tooth or consequences

I had a checkup at the dentist this week. Recall that I'd scheduled it for about a month ago, but got a call that the substitute hygienist broke her shoulder. No cleaning for me.

Regular hygienist is still away on vacation, sub hygienist is still recovering, so it was the good dentist himself who cleaned my teeth. Seemed a bit strange to have the big chief doing the scraping, but he's actually very personable and humble. He did a good jack-of-all-trades job. 

The office recently got a 3D scanner, so the thing spun around my head a bit. After my cleaning, the good doctor summoned me to see my scans. It was like being asked to report to the principal's office.

"Do you have trouble with your sinus?"

Ohmigosh yes.

"Yeah, cuz you don't have any bone there", pointing to the image of the obvious hole in my head. There is a tunnel between my mouth and my left maxillary sinus, from where a tooth used to be.

Honestly, it wasn't anything I didn't already know. Flashback to 2019 when I battled with  a bum tooth - #14 for those in the know.

It ended with a gruesome extraction after a failed attempt to save it.

I didn't even care to try to save it, and was ultimately glad to just be rid of the thing. And it continues to haunt me from the grave. When the oral surgeon extracted the tooth, he had to go up into my sinus to get all of it, thus forming the aforementioned "tunnel". I recall it feeling so weird, like my whole face was open to the air. 

In the few days that followed, mucus from my sinus would trickle into my mouth through the tooth hole. ICK! TMI!

The gum eventually healed over, but the bone never reformed. Denist says I "need" a bone graft. I say, "eh". Really, it hardly bothers me. There's got to be other people walking around with similar holes in their heads, right?

In other news, my weather tab says it's 102 degrees outside but feels like 106. Is there much difference at that point? Relative humidity is 5% - a dry heat it is!

It's my turn to work the Saturday rotation tomorrow. I'm looking forward to the A/C.

the tooth, dark books, and old folks

I almost lost my fake tooth again.

Honestly, I'm embarrassed to admit this since I just got that fake tooth replaced and was all, "Oooh, this one's so much better!  I'm gonna fer sher take good care of it forever..."

Part of the thing's allure is that it's nice and tiny compared to that whole-mouth appliance thing I had previously.  

Long story short, it almost went out with the weekly trash.  I painstakingly rummaged through food scraps, coffee grounds, etc. and happily found it.  I now have tooth cases throughout the house in addition to my mouth!

Also this week, I finished reading My Dark Vanessa.  I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5.  It told a difficult and sad story well enough.  I usually enjoy these "forbidden relationship" novels for the psychological study.  Indecent, for example, was a fave and probably the reason My Dark Vanessa showed up in my recommendations.  But it was challenging to get through - blech, dark, and creepy.  Don't know if I would recommend it.  Now I'm reading something fluffy and light for contrast.

I've been lost on and off all week as to what day it is since my work schedule has changed. It's all good though, I'll get the hang of it.  So far, I enjoy the new position - more taking care of the young people who take care of the old people rather than taking care of the old people myself.  

Admittedly, geriatrics is not necessarily an interest of mine.  I can't imagine that anyone wants to end up in a nursing home, but there they are.  More often than not, I feel relieved for them when they pass away.  And it will  only be a day or two until someone else takes their slot.  It's most difficult for those who have a full grasp of their situation, which they thankfully, sometimes forget

So it's nice to see these caring younger workers handling it all so well.

And speaking of young people, we swung by Wolfgang's yesterday for some cat-sitting instructions for an upcoming fun trip of his.  He was convalescing after his second hit of COVID vaccine.  Achy, blah, with a headache.  From my small sampling, I've observed that younger people in general seem to have more side effects than older from the vaccine, whether Pfizer or Moderna.  My reaction was noticeable, but mild.  Yay for being in my 50's.  

Happy May.  I plan to watch The Kentucky Derby later.  

Today is Saturday, right?

bugged

For the last couple of weeks, I've felt like a bug in a pupal stage.  Somewhat dormantly waiting for the next thing.  As I've mentioned, I decided to accept the assistant boss position at work, so I had to finish up the last of my grunt work and will start wearing the new hat this coming week.  

