The Tooth Saga

Here's the story of my day today. Well, first let me start with what happened on Sunday. Well, let me give a little background. After each meal, I floss. For years, when I was younger, every time I went to the dentist for a cleaning, the hygenist would urge me to floss. I would floss for the first few days and then quit. I hated twirling my fingers around that "string" and shoving both hands in my mouth.

Finally, they came out with those individual flossing things, the dentist called them sword flossers, cause there was a toothpick end and a floss end and it looked like a buccaneer's sword. I loved them. They worked great.......I got addicted to them. I carry 10 or 20 in my purse. There's a package in both bathrooms and beside my chair where I watch tv or read. I use them every time I eat.....anything. I really am addicted to them--but it's a good addiction!

Back to Sunday. So after dinner, I was flossing. It seemed like I had some sand in my mouth and I thought, "Now where did that come from?" Then I felt my lower last molar--part of the filling had broken off. Oh great! I haven't found a dentist in our new community(well.......not so new, we've been here a year, already). I went to my former dentist for 40 years--I'm not exaggerating, I first went to him when I was 19 and now I am......do the math. I just didn't know how to pick a dentist, so I kept putting it off. When my filling kept crumbling more and more I called mom and asked her for her dentist's name and number, cause I knew she just loved him. I was going to drive 200 miles to go to a dentist that I knew I would like. I got an appointment for next Tuesday, the 15th.

The filling kept crumbling and food kept getting stuck there and I kept flossing and finally today, the whole front of the filling came out. The interior of my tooth was exposed and I knew I just couldn't wait any longer to see a dentist. So I called West Coast Dental Clinic. They said they could take me as soon as I could get there and they would squeeze me in. They did and now I have a brand new filling. That's the good news.

The bad news is, I have 2 more fillings that have to be replaced. I am a teeth grinder & clencher when I sleep. I have worn a night guard on my teeth since I was 19, but I also clench my teeth during the day. I also eat ice compulsively. I love foods that are very hard and very crunchy--you know, like Cornnuts, hard french bread, Jordan almonds, etc. But most of all I love ice. I love a big glass of ice water and once the water is gone, there's my favorite thing, the ice. I buy ice by the 20 pound sack causeI don't like icemaker ice. Yecch. I want the clear, hard stuff.

I was informed by this dentist today that I have fractures in most of my teeth and I must immediately and forever stop chewing on ice and all other hard and crunchy foods. That was quite a paradigm shift for me. My teeth have always been strong. I guess when you get older, even your teeth age. This will be a new eating challenge, for sure. Lord willing and hopefully with His strength, I can change my eating habits.