Behold the teeth of a man who had not been to the dentist in twenty-five years!!!

Today I underwent a procedure to have two of my teeth removed. It went pretty well. One of the teeth was extremely stubborn coming out, and yet it was still only half an hour or so. I had expected more of a hassle. Even the people working there were very nice.

But man this stuff they used to freeze my face has done its job. It feels extremely weird even now, about an hour later. I almost want it to wear off so I can deal with normal pain instead of weird tingling. I may regret that later today, but for now, that feels like what I’d want.

For the record, I did not get to keep the teeth. They had to be shattered to pieces to get them out of there. Still, they will not be forgotten.

Haiku!

Two loyal molars.
They chewed things well for decades.
Heroes of the jaw.

Anyway, I have cavities being filled next month, so until then, that’s probably it for teeth.

If I run my finger along my forehead I can feel this line or ridge or something that makes me wonder if my skull doesn’t some kind of crack-like thing on the front there. Like something out of a Halloween cartoon.

I am wondering about this right now because in less than ten hours I will be going in to get two of my molars removed. That is definitely the sort of thing that makes one’s skull look subtly but significantly different.

It’s definitely going to be strange having two molars gone. I’m gonna have to re-learn to chew, basically. But these molars served me well for as long as they could, and to celebrate them I bought two Skor bars earlier in the week so their final days on the job would really show how good they were. Farewell, teeth! I don’t know what they do with the teeth once their removed. I kinda hope that they let me keep them.

Here’s a thing about PDR: I hadn’t been to the dentist in the entire time I have had this site. Even if we count Contains2! Basically, I hadn’t been to see a dentist since at some point in my late teens. I’d estimate it as being about twenty-five years since the last time my teeth have been professionally cleaned.

There are plenty of reasons for it. Foremost is the money. Dentists are expensive and most of those twenty-five years were not times I had a lot of money. But even during my brief era of having cash, I didn’t go. I always took pretty good care of my teeth, I though, so was it needed? I’m generally nocturnal, so making dental appointments is annoying. Probably there was some fear of dental pain in play, but I don’t know. In any case, decades pass faster than we want them to.

A couple months ago one of my teeth broke in half. Basically, I couldn’t remain indifferent, it was time to go to a dentist. So last Friday I finally got in there for a checkup. The news wasn’t great. Five cavities and two teeth that need to be removed (including that broken one, of course). Sure, it’s 25 years worth of dental problems all at once, but it still feels like a lot. It definitely made me doubt that I was actually taking good care of my teeth in all that time.

But yesterday I had my first dental cleaning in all that time. This time it felt like I got a better response. The hygienist tells me that my teeth actually did not have as much buildup as would be expected in all that time. Sure, still five cavities and two teeth that need to come out (scheduled for the 31st), but hey, at least those hole-ridden teeth don’t have a lot of buildup.

Let’s just hope that the money lasts for a while…

I have been brushing my teeth for decades. I have been using this one sink in my apartment for something like nine years. After all that time and all that experience, when am I going to stop spitting on the faucet? This happens at least once a month.

In the interest if keeping track of all the dream cliches I manage to experience I will point out that I had a nap today in which I dreamed my teeth were falling out. I’ve always heard that that is one of the very most popular dreams people can have, but I’d never had one so far as I can remember.

Full disclosure: My teeth didn’t actually fall out, but they were trying to and I had to keep my jaw clenched so they would stay where they are. I was all talking through my teeth while trying to arrange a dental appointment. That counts right? Right? Yeah, probably that counts.