Bye Bye Wisdom Teeth!

When I was in college, my dentist told me that I should have my wisdom teeth removed.

I was planning on studying aboard in Chile.

My parents told me that they couldn't pay for me to do both so I'd have to choose.

I picked South America.

...

When I lived in Albuquerque, my dentist told me that should have my wisdom teeth removed.

He also told me that he wouldn't do it because one of my teeth was pretty close to a nerve.

We recommended that I go to an oral surgeon. 

But Sean had recently graduated and started working and we didn't have the money.

Plus, I was nursing Avery.

...

Fast forward to last month.

I was in horrible, horrible pain for a few days.

The back on my mouth was throbbing. 

I finally went in to get it checked out.

I had a piece of food get stuck behind one of my wisdom teeth and was causing the pain.

My dentist recommended that I have the teeth removed.

He told me he pull all four teeth for just under $600.

He said that he wasn't worried about my nerve. He was sure he could do it.

Sean and I decided to go for it because we finally could afford it and I wasn't pregnant or nursing.

...

Here's my before pictures...

Well, my dentist was sure in for a surprise.

I have the hardest, most stubborn teeth ever!

He tried and he tried to get my teeth out. He broke them up piece by piece 

but after three hours he gave up.

He had only removed a tooth and a half.

He told me that I needed to go to an oral surgeon.

I was so upset and worried about the cost.

Luckily, my dentist didn't charge me a penny for the work he had done that day.

This is what I looked like when I got home...

The next morning I went to an oral surgeon to finish the job.

He was a friend of my dentist so he worked me in and he gave me a discount.

I ended up spending just over $1000 for everything.

...

I don't remember too much about that day.

I remember getting the laughing gas as they were giving me an IV 

and then the next thing I remember is waking up in another room and hearing Sean's voice.

I also remember getting upset because they had thrown away my teeth.

I had meant to ask them to save them but they knocked me out so quickly.

This is what I looked like when I got home from the surgeon...

And here I am the day after surgery.

I have a fat face.

And here I am using a Jaw Bra that I borrowed from a friend.

It was an awesome ice pack.

And here I am two days after surgery.

I started getting a bruise on my cheek. 
 The bruise got a lot bigger and darker but I never took a picture of it.

Four days after surgery I wasn't feeling any better.
In fact, I started feeling worse!
Sean was worried that I might be developing dry socket.
Dry socket is when you don't form blood clots and your nerves are exposed.
And I did in the middle of the night.
I have never experience so much pain in my life!
I laid awake that whole night just crying in pain. Nothing would take away the pain.
The next morning, Sean called my oral surgeons office but he was sick with the stomach flu.
So Sean called my dentist and he came into the office hours before he was scheduled to just for me!
He numbed me, cleaned out the wound, and packed it with medication.
That night I developed dry socket on the other side of the mouth.
So the next morning I went back to my dentist. He didn't charge me anything for those two visits.
...
I found out that women are more likely than men to get dry socket.
Also, the older you are the higher your chances of getting dry socket.
And the longer it takes to remove a tooth the higher your chances are of getting dry socket.
All three of those applied to me!
Also, when I was seeing my dentist for dry socket,
he asked me if I had been swishing things in my mouth.
I told him I had all the time.
He told me I could have swished out the blood clots that were covering up my nerves.
The surgery never told me to not swish liquids in my mouth.
The paper I was sent home with send to do a salt rinse 3-4 times a day and not to use mouth wash.
...
 A week after surgery, I went off prescription pain medication.
And a few days after that I stopped using Tylenol.
And a few days after that, I chewed something for the first time.
...
I am no longer sore.
But if feels really awkward to chew.
I still have giant holes in the back of my mouth so I don't like chewing with my molars.
So I've been chewing with the teeth in the front of my mouth which is so strange.
I am still supposed to be cleaning out my holes several times a day.
....

And here's my mouth today, 2 1/2 weeks after surgery.

You can see some stitches still (notice the arrow).

You can also see a small piece of food stuck in my hole right behind the stitches. 

Gross, I know but this is my life right now.

I have to say that even though this was one of the worse experiences of my life, 

I feel so loved and so blessed.

I received so much service through all this.

I had a friend take me to and from the dentist, people watch my kids several times, a friend watched the kids I nanny for me, I received priesthood blessings, flowers, help cleaning my house, company, dinner, dessert, lots of pudding and jello, juices and smoothies.