I drew Hopper from A Bug's Life while learning a bit about pupae.  For instance:

• The chrysalis protects the caterpillar as it begins to turn itself into a liquid, soupy substance...
• The fluid breaks down the old caterpillar body into cells...
• Pupae are usually immobile and are largely defenseless...
• In a few... pupal mating is an extreme form of reproductive strategy in which the adult male mates with a female pupa about to emerge, or with the newly moulted female; this is accompanied by other actions such as capping of the reproductive system of the female with the sphragis, denying access to other males, or by exuding an anti-aphrodisiac pheromone

That last thing, what the HELL?

Anyway, I am looking forward to the new role, the new schedule, the new paycheck.  

I'm also ready for warm sunny days. We had that two feet of snow storm a month or so ago.  Since then, there's been nice spring weather as well as more cold and snow.  Sunny and warm gets my vote!

On my afternoon commute earlier this week, I came across this pelican convention:

And now I know  you're wondering, "what is a group of pelicans called?"  Well, I learned there are many collective nouns including "brief", "pod", "pouch", "scoop" and "squadron".  So, dealer's choice?  

Maybe I'll go with "brief" since they are white and all hang out together like in the above pic, ala "tighty whities"? *SORRY*

Also this week, my new fake tooth arrived, and I'm ready to put it to use.  Turns out Penny the pooch did me a favor by trying to eat the previous fake tooth as this new one is much more comfortable.  The old one included a full mouthpiece that covered the roof of my mouth whereas this one just pops into the gap where it's needed, nothing else.  Thank you, Penny!

And I'm ready to  move away from masks and social distancing.  Our county lifted more restrictions recently for bars, restaurants, gyms and such.  Each of my family members has gotten their vaccines.  Magnum and Meego are scheduled for their second hits, and the rest of us have had both.  

Admittedly, it will feel a bit weird to gather and de-mask.  We're all still wearing masks at work. I started working there in September, it's how we recognize each other's faces.  But it's nice to see residents having family visits.  I'm ready.

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:
3. Write a blog post inspired by the word: ready.

a trip to anywhere

I've spun the mattress, changed the toothbrush heads, rummaged and found some shorts and short sleeves.  Spring is here for a welcome change!  And this year, it brings a COVID vaccine available to about all who want it (and can get an appointment!).

Change is often a good thing and gives us things to look forward to.  Thought I'd make a small-scale list for near future things.

Warmer, Longer Days
With spring's arrival, I'm ready for stashing the snow shovels and partaking of some warm weather fun.

New Tooth
As I mentioned a while ago, our dog, Penny, mangled my fake tooth - not while it was in my mouth, thankfully.  I take full blame for leaving it laying around.  

I've been living with the void and was fitted for a new one nearly two weeks ago.  I expect the replacement in the upcoming week.  I will take better care of this one!

New Job

I told the Audreys I'd be the new assistant boss.  I'm looking forward to the change, probably because I don't know all that I'm in for.

It's just nice to make a decision now and then.  Once I decided and signed the papers, I felt more centered.  I offloaded my current tutor students - I was down to just two at this point - without hassle.  That feels a bit weird, seems I've been a tutor forEVER.

Home Upgrades
With the pandemic restrictions beginning to lift, I'm looking forward to a few needed updates on our house.  It was a rental for several years before we purchased it.  The appliances are very basic and showing their age, same for the windows and exterior paint.  Time for some TLC.

I'm not necessarily looking for the "journey" to get there in this case, but rather the destination.

So, how boring am I, right?

What's something you're looking forward to?

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Linking up this week with Mama Kat for the prompt:

4. Write about something you are looking forward to.

foster feet

Later today, I'm off to the dentist to sheepishly get fitted for another fake tooth.  Please tell me I'm not the only one whose dog ate their original.

This morning, I went to the gym, which is about a mile away.  I felt like walking to/from instead of riding my bike, so that's what I did.  As I was returning home, I saw a guy out for a run on the other side of the street.  He was sort of prancing/running, like he was working on his form or something.

