad!

But thanks to lots of dental work, I have enjoyed good dental health for many decades.

Last week I noticed a "sensation" from my last molar on the top of my mouth.  This molar has been on borrowed time for many years.  It is a healthy tooth, never had a cavity, but there is considerable bone loss on one side (perhaps a result of smoking years ago) that exposes some of the root.  It has always been sensitive and slightly loose due to the bone loss.

So I called my dentist and they got me in that afternoon.  He "adjusted my bite" so there wasn't any pressure on the tooth.  He also did an x-ray to make sure there were no other problems and it looked fine.  It felt good.

Several days go by, then suddenly I get the most excruciating pain during the night.  My jaw is throbbing and everyone of my teeth feel like they are going to explode.  The next morning it felt okay so I thought maybe I was clenching my teeth during the night.  The next few nights were a repeat. The pain was horrendous!

So yesterday I called my dentist to see if he could look at things.  At this point I assumed I was clenching at night and might need a dental guard or something.  He was off but his partner was in and could see me.  I knew the other dentist and said I would be there in 2 hours.

At the appointed time I explained the situation.  The doctor checked my chart to see what was done the prior week.  He examined my teeth.  He was tapping on them (sort of hard) and when he tapped the molar in question, I said it felt different but no pain.  Then he gave me a little cotton roll and had me bite into it.  I about went through the roof!  OMG, immediate, intense throbbing pain!

So he ordered another x-ray of the tooth but said he was going to get a slightly different angle than the one from the prior week.  Sure enough, it showed that bacteria had gotten to the root.  We discussed the options (due to the exposed root) and together decided that extraction was likely the best route. It is far enough back in my mouth I likely would not even miss it.   I told him, "Rip it out!"  So he did.

After the procedure was done he was giving me instructions on care and what I should or should not eat for the next few days.  (See it's coming around to a food issue lol!)  He said, "This is a good day to just eat ice cream!"  Well, there you have it, doctor orders!  Besides, I didn't feel like eating much else anyway.

So I thought about how well things have been going with my eating for the past 10 days or so.  I thought about K10 and her "f-ing Alex". I thought about Beth's disappointment at the last weigh in.  I thought about Diana on vacation this week and the temptations she was facing despite how badly she wants to lose weight. I thought about Ellen's struggles with food. I thought about how I looked in the picture, so square.  I thought about YaYa's "eyes on". The key thing here was that I thought, I didn't just react despite the MANY justifications I had to pig out on ice cream. So I ignored doctor's orders.

I missed a run this week but stayed on course with my eating.  Whew! That was a close one!



C