Category: doctors and dentists

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It Ain’t Over Until The Jaw Bone Melts

(This will, hopefully, be the last installment in what has been for many of you WAY too much information about my mouth)

So, I had my progress meeting with the oral surgeon on Tuesday. It’s healing well, my sinus cavity isn’t leaking into anywhere it shouldn’t, and the lingering pain is to be expected as my tendons move around and regrip. (Pokes around in my mouth with mirror, hits spot that makes me flinch, says “Oh.”)

Oh? (And by the way, ow.)

Well, you have a bit of sharp bone there. (Bone? There is bone POKING OUT FROM MY GUMS?) It should melt away on its own…

I’m sorry, melt? When did bone start to melt?

Your bones are constantly moving, shifting, changing. Right now, you have some bone in your jaw that is looking for something to grip. Some will be absorbed and will help hold that back tooth in. The rest will… sort of flake off. Or I could file it. It’s simple.

It’s simple for YOU. It’s not YOUR mouth! (I don’t like the words “file” and “gums” to have any relation to each other.)

If you prefer, you can wait and see how it goes. It should be fine. Come in and see me if it’s bothering you.

And so, I’m to give it 6-ishy weeks. The irritation should gradually decrease as that pokey bit OF MY JAW apparently “melts” away and the gums continue to heal up. For now: Ow. Owwww. (Poke poke poke, bother bother bother.) I have graduated to food that requires chewing, but I’m still favoring the other side and staying away from anything crunchy.

So of course, I really want Doritos. 🙂

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More Mouthyness

1. However many years ago, when I had all four impacted wisdom teeth surgically removed, I recovered just fine without the benefit of painkillers. For this one lousy tooth (and minor sinus reconstruction), I have been taking Vicodin on and off for nearly a week. And I’m still in pain. I am somewhat concerned, but have a follow-up appointment on Tuesday during which I’ll look pleadingly at the doctor and hope he tells me it’s all normal and I’m healing just fine.

2. As I described to someone today (and also twittered), it feels as though I have had a mouth replacement. This does not feel like my mouth. The teeth are all wrong. The sinus headache? That’s familiar. I was hoping that removing That Damn Tooth would make those go away. C’mon, healing! Let’s go!

3. (This one is my Special Story dedicated to Binky-comma-Imaginary) By describing one particular oral-surgery-related tale, I so grossed out a friend that the friend immediately THREW UP. In a public place. In front of people (who may or may not have been paying any attention). This is a person who I thought had no boundaries, who has never hesitated to tell me anything no matter how gross and/or personal, who has PEED while on the PHONE with me (much to my chagrin). I am mortified to have caused such deeply felt, stomach-churning ickyness. Luckily for me, said friend seems to find this incident amusing, and is now wearing it as a badge of… well, not courage.

Beat ’em beat ’em/Buck ’em buck ’em/Lay ’em down and/Really fight! Goooo, Unicorns!

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Wooooo-ie! And that’s not just the Vicodin talking.

Note: Trying to write this before the Vicodin kicks in and makes me loopy. My apologies if I don’t succeed.

My gnarly molar is gone-daddy-gone, and while it turns out that it did indeed reach all the way into my sinus cavity, the surgeon was able to stitch me up without any scare-tactic grafting. I am now home and assigned to pureed food, ice packs, and rest, which is good because I can get lost in my own house when the vicodin is working. And I’m not supposed to SNEEZE for the next week. Um, yeah, okay, I’ll try that.

Side note: I fixed my sewing machine! At least, I got most of the offending thread out of my way, and am ignoring the remaining piece that is wound tight around a screw, but doesn’t seem to be affecting anything. I got the easy parts of Butterick 4790 all done on Sunday afternoon, but am now on painkillers and don’t trust myself to continue. But mostly, hemming that huge skirt and attaching nearly 900* yards of bias tape is the drudgery part. However, this also meanst that, yay, Halloween costuming is back on track! Alison picked up some footwear for me on sale, and while it isn’t what I had in mind; it will do, and it won’t cost me anything. Thanks, Alison! (I hope they fit, or I’m back to basics on that.)

S’anyway, I went to my local Target pharmacy to get my scrip filled this morning, and had a look at the clearance racks while I was waiting. Meh, meh, meh, HEY THERE! For $5.74, it looks like Costume Two is on again! Now that it’s October already, my time is running out. I’s better be getting back to hemming and shirring and creating! Oh my!

*Closer to 9 than 900, but it LOOKS like a lot.