Then I noticed his bright shoes and figured he was breaking in a new pair by overemphasizing things, getting a good feel.  Kinda high-steppin' it.

Back at home, I opened my instagram and saw that a local running store had some shoes for demo.  Get a pair, put them through your paces, bring them back and report.  Free.  On closer inspection, I was pretty sure they were the shoes prancing guy was wearing this morning - conducting research for his demo survey for the store, most likely.

So of course I had to join the fun and bring home a pair for myself.  It's like being a foster mom.  For shoes?

What will they tell me?

I checked online and learned they retail for $130.  Buyers can pay in 4 easy payments of $32.50.  And now I'm wondering, WHO makes shoe payments??  I won't even do car payments.

Anyway, I'm caring for them until Sunday when I will report back on their disposition and what kind of home would suit them.

Until then, I must keep the dogs from eating them.  Pretty sure I can't use HSA money for foster shoes.

the week that wuz

I'm happy to say that my Wednesday Monday blahs disappeared as mysteriously as they arrived.  I guess Yaz and I will never know what that was about.  Nauseous girl chalked it up to a change in a prescription dosage, and thankfully we're all none the worse for wear.  The remainder of the week unfolded in its own unique way.

Wednesday, during my stupor, I managed to make it possible for our dog, Penny, to get hold of my partial denture.  It's the cheapest form of tooth replacement, and I have it for that bum tooth I had extracted a couple years ago.  I like having the freedom to take it out.

I know better than to leave it laying around willy nilly, but that's what I did when I was potatoing on the futon.  I thought it was out of Penny's reach, and then I forgot about it.  Later, as we were eating dinner, Magnum noticed her chewing on something.

He reached down and, "Oh, it's yer tooth", then placed this pink mangled thing on the table.

"Ah, Fudge!", or something like that.  Couldn't believe I let that happen.  Anyway, I had to make an embarrassing call to the dentist the following day.  

The director of the care facility where I work made the happy announcements regarding loosening of COVID restrictions this week.  Family members can come for inside visits again, complete with hugs.  He also mentioned that dog visits will start again.  These are dogs that are trained for "comfort care", not family pets.  I've only seen their photos.  

And now I'm thinking, "They let those dogs in, I'm not gonna get much work done."

Today was the final Tortoise and Hare race for the season.  This one a 12K, or 7.5 miles. Beautiful morning for it with temps about 40F, sunny and calm.  

My designated start time was 8:57am.  I was at the park with time to spare, but wasn't giving strong attention to the time clock, and was nearly late.

bringing up the rear,
two seconds late, still getting dressed

It was a good time with a good turnout, and I'm happy with how my run went.  Nice way to finish out the series.

almost managed to catch one more "tortoise" 

but she wasn't having it

Such a nice difference to two short weeks ago when we were struggling through two feet of snow.  Much more fun than shovelin'.

touching the void

I'm in therapy.  Physical therapy?  Kinda?

It was almost exactly one year ago that I had that monster tooth removed from my head.  I don't miss it, but I have missed chewing over there.  This morning, I got my "dentures"

This whole mouthpiece for one tooth, but it's the simplest solution.  I love it already.  It needs a name.

So I've been eating a bunch doing therapy to learn to chew over there again.  It's a slow go, and I'm feeling quite full.  Still, I'll continue in the name of progress.

Remember being a teenager with that raging teenage metabolism?  I remember eating large bowls of cereal just before bed, going out with friends for pizza or chili fries after Friday night football games, etc.  All of that in addition to three square meals a day.  If I ate now the way I did in high school, I'd probably weigh around 300 pounds.

The reminisces came up at work over the weekend.  Someone said something about coworker Young Mick, and a cook chimed in, "Ever see his breakfast order??"

We can eat whatever we'd like at work, and are allowed to order one meal per shift from the cooks for our scheduled break.  I know it's already made a noticeable dent in my own grocery bill, and others similarly appreciate the perk.  

