To the Dentist I Go
So, I hate my teeth. For whatever reason I am the only one in my family who doesn't have naturally straight teeth (except Kennan, but he had braces, and now his teeth rock too.) I have always been a bit self-conscious about them, sometimes more than others, but I still try not to hide my smile. I always get annoyed when I hear anyone talk about girls and how cute they are, except for her teeth. Grr...Totally shallow. I mean, I have crappy teeth, but I'm pretty awesome, right?
Since Scleroderma has caused my face to tighten, and once awesome lips to shrink, my teeth just seem to be even more pronounced when I smile or talk. Fabulous! The one area of my body I've been most self-conscious about is the one area that's really standing out. I know it sounds silly, but it's hard to talk sometimes because of the way my mouth has changed. It's crazy annoying, especially trying to say my B's, and since my name starts B, it sometimes comes out sounding like I say Dreanne. I am honestly thinking about changing my name to something simple, like Liz Young or something like that. Anyway, that's a bit off topic, so let's get back on topic.
Teeth.
At my last rheumy appointment, he asked how my teeth were, and I said fine (which is my answer to everything), and then I said I should probably get them checked out since it's been about 10 years. He just looked at me and said, "Yeah, you probably should."
I've been a bit hesitant to go to the dentist, because A: I didn't know who to go to, and B: I didn't know if they'd be able to do much since I can't open my mouth very wide anymore. Well, luckily, my bishop is a dentist, and since he's awesome, he said he would take me as a patient. So, I went to the dentist for the first time in nearly 10 years.
Surprisingly, he said my teeth were really great and healthy, and weren't too bad for not having been to a dentist in so long. I did have a couple of small cavities which he had me come back for.
It has been so long since I've been to the dentist, I'd forgotten all that went on with the process. When he was taking care of my first cavity, he put me on laughing gas. Oh my heck, I nearly busted up laughing a couple of times for no reason. I'm glad I didn't though. That would have been embarassing. I got nice and numb, and got that baby filled. I stayed numb for quite a while after it was done. It's hard to eat and enjoy food (more so than normal!) when half your tongue and mouth are numb. It was a fun experience.
Since I had cavities on both sides of my mouth, we did them on separate days, so instead of having my whole mouth numb at once, I got to experience the half numb mouth twice. Super fun!
We got them taken care of, and now I can wait another 10 years to go back! I'm just glad he was able to work with me, and get in there. It wasn't as bad as I was thinking it was going to be, so that was a relief. Plus, despite ugly, crooked teeth, they are healthy.
Since Scleroderma has caused my face to tighten, and once awesome lips to shrink, my teeth just seem to be even more pronounced when I smile or talk. Fabulous! The one area of my body I've been most self-conscious about is the one area that's really standing out. I know it sounds silly, but it's hard to talk sometimes because of the way my mouth has changed. It's crazy annoying, especially trying to say my B's, and since my name starts B, it sometimes comes out sounding like I say Dreanne. I am honestly thinking about changing my name to something simple, like Liz Young or something like that. Anyway, that's a bit off topic, so let's get back on topic.
Teeth.
At my last rheumy appointment, he asked how my teeth were, and I said fine (which is my answer to everything), and then I said I should probably get them checked out since it's been about 10 years. He just looked at me and said, "Yeah, you probably should."
I've been a bit hesitant to go to the dentist, because A: I didn't know who to go to, and B: I didn't know if they'd be able to do much since I can't open my mouth very wide anymore. Well, luckily, my bishop is a dentist, and since he's awesome, he said he would take me as a patient. So, I went to the dentist for the first time in nearly 10 years.
Surprisingly, he said my teeth were really great and healthy, and weren't too bad for not having been to a dentist in so long. I did have a couple of small cavities which he had me come back for.
It has been so long since I've been to the dentist, I'd forgotten all that went on with the process. When he was taking care of my first cavity, he put me on laughing gas. Oh my heck, I nearly busted up laughing a couple of times for no reason. I'm glad I didn't though. That would have been embarassing. I got nice and numb, and got that baby filled. I stayed numb for quite a while after it was done. It's hard to eat and enjoy food (more so than normal!) when half your tongue and mouth are numb. It was a fun experience.
Since I had cavities on both sides of my mouth, we did them on separate days, so instead of having my whole mouth numb at once, I got to experience the half numb mouth twice. Super fun!
We got them taken care of, and now I can wait another 10 years to go back! I'm just glad he was able to work with me, and get in there. It wasn't as bad as I was thinking it was going to be, so that was a relief. Plus, despite ugly, crooked teeth, they are healthy.
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