I've had a long run with some tooth issues that all culminated in the delivery of two crowns and two implants this morning. I've been missing one molar since the point we got the playground for our back yard before my son was two-years-old. I remember swinging on the new swing set with a bleeding hole in my jaw and being sad about losing the tooth. Some time later I had a root canal on the tooth that was next to that missing tooth. That root canal turned into a root extraction surgery and ultimately another tooth extraction.
So then I had two missing molars on my upper left side. I didn't like to smile big for fear it would be obvious. After months of healing and bone regrowth I had implant screws put in and then after six months of waiting for the screws to integrate with the jaw I had the crowns delivered (today.) Now, I have two "teeth" on my left where there had only been metal screws or partial teeth or painful teeth before.
My right side had some temporary crowns and for three weeks I had problems with one coming off due to the situation with the tooth. It would have happened to anyone, but since my neighbor was my dentist, he just loaned me some of his tools and some temporary glue and when it came out, I'd scrape it clean, stick it in the ultrasonic cleaner and then glue it back in so the tissues would stay in place for the final crown.
For the last three weeks things have been sketchy as I avoided chewing on the side with teeth for fear of losing one or more than one temporary crown and attempting to chew on a side with the molars missing altogether. I just had to hold on while the final crowns were being built at the various labs. Then, this morning, they were all cemented in.
When I left the dentist's office I had been given the go-ahead to "chew anything." I had joked, saying I was going to go find a bison leg to chew on for dinner. Not knowing where to get bison legs, I went to Whole Foods and walked around, looking for the thing I most wanted to eat first with my new teeth. I wanted something chewy yet crunchy. I needed to see if everything worked and worked without discomfort. I found this:
I chewed on the left. I chewed on the right. I chewed on both sides at the same time, something I haven't done in a long time. Nothing hurt. Nothing was uncomfortable. Nothing felt like it was about to fall out and need re-gluing. My whole mouth was working again!
I went home and the afternoon went uneventfully. We had a collection of neighbors out in the back yard and one mentioned her father making that, "terrible venison jerky" to her mother. "What," I thought? I told them it sounded great to me. They offered to bring me some and when they did I gnawed into it and chewed the tough meat on both sides of my mouth. I was so excited about how well my teeth were performing I ate the entire bag they brought me.
What a great day.
The Big Boy Update: My children both selected corn kernels for their side dish at lunch. As they were scooping up spoonfuls and eating the corn my daughter called it, "popcorn." My son replied, "it's not called popcorn, it's called rice." A discussion ensued in which neither child seemed to care that my husband was telling them it was called corn.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter picked up a book she'd never seen before at her friend's house this afternoon. As she walked across the driveway she said, "once upon a time..." Were do they learn these things? Most books don't start with that line and yet children know it.
Fitness Update: Uncle Jonathan, Eleanor and I ran five miles in twenty-eight degree weather this morning. Three of us running and chatting and laughing in the dark must have scared at least a few neighbors in their beds.
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