Young Mick is 17 years old.  Super nice kid and a very compassionate helper to the old folks.  I'd never particularly taken notice of what he eats, even though we take breaks together, since we're all spread apart while eating these days.  But when the cook mentioned the amount of food he puts away, the rest of us covertly observed yesterday.

A pile of French toast, several slices of bacon, eggs, pastry, OJ... Still hungry, he grabbed a cup of thick yogurt to ceremoniously end the feast.  He managed it all in the time it took me to finish a breakfast sandwich and cup of coffee.  Impressive.  Seemingly not an ounce of fat on that kid.  Ah, to be 17 again.  I'm sure his parents appreciate the supplement, and I hope they have a large pantry.

As I'm learning to chew with my whole mouth again, I managed another Inktober submission for the prompt "Rodent".  What to draw? 

I wonder why that concept came to mind...

trying to give up smoking

I met with a tutee this morning.  I opened up the online classroom and remembered I was wearing a bandana all, "YEEE-HAAAAW!!"

It's been SO smokey from surrounding wild fires. As if wearing a mask for Covid weren't enough, now I actually want to cover my nose and mouth.  Before I logged on, I'd been wearing the bandana all Bandito-style, then pulled it down and forgot it was there like a bib until the video kicked in.

New summer fash-on. Anyone know a good rain recipe?

Anyway, it's been a minute since I was last bloggin'!  I've been somewhat busy and thought I would summarize my list of productivity:

Firstly, I returned to the hospital job yesterday after three weeks of furlough. Furlough activities include...

• climbing a mountain
• contentedly dispersing my parents' ashes (more on that later, maybe)
• riding a downhill mountain bike park 
• Marie-Kondoing a ton of first aid crap acquired over the years

Seriously, WTH

• applying for new side gig jobs
• getting a golden crown
• watching my tutees, Meego, and related memes as school starts in the year of Covid

• getting a side gig job offer and accepting
• saying "good-bye" to allergy injections
• quitting resigning from my other side gig job

All right, that's enough summarizing.  But does anyone else buy band-aids or itch cream, etc., throw it in a drawer or box and end up with things scattered around the house?  I found some first aid ointment with a 2009 expiration date for chrissake.

Medically speaking, I'm happy with my new golden (tooth) crown and am going to see what happens if I don't mix up another batch of allergy juice.  

On the job front, I've mentioned how my hospital culinary job was stumbling along with hours reduced since Covid restrictions.  All of us took voluntary furloughs, and we're still at reduced hours.  I'm down to one shift a week - that was my yesterday fun.  

I managed to find a very similar job at a nearby rehabilitation facility.  It seems that providing comfort food to the infirm is my retirement calling, and I'm not complaining.  I haven't actually begun working there yet as they are background checking me as I type.  I'm so boring, if they find anything, it's a mistake.  

So I told my hospital boss yesterday, and he was naturally understanding.  Really, I think I'm doing him a favor - one less person to try to keep on the payroll.  As we were chatting toward the end of my shift, my coworker Em entered from the kitchen holding a towel and her hand with her other hand.

"Uhm... I've cut my hand and am going to take care of it.  I'll be right back", she reported

She hadn't returned by the time I left about a half hour later.  I'm thinking her cut was more serious than Boss and I were thinking, and maybe she actually went to the ER down the hall.  I guess I'll find out when I go in for next week's last lone shift.

Either way, I've got plenty of gauze if she needs it.

like a hole in the head

This past week or so has been a series of checking things off the healthcare to-do list.  We moved here late last year around the holidays, then once the holidays settled down, COVID-19 came a-calling and shut everything down.  With things including doctor's offices opening back up, I was able to get while the getting was good and check off the annuals.

Here I sit all blood-screened and checked-up and mammogrammed.  For the mammogram, the mammogrammer changed out the squisher.  Did you know they come in different sizes?  Did I get the one to accommodate the smallest boobs?  Small half-Asian female squisher?  I assume the all-purpose squisher was on the machine to begin with.

