Extraction

Do you remember where you learned about wisdom teeth? because I don't. If I had to guess, I'd say TV most likely. I was fortunate to be able to go to the dentist regularly growing up. It was scary, but I generally liked it. Our dentist had some toys in the lobby. Look up "bead maze". They had other toys or games, too, I'm sure, but for some reason I associate that with the dentist. The lights were always dim in the waiting area because they would project a movie onto the wall too. Now, I didn't like going to the dentist because I didn't like getting a teeth cleaning. I really didn't like how it felt or tasted after or during either. I also didn't like getting asked if I flossed and then hearing that I needed to floss more; granted that was totally my fault because I wasn't flossing. At some points I had to get some dental work done for cavities. I'm not sure if I was ever put under sedation. I do remember getting the numbing gel put on and then getting the anesthesia injection. Oh man, I really did not like that. I didn't like how the numbing gel would have to be on there for a while; I didn't know what to do with the saliva. I didn't want to swallow it because I thought it would make my throat numb too, and also it tasted bad. And on top of that! The shot would still hurt so bad! Though, maybe it hurt less than it would without the numbing gel.

I had to go to the dentist a few months ago because the top of my crown on my very back molar started to chip off. No one that's looked at it seemed very concerned about it. I still had my wisdom teeth, though, so I had to get that dealt with first. I went in for a consultation and figured they would only take out the one next to the molar, but after the x-ray they scheduled me for all four. I hadn't been to the dentist since I was a kid (not great, I know), so I was scared of the procedure. They made me watch an informational video about the process, the dangers, basically about what to expect.

When I got to my appointment, my dental surgeon talked with me for a bit and she said that if the other side didn't hurt, she didn't have to take those out. Imagine my relief! She also pointed out that since they were fully grown, they would be tougher to remove and recover. So when she asked if I wanted to leave those in, I told her that they didn't hurt or bother me. Of course, once the two were removed, my other side felt off. I felt this sense of relief on the removed side and so much tension on the other. It could all literally be just psychological, but it really did feel that way to me. I let the first set recover and I kept noticing how my jaw would not settle. I scheduled another appointment to get the other side removed. Once I got to the dentist, the surgeon looked at my x-rays and recommended that I only do the bottom one since that one was where most of the irritation seemed to be focused. She also wanted to be extra cautious because my top one was close to my nerves and bone. I didn't know how to argue with that and honestly I thought that the bottom one really was the culprit.

What a relief! When she removed the first two, the pain was all that I could focus on. But after this extraction, I just felt relief on that side of my jaw. I was sore for a bit, but no where near the recovery pain from the first extractions. Unfortunately for me, the top section where my last tooth was felt the same as the bottom had before the extraction. How ridiculous to have three procedures done when I could have just done it in one sitting! I decided to let the area heal first before scheduling anything because I didn't want to have to go back. After some time, though the tension and irritation would not let up. I tried not focusing on it because I know sometimes if I let myself focus on an issue or irritation for long enough it really does become an issue. And there were times when I was able to get it out of my consciousness; inevitably, it would come up again. I scheduled the last appointment.

I was probably the most nervous about this last appointment. Maybe equally nervous about the first one, but for different reasons. The first time around I was hoping that they wouldn't make me take out all of them. This last time I was hoping that they would let me take out this last one. I was scared that the tooth was too much of a danger or too complicated. They took one last x-ray before proceeding. And they put on some numbing gel. Oh no! My friend had told me the day before how she had gotten a tooth extracted and they didn't sedate her for it so she was wide awake during the whole process. That's what was about to happen here. Now I was really scared because I would be awake for this and imagine if it really was a complicated situation! The shots came next and it did hurt, but it wasn't as bad as I remembered. I just tried to be as relaxed as I could after she asked her assistant to hand over the knife. Someone else asked her something and I heard her say, "about 20 minutes here". Twenty minutes?! I probably did tense up, but again tried to settle in because I would be sitting there for a bit. HOWEVER! And thank God for this! Not even five minutes later she goes "ok, all done". Apparently in my case, my x-rays made it seem more complicated than it actually was. Because of its position, she had prepped me on taking extra precautions during the healing process because of the possible impact on my sinuses. She told me I could disregard it because they didn't go near any nerves. The tooth just popped right out. They didn't have to touch any bone either!

There are lessons in here somewhere, I know. I could have just done it all the first round. I could have insisted the second round. I'm just glad that it's over now. I know that I'll never know why I went about it like this or why they let me go about it like this. The most complicated tooth ended up being the easiest to extract. I kept telling myself and my friends that I felt like if God would allow for this process to unravel this way, it might have been to give time for everything to be in position properly. And I even felt ridiculous then saying that because most people do just do it all in one go. Whatever the case may be, I'm grateful to feel normal again. I'm grateful for the complete relief! And genuinely, like, come on! That the tooth with the most concerns: it was close to nerves, close to bone, deeply rooted... that it would just pop out? Grateful for the gift of this dental team! And grateful for the time I had to reflect, meditate, pray throughout this experience.