Anyway, I took the kids to school, dropped the dog off at Doggy Daycare and went home. I was meeting a friend at 10.15 to go shopping for a wedding outfit and when I saw her I ended up just crying. I think having a crap morning, being knackered and also really apprehensive about the tooth extraction had just built up and I couldn’t hold it all in. We went into town and planned to hit all the shops but after trying on just 2 dresses in 3 different shops I had to admit defeat and listen to my body. I went home and climbed into bed and had an hours nap before going to the hospital.
Hubby wasn’t working that afternoon so he drove me but wasn’t allowed to come in to the clinic with me so waited in the car. Whilst sitting in the waiting area I heard the woman next to me moaning that she had been kept waiting for over 90 minutes so prepared myself for a long wait but just as I got my book out my name was called! There was obviously more than once clinic running and I was lucky that mine was running to time.
I was taken to the room by the dental nurse and she introduced me to the dental surgeon, her assistant and another dental nurse who was new to the hospital so just observing. I had planned to take my headphones with me cause I think the noises the dentist’s tools make are horrible and part of what makes the experience so horrid, but I had left them in the car. However, the nurse put the radio on for me and although I couldn’t really hear it once we got started I appreciated the gesture.
I was having the tooth out using local anaesthetic and part of what worried me was that it might not take effect properly. When I had my last Hickman line in I ended up having to have a huge dose of local, much bigger than they would normally have to use, and it didn’t work enough to block out all the pain. The dental surgeon injected me with two big syringes full of anaesthetic and left them to work. However when she came to test if I could feel anything by prodding the area with something sharp I most definitely could. So a couple more were given which did the trick.
I don’t know why I was so nervous about having the tooth out. I’ve had major bowel surgery multiple times, spinal surgery twice, 14 Hickman lines pushed through my chest wall, not to mention all the other medical procedures and tests I’ve had over the years and none of them shit me up quite like this appointment. However, I have to say that the team that took the tooth out were amazing. It clearly wasn’t an easy extraction as it took the best part of an hour and she had to resort to drilling the roots out as they wouldn’t budge when she tried to pull them. And of course, as is usually the case with me, it wasn’t straightforward. Lower molars usually have two roots but this particular tooth had a 3rd root that hadn’t shown up on the X-ray. Apparently this affects less than 4% of people in Europe (source) but is more common in people of Asian and Native American descent. See, you learn stuff reading this blog! The first root came out fairly easily but the other two seemed to want to stay put.
During my time in the chair I tried really hard to focus on my breathing. The night before in yoga we had done some breathing work so I repeated what we had practiced. I breathed in for 3, held it for 3 and breathed out for 3. While I was focusing on breathing I was also imagining my ‘happy place’ which for me is a beautiful little harbour beach in Cornwall. Doing this helped to take my mind off all the pulling, cracks, pressure and everything else that was going off in my mouth.
Eventually the whole tooth was out and it was only then that I realised I was shaking like a leaf. I needed to have some stitches put in and then I had to bite down on a piece of gauze to stop the bleeding. They asked me to stay put in the chair while they cleared everything away and then went through the after care information. I had to rest for the remainder of the day and couldn’t do any bending or heavy lifting (not that I had any planned!) What I did have planned for that evening though was a night out with friends to see Sarah Millican. I wasn’t sure I would feel like going but dosed myself up on morphine and after a couple of hours in bed went out.
I’m not sure going to see a comedian was a good idea or not. She was hilarious so that took my mind off the pain but by the interval my face was even more sore from laughing so in the second half I had to try not to laugh. Which I have to say is easier said than done with Sarah Millican! I’m glad I went though as she was brilliant, as was her support act Hayley Ellis.
Since Wednesday the pain has been manageable up until today where it’s completely floored me. Instead of spending Mothers Day doing something nice with the kids I’ve been in bed, feeling like shite. My mouth is throbbing, I’ve got pain in my face and jaw and I generally feel crap. I’m hoping that this isn’t a sign of it being infected (or covid as I was with my FIL yesterday morning at Big Fella’s football match and he tested positive later in the day). If it doesn’t improve I will have to ring the dentist to get them to take a look, after doing a LFT!
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