Either way, happy to say, there've been no surprises, and if things start falling apart, I now have places to call.  And this week:  the dentist.

Actually, I want to ask the dentist about replacing that big honking tooth I had removed last fall.  At first, I figured I'd just let it ride since it's in the back and doesn't affect the all important smile.  But it's such a big gap, and I like to chew things sometimes.

I'd already noped out of a dental implant as my oral surgeon says I'll need a bone graft for that.  A bridge is another option, but then I'd need to crown the adjacent teeth.  Plus, there's the cost to consider.  So I'm leaning toward a partial.  For one stupid tooth. 

Way back when we bought our first house, the previous owner was a fake teeth maker.  A denture maker?  Not sure the actual title, but he had a small shop in the house from where he worked.  There were various molds and teeth and wires - kind of like a jewelry shop?  Somebody had to do it.

Nowadays, I think fake teeth are often made at the dental office.  I know our previous dentist offered same-day replacements.  I have front crowns, and I remember having to wait for their arrival.  I got the first set when I was 11 years old, and they have since been replaced twice.  They've looked more like real teeth with each "upgrade". 

But for this big back tooth, I don't care the appearance so much as long as it fits.  Can I get a gold one? 

Anybody reading have experience with partials?  

there's room for maybe just one more

Why doesn't Dracula have any children?
Because he has a hollow weenie.

*GROAN*

My high school science teacher told us that joke and thought it was just the funniest thing, while we all just looked blankly at him.  But damn if I don't think of it every Halloween. 

I filled up a bowl with the candy I'd bought and thought it didn't seem like enough, so I picked up some more candy.  I should've stuck with the original.  It was a very low traffic Halloween night as was expected because of all the snow and cold.  We were generous with the handouts, but still...

At around 8-ish, I declared, "next bunch gets the whole bowl!". 

There was no next bunch, so Magnum's office gets the leftovers. 

I've mentioned here that we have one of those Ring®️ Doorbells.  I learned that there's a snooze feature that allows stopping notifications for when there's a lot of expected activity.  The goblins were so few and far between, I didn't see the need to snooze. 

The groups who visited were mostly two or three older kids trick-or-treating together, or very little kids with parents waiting in the shadows.  I did rather enjoy this group that accompanied a young boy of about 8 years.  They were all dressed up and even brought the dog 🐶
The adults in the group spotted the doorbell cam, hence the wave.

In other news, while on my candy run, I decided to get that flu shot yesterday.  The pharmacist upsold me a tetanus shot too.  She also sold me on a shingles vaccine, but I said I'd do that next week because I didn't feel like a 3-for.

I'm wanting to get this stuff done before the end of the year since our health insurance provider is changing, and we don't know the details yet.  I scheduled a tooth filling for later this month as I wanted to get that other bum tooth all taken care of before returning to regular programming. 

The tooth hole seems to be healing, but it's a weird feeling.  For so long I had a dull ache from that tooth, now it's gone.  When I'd get my heart rate up slightly, I could feel my pulse in that tooth, and that's gone too.  I could gauge my heart rate from my tooth, it was like a built-in monitor. 

What am I supposed to do now?!  Nevermind, I can get used to this.

where's the tooth fairy when you need her?

Yesterday, it was sunny and nearly 80 degrees as I was gallivanting on my bicycle for some excuse or other.  The main excuse was that I knew today would suck.  I checked the weather app this morning and wasn't surprised

It's yucky outside as I type.  Winter is... here?

But enough small talk about the weather.  It's been another busy and productive week, and I'm a bit grateful for some weather induced downtime.  For one, I got that cursed tooth removed yesterday afternoon.

And for all the trouble it gave me in the past 6 months or so, that tooth wasn't happy about leaving.  The oral surgeon was a pleasant man with nice chair-side manner.  But when push came to shove, he pushed and shoved and drilled and twisted and drilled some more and pushed and... well, you get the idea.

