All I Want for Christmas......

Thanks, Bryan, for this joke.  Not just a blond joke but a commentary on our life and times!!

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Well, as it turns out this year, all I want for Christmas are my (lower) front teeth!!  This may qualify for the "more than you need to know" category, but I'm having a bridge replaced and thought it would be a simple process.  It's a bridge that I've had since my 30s and which lasted until a couple of years ago when I had it replaced for the first time.  As it turned out, that was a botched job - I noticed that it seemed to feel different and when I went to the periodontist, they did x-rays.  The post should have been vertical and in the root canal; however, it was almost at a 45 degree angle, had split the tooth and was pressing against the next tooth!!  So, the bridge had to be cut out, the split tooth pulled and two implants installed ($$$$)!   Even so, it seemed pretty straightforward.  One implant went in easily, but the other required every tool of agony in his arsenal - drill bits of every size, a jack hammer type tool, a ratchet, you name it!!  Twice he hit a "squirter" and blood squirted over my face and onto him - it was beginning to look like a scene from ER, and I knew there wasn't going to be an easy aftermath.  Once it was over, I had to sit a while until the bleeding stopped, but it began again big time on my way home (and continued to a lesser degree until I went to bed)!   Following the appointment with the periodontist, I had an appointment with the dentist who was going to install a temporary bridge (for 3 months, during which I can't bite with it until the bone and tissue grow around the post).  He took one look at the bleeding and swelling and sent me home, to return the next day.  On the following day, he recommended that I wait until I was seen again by the periodontist next week, which was fine with me - I definitely did not want anyone probing around in there until things are better.  So, since Tuesday I've been walking around without my lower front teeth, but with a swollen jaw and a purple bruise  - not a pretty sight!!  The only saving grace is that my bottom teeth hardly show, so it isn't as bad as it could be - and it gives me practice in keeping my mouth shut, a virtue I need to develop anyway!! My mother also has teeth that need to be pulled and lower dentures made, and we will be dealing with that as soon as we can.  So the running joke is that "all we want for Christmas are our teeth!!"

Otherwise, things have been going pretty well.  We've both had plenty to do and have been in good humor and relaxed.  It's been good; however, today my mother was nauseous through the night and into the morning, not getting out of bed until about 2PM.  Over the last few months she has lost about 15 pounds and, since being down here, I realize it's because she has been living on saltines and milk, which is one of the few things that doesn't irritate her system.  This is a recurring problem and her doctor down here has referred her to a gastrointestinal specialist, whom we won't see until the 20th unless there is a cancellation.  She wouldn't go to an earlier appointment with a specialist made by her doctor at home, so I'm hoping it isn't a problem here.  The problem isn't going to get better unless they can determine the cause.....and she doesn't want to do an endoscopy.  So, we shall see.  Keep us in your thoughts.....

You may have noticed that I haven't raved about the weather lately!  Winter has arrived and it's cold.  This coming Tuesday the high is to be 40F!  I've bundled up and continued with my walking until this tooth business, but I've felt and looked so bad that I've only walked one of the last 4 days.  I'm hoping I'll feel like getting back to it before too much time passes.  With me, broken routines are quickly forgotten - not a good thing!

I hope your holidays are merry and bright.