Toothday

I drank Cokes. At night, while I was pregnant. Lots of them. It is amazing Bella is as calm as she is. I worked twelve hour shifts. By the time I had the money to try to fix my teeth, every dentist told me ridiculous amounts- 4-7,000 dollars. Even when I did have insurance, they had these rules like paying only part, or after one year of paying, due the preexisting condition.Blah, blah, SO again, I waited. It was easier and cheaper to keep paying for my kids and husband to keep their teeth, One day, I realized that I would have dentures if I did not fix my teeth. I started working on my teeth. It is painful and expensive, but I am working very hard to pay for it.

Today, I had a tooth pulled, it went something like this....

I was escorted in to the office, I was nervous. I hate dental work. It is the single most anxiety producing thing I go through. I sit in the chair and talk to the dental assistant, Lee Ann, about Joel playing ball with the Dentist's husband and about how hard it is to pull my teeth. The assistants switch places and Roseanna comes in. We joke a little bit about Roseanna, Roseanna, Danna. Old Saturday Night Live. Then the gas mask goes on.
The gas mask always makes me a little more nervous for a few seconds, then it settles. I am generally a pretty anxious person. I tense up pretty easily, I may not always show it, but at the dentist, it stands out. So when the shots went in, I tensed up. I hate that about myself. I took deep breaths and let go. I started to realize that she probably thought she was hurting me when I did the deep breathing thing.

My dentist, is a lovely lady. I really like her. I have never been treated with such courtesy and compassion. I even had a moment, where I was so proud of her. I was so happy that she went through the effort to become a dentist. I was so grateful. I even felt proud, being that she was a woman. It hurt very little, it was uncomfortable, lots of pressure. I thought about my roots. I am told they are curved. They are long and strong. Thus, it took a really long time to pull.

I couldn't help but start entertaining thoughts about a way to graft fake teeth to the roots. It seems a shame to waste them. In my mind I began to engineer a device that allows the root system to anchor the implanted tooth. Then, I am jolted back to intense pressure. It is kinda like having a baby with no prize at delivery. I breathe again, to cope, again I am quizzed about the pain. I wonder, is it part of the training to ask about pain every time the patient breathes deeply? Or is she just really sweet?
I felt like right in the middle of it God's peace just floated on top of me and I teared with joy. Mouth open, tooth almost out, peace that transcends. Thanks for praying Brandi. God is faithful.

For those of you still having kids- DO NOT DRINK COKES WITHOUT BRUSHING YOUR TEETH AFTERWARDS! And floss...

In the end the tooth was out, I was relieved. My sweet husband had retrieved my pain medicine and we were on the way home.