Now, here I sit in recovery with a big gaping hole in my head, but I'm glad that sick tooth is no more.  Dr. had to dig up into my sinus to get all the roots out, so the sinus feels weird and needs to heal up too. Among other things, I'm not allowed to

• blow my nose
• play a wind instrument
• blow up balloons

for at least two weeks.  Darn, there go my clown plans.

The avoidance of wind instruments and balloons is pretty easy to abide, but I keep thinking of how nice it would be to blow my nose like a real person.

When under such limitations, however, I think of my friend, Bunny.  A few years ago, Bunny had carpel tunnel surgery on both wrists at the same time.  She wasn't able to use her hands for two weeks afterward, so her husband was her hands for her during that time.

Think for a minute of all the things you do with your hands...

Yeah.

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Linking up with Mama Kat this week for the prompt:
3. Write a blog post inspired by the word: sick

at least the view was nice

I sat waiting for the inevitable confrontation.  This wouldn't be pleasant, but things needed to be said and acknowledged.

Things were so hopeful in the beginning, but alas, it wasn't to be.  Red flags revealed themselves early on, but I let them slide, thinking maybe we could salvage the relationship.  Maybe it was just typical adjustment period stuff.  Maybe it could work out for the long haul.

But who was I kidding?  Deep down, I knew from the start.  Something just wasn't right.  Life was good, I'd even say it was better than before. But... but...

He entered the room, and already I knew that he knew.  He looked so sad, so defeated.  He was sincerely apologetic.  He chalked it up as a loss, a loss that he mourned.  

I felt bad for him.  Honestly, I felt worse for him than I felt for myself.  

"It's not your fault", I assured him.  "I'd do the exact same thing again, not knowing the outcome.  Nothing is 100% guaranteed"...

That retrograde root canal - apicoectomy - I had six months ago?  Didn't work, long story short.

I'm now scheduled to have that bastard of a tooth extracted from my head next week.  Good riddance, I won't miss it.

I do feel bad for that endodontist, however.  

"It's not you, it's me"

boy jobs and girl jobs

I had a 6-month teeth cleaning and check-up yesterday.  I know everyone who just read that is wholly engaged now. 

So yes, a routine thing.  It so happens, though, that my dental hygienist is a man. 

Our dental office has three hygienists that I know of, and the other two are women.  I had been going to one of the women, but at some point, I needed to reschedule, and was scheduled with - let's call him - "Guy", who was new to the office.  I remember the scheduler asking me, "Are you okay that the hygienist is a man?"

"Uhm, yeah, sure", I replied.  But I guess it might be uncomfortable for some who are accustomed to a female hygienist.  Why should it matter?  Yes, it is a somewhat intimate procedure, I suppose.  It's not a profession that ever appealed to me.

And Guy is good at what he does.  He's also quite personable, which can be annoying in a dental situation.  In fact, everyone in the office, dentists included (there are 3 of those too), is quite friendly.  It's annoying because they're making interesting conversation while sticking instruments in my mouth.  Guy was talking about the local housing market after I'd told him we were clearing out our house and thinking of downsizing.  All I could respond with was, "aaaugh hhnnn" and "hckk kknng" and the like. 

He noticed the little "zit" I have on my gum at the site of my recent apicoectomy, or retrograde root canal I had back in March.  Then the (female) dentist came in, had a look, and diagnosed an infection and prescribed me some antibiotics.  Yuck.  I have a follow-up with the oral surgeon soon, so I can ask, "Dude, what's this?"

< This is not a picture of  MY gum zit, but close enough...


I had googled the zit thing when it first showed up.  As usual, when googling for medical answers, I learned that my gum zit was a normal part of the healing process or something that would kill me any day now. 



Also curious about the dental profession, I did a bit of googling there, and learned that female dentists account for about one third of dentists while male hygienists account for a little less than three percent of hygienists.  Guy is in a relatively small group.


Do you care what gender your dental hygienist is?  Do you have a gender preference when selecting a doctor or dentist?  

schooled

We took Meego back to school yesterday after his spring break.  As per usual, we took a little stroll around campus to stretch our legs before heading back home.  It was a nice evening, the ducks were out flapping and quacking, students were pedaling around on bicycles or recreating out on the various fields.

