It was the first time I could really feel how screwed up my teeth are. They don't line up with one another like normal because there are so many pieces missing. I also kept tapping my fractured tooth accidentally as I spoke, which was very painful. I'll have to learn how to close reliably without hitting it the wrong way.
Then the doc stretched my mouth open with his fingers a little bit. He was impressed with how wide it got, but I was floored--literally. I started to get light-headed and tunnel vision from the discomfort, my blood pressure dropped to about 80/50, and they had to recline the chair and get me some ginger ales. I got better quickly, but it was still a lot to go through.
Bottom line on going forward:
- Doing stretching exercises, just using my hand to open my jaw wide, 3-5x daily, 5 reps per set,
- Wearing 2 rubber bands instead of wires. They're really easy to manage.
- Able to take off the bands to eat (no chewing!) and clean
- I can finally eat pureed food that isn't diluted!
I had completely normal scrambled eggs today and it was glorious. Even eating small spoonfuls very gingerly got me through two eggs way faster than through a straw. And so much tastier. On the menu today is going to be some pureed mac & cheese with tuna salad, and pasta with sauce for dinner.
I'm so excited.
On the flip side, when I do the stretching exercises I can feel either latent injuries or atrophy in my teeth. Every tooth feels sensitive when I press against them. I imagined that chewing would have been off-limits at first because of muscle atrophy, but maybe it's because of tooth sensitivity? It could just be that when I hit the floor I really hurt my mouth.
If so, I'm apprehensive about the dentist and the reconstructive process. I could be eating purees for a long time.
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