#Gum Surgery

[martianbugsbunny]

Just watched the Girl in the Fireplace and apparently that's the episode I associate with the time I had a gum surgery and was laid up in bed watching David Tennant to feel better

[wordsnthingsnstuff]

gum surgery

Dear stitches on the roof of my mouth, I know you're there. I feel you. Constantly. I try to forget you, but you keep reminding me Just as you slip my mind, my tounge twitches and the texture tugs the twine. Two weeks to go. Will I lose my mind?

[lortontowndental]

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[chronicallycouchbound]

If you have chronic nerve pain (trigeminal neuralgia) due to your broken wisdom tooth like I do, here’s my list of things to try for pain management. These things might help for other chronic or acute facial nerve pain issues, jaw pain, broken teeth, wisdom tooth pain, toothache, etc.

• Ibuprofen, Tylenol and most medications severely interact with my other conditions, especially my stomach conditions, so I avoid them as much as possible. Liquid versions aren’t as bad if I can find dye free, citric acid free, versions in flavors I’m not allergic to. These can help for a lot of people though, just ask your dr if you’re unsure.

• Brushing the broken area, gently, to clean out any food particles that might be stuck in it is hit or miss but can make a difference. It’s always sore for a while after brushing so that’s a con

• I make homemade clove tinctures with vodka and whole and ground cloves. I let it sit in a glass container in a cool,dark place for as long as possible and shake it when I see it (keep it with your spices you’ll remember it more). Then I take a gauze pad and get a dropper full and put it on it. Both cloves and vodka have anesthetic properties and can numb it for a bit. It’s a very temporary solution, also can cause soreness from pressure on the tooth.

• Hot pad on the cheek can cause soreness too (a running theme) BUT it helps a lot especially with cold sensitivity. After you remove the hot pad you can be extra sensitive to the cold or drafts in the air so that sucks too but it passes after a couple mins usually.

• Waterpik flossers are great for sensitive mouth issues, and clean out the tooth area with minimal soreness. Great but takes more spoons to do than toothbrushing and is less portable.

• CBD oil is hit or miss. I have other serious chronic pain disorders and just like many generalized pain management options, it can sometimes get rid of the headache I didn’t notice anymore or the joint pain I dissociate out of existence. Like yeah, glad thats gone but it just makes me focus on the other pain more. Some CBD options aren’t strong enough to do shit for me.

• Warm salt water gargle/rinse is helpful for me most of the time, and it is really important to keep any broken teeth very, very clean due to infection risk. The warmth and salt can help with the pain overall though and so far doesn’t have negative effects for me. It’s very mild in terms of managing the pain though, it’s like a soft gentle kiss on a boo-boo. Feels nice in the moment but when you’re done it usually just goes back to the pain your had.

• TENS units might work for you. I have several electrical abnormalities in my heart so I’m not allowed to use TENS but I’ve heard they can help. Definitely ask a dr first for this one though because I don’t know all the safety risks especially with facial pain

• Warm environments with no drafts or wind, ideal for this pain, for me is not ideal bc of my cardiac issues.

• Medical ultrasound machine, I’ve used these for other conditions in PT and they help a lot!! I don’t know if you can get these outside of a medical setting, especially for a reasonable price, but a provider might be able to help with this. There is the ultrasound goop they put on wherever they do it though so like, might not be fun and also might be a bit sore after?

• Last resort: adult beverages so I’m not paying attention to the pain. Works best for sleeping for me, but obviously has it’s drawbacks.

I avoid:

- Cold environments

- Drafts and wind on my face

- Cold foods

- Hard foods

- Sleeping on the side that hurts

- Chewing on that side

- Talking too much, chewing gum, etc.

- Going anywhere without at least one pain management option available

- Trying to sleep without a pain management option or plan ready to go

- Not brushing my teeth, at minimum I use mouthwash after meals

And some important reminders:

• Watch out for signs of infection and get treatment ASAP. Dental infections are no joke and can be life threatening quickly, especially if you have certain medical conditions such as heart valve disorders (like me).

• These recommendations are from personal experience, talk to your medical providers to see if they’re right for you. I am not a doctor just a humble chronically ill person.

• These are not a replacement for actual medical treatments for your condition, you should still see a professional if you can.

• Many insurances don’t cover dental, dental issues are more common amongst poor people, rooted in the idea that you can still work with fucked up teeth or without teeth . Hence why they’re called “luxury bones”

[folksy]

having my first ever surgery in a few weeks but it’s pretty noninvasive and easy recovery

[marzipanandminutiae]

well my gums are grafted

I feel weirdly tired for not having been sedated at all

also I had to pee the whole time because I drank too much water beforehand; oops. at least it was a bit of a distraction? (thankfully the anesthetic was quite thorough, though; I didn't need much distracting because I could hardly even feel pressure)

[actualmichelle]

i made my dentist appointment 😩

[zeravmeta]

im about to rip out this wisdom tooth with my bare fucking hands

[prosopopeya]

anxiety is funny bc one time I saw this dentist/hygienist team who I now think maybe was just awful? or had bad bedside manner? bc they told me I had all these pockets in my gums and my gums were all receding and I needed a deep cleaning and to do all this other stuff, which I did for months, but none of it worked and they kept stressing me out about my gums.

I see a new dentist and my gums don’t have pockets, what? they’re irritated maybe but i don’t have pockets. and then my vit d gets sorted and my gums haven’t had any problems since.

anyway except today I find out the little flap of skin connecting my lip to my gums is pulling and making my gums recede (happens sometimes, based on your genes) and I have to go see a periodontist. I ask my dentist like, please, please brace me for anything else this guy might say about my gums. Other than this am I good?

The dentist checks and then is like yeah no you’re good but like……. I’d expect him to maybe suggest a gum graft for this pulling

and still I’m just like mostly relieved I won’t have to talk about pockets on my gums.

[pyporapy]

Everytime I want to try something new I walk up to Grisha and say “take the shirt off white boy”

[carcarrot]

am i allowed to have not great teeth if i just ask really niceys

[livefromthegallows]

i'm taking my stuffed horse to the dentist tomorrow and no one can fucking stop me not even my dad

[heartyearning]

for some reason you have to be 23 to get a tooth implant so i NEEEEEEEEDDDD this one tooth to hold out for a year and a month. but on the other hand i kinda want it out of my mouth. but am i brave enough (hashtag girl) to live with a very visibly missing tooth. is the question.

[fruitcage]