I was feeling reminiscent about the good old days of college and enjoying the campus scenery.  Then we walked into the student center, and I spotted a few students hunkered over notes and laptops, toiling over homework.  Reminiscent feelings gone.  *POOF*.  I remembered why I was glad to be finished.

This morning was more schooling.  I went in for my dental surgery to take care of that errant tooth.  Remember?  A couple weeks ago when I whined about it almost daily?

I first want to give a shout out to Pearl.  When I first whined on the blog that I had an old root canaled tooth that came back for a sequel, many, including myself, were surprised that root canals don't last forever.

Pearl, who as far as I know hadn't visited or commented here before or since, spoke the truth as it had happened to her:  "A trip to the oral surgeon where he cut open the gum in the area and cleaned out the infection soon had me feeling better. "

And I was all, "cut open the gum, what??"

I've learned that's typically how these things are treated, and when the endodontist told me that's what he wanted to do, I was not all, "cut open the gum, what??" because I'd heard it here first from Pearl.  So Pearl, if you're out there, thanks for filling me in!!

My dentist did prescribe me some antibiotics to quell the infection, so the tooth only throbbed for a couple of days while I waited for my surgery this morning.  As far as I know, everything went as planned and now I sit in a bit of swollen aftemath.

The procedure is called an apicoectomy, and an extra layer of interestingness was added because a dental school intern joined us to observe me being ripped apart, cleaned up, and restitched together.  As such, the surgeon was explaining everything he was doing, while I lay there like a med school cadaver.

Wanna see my stitches?  Too bad if "no".

There, I've done my part for the advancement of science today.  What's on Netflix?

thanks, may I have another?!

About 17 years ago, I had a toothache.

I went to the dentist.  Dentist said I needed a root canal.

Dentist performed a root canal and gave me a crown.

My tooth felt much  much better, and I wore my crown well.

This past Sunday night, I had a tinge of pain in my tooth.

By Monday afternoon, I could feel my heartbeat in my tooth?

Called the dentist, and got an appointment for this morning because blizzard's coming tomorrow.

Dentist says my 17-year-old root canal likely needs a redo.

That's a thing?

Googled.  Yes, that's a thing.

*SNIFF*  I thought it was forever...

love bites

I was with Meego.  We were walking down a long corridor in a very clean building at the perfect temperature.  After walking a bit, we came to a door.  A door that beckoned us inside.

I opened the door that had just the right amount of balance for it to open smoothly with a comfortable amount of resistance.  We were instantly greeted by a pleasant woman seated behind a stylish and clean counter.  She knew our names.

We were directed to take a seat in the airy, sublime area just beyond the stylish and clean counter.  Chairs were of just the right size and cushioning.  A flat screen television displayed "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" with video and audio settings that were just right.

Next to the TV was a tasteful magazine rack - mahogany perhaps? - holding a tidy variety of crisp magazines.

Another pleasant woman appeared and asked to take Meego.  I had no qualms about allowing him to go off alone with this stranger while I wrote things down on smooth, high-quality paper, with a pen that was oh so comfortable in my hand.

After a few minutes passed, she returned, asking me to follow.  There was no question that I would.

We passed through a very spacious sunny room with smooth wooden floors.  Huge windows provided an amazing view of a nearby private golf course and majestic mountains.  There were others in this blissful space - bodies suspended in the supine position.  I thought to myself, "They're either really relaxed or.... or...."  Were those people....   dead?

Then it occurred to me.  Was that what this place was?  Had Meego and I crossed over without realizing it? Was this place heaven??  I looked to the pleasant woman.  Grandma?

She sat behind a desk and gestured for me to sit as well, then she turned her computer screen towards me.

Back to reality.

No, we weren't in heaven.  We had entered... The Land of Orthodontia.

While growing up, the closest I came to orthodontics was witnessing my friends' braces and the hideous headgear they had to wear during slumber parties.  Chaco and Wolfgang both managed to avoid braces, so it only seems right that Meego should pick up the slack.

He's got bite issues, so we were referred to this ambrosial orthodontist practice and had our consultation yesterday.  I felt under dressed.

I've been to my share of dentist's offices and procedures, but this.. THIS!  We have arrived.  Thank goodness for insurance.

We go back tomorrow to get an impression for his bite plate.

I can hardly wait.
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Dad's wisdom

When I was a kid, my dad used to pull my teeth.  Soon after one showed the slightest sign of coming loose, he'd take me out back and punch me in the mouth.

Okay, it wasn't quite like that.

Actually, we'd go into the bathroom where he would wrap some floss around the short-timer and wiggle it and wiggle it and wiggle it until it came out.  His reasoning was that my mouth needed to be rid of the old teeth to make proper room for the new teeth, or else the new ones would come in crooked.  I guess there was method to his madness.  My teeth did come in pretty straight, and I avoided the whole social awkwardness that braces sometimes brought.

Eventually, I had kids of my own and made sure that their teeth came in straight too.

NOT!  You kidding?  Gross!

Surprisingly, though, we haven't had many teeth issues.  Yesterday, I was at the dentist with Meego for a checkup.  His teeth look straight enough to me, but apparently he's got some weird jaw curvature going on so that his back teeth hardly touch when he closes his mouth.

Looks like we're in for "Summer Dental Checkup, the Sequel".  "headgear", "appliances" were a couple of the words mentioned.  Braces probably after he loses all of the baby teeth, depending on how well the "headgear" and "appliances" work.  So now we have an appointment with the orthodonti$t in the very po$h office building with rather fancy busine$$ card$.  

Chaco also went in.  His teeth are fine and straight and without issues.

Except for maybe those wisdom teeth.  Yep, those should come out.  Dentist says he's right in the age window where people get their wisdom teeth removed, and that he should probably do it before school starts.  I thought about the stories I've heard of others' experiences of being doped up and getting their wisdom teeth out.

I've kept mine.  Yes, I have a couple of wise old teeth, and they're not going anywhere.  Apparently, I have - in technical dental terms - a "big mouth".


Headgear, appliances, braces, wisdom teeth removal.  I blame their father.  
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all I want for Christmas

The kids went back to school today. It's SO quiet. Hello? HELLO???

Anyway, I was reading about toothpaste and teeth whitening over at beej's. It got me thinking about teeth. One of the things I managed to mark off of my "to do" list over the winter (don't call it Christmas) break was getting all of the kids in for their dental checkups.

I myself, am overdue for a checkup, but I think I've spent my fair share of time in a dentist chair. I've mentioned here in passing that my two front teeth are fake, and I recall actually rehashing the whole ordeal once, a long time ago in a blog far far away.

Suffice it to say that, when I was 11 years old, I was riding skateboards with my friends one minute, and the next, I was involuntarily trying to eat the street. I've never seen my mom freak out like that before or since.

Several dental appointments later, I had earned a "million dollar smile, or close to it" and I think the dentist put an addition on his house. But at least I could eat apples and fried chicken again.

Then again, about 6 years ago, my dentist said one of the crowns needed to be replaced. He went on to explain that since there had been such great advancements in the realistic look of front crowns, I should have them both replaced at the same time so they would match. That made sense. Extra money for him too, yeah, but it made sense about the whole symmetry thing. My mouth.

So, I guess figuring that he had managed to tack on the extra crown so may as well get more, he told me I should have a complete whitening treatment at the same time to make the rest of my teeth match my pretty new crowns.

Hold the phone.

Hadn't he just got through telling me that the new and improved crowns of today looked so real? Ultra white teeth don't look real. I declined the whitening treatment and told him I wanted crowns that looked real. I think he was bummed.

I remember the dental assistant telling me that they were going to make me look like a "Movie Star!" She never mentioned any specific names though. *ahem*.

My falsies. Do they look real?

So now I've got new-and-improved-coffee-and-tea-stained-hold-the-whitening-treatment real looking front crowns.

The Dentist and his wife went on a cruise shortly afterward.
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