In January, I went for my annual dentist appointment and assumed everything would be just fine. I’m a little OCD about my teeth; I floss every day and brush religiously. I waltzed in the door right after getting home from our Christmas cruise (and being really, really sick after I got home) and figured it’d be a quick trip to the dentist.
However, my dentist saw something that concerned him and told me that I needed a consult from a periodontist. I was terrified; I’ve never even had a cavity and I had no idea what the heck was going to happen. Basically, he told me that my lower gum was receding rather quickly in one area — perhaps due to my orthodontics work from many moons ago or just because. I was really scared and left with a lot of unanswered questions and uncertainty about what was going to happen.
Over my Spring Break at the beginning of March, my mom and I made the hour and a half trip to the periodontist recommended by my dentist. I was terrified. My parents were convinced it wasn’t that bad and that he’d say it was just something to keep an eye on, but that I was totally fine and it was no big deal. Instead, after some poking and prodding, taking x-rays and photos, and measuring my mouth for guards, Dr. Cooke said I needed surgery. Cue the panic. Everyone at his office was kinder than I could have imagined, but I was still so scared and confused about what the heck they were going to do and how it would feel and what it would look like and when it would happen.
As luck would have it, my surgeon was planning to take vacation in mid-May, which meant that I would have to have the surgery the day after I finished exams and went home for the summer.
In short, I had a soft-tissue gum graft. Essentially, my gums in an area around one of my bottom front teeth had receded about 2.5 millimeters and, if left untreated, could cause serious damage. So, Dr. Cooke would graft (cut) tissue from the roof of my mouth and attach it to the receding area. With time (and stitches), the new tissue would begin to grow on its own with the surrounding area, covering the recession and making me good as new. Sounds awesome, right? Everyone at the surgeon’s office told me that it would feel like a “really bad pizza burn.” Ironically, I had burned my mouth on pizza the day before my consult, so I thought I knew exactly what they were talking about. In the words of the Grinch — Wrongo.
My procedure was yesterday morning at 9:30. Because of my history of anxiety, the surgeon opted to operate with me under conscious oral sedation to help me not be so worked up about the whole thing (#thankgoodness). I had to arrive an hour early to get that medicine in my system, and according to my mom, I was carefree as ever; I don’t really remember feeling loopy, but apparently I laughed a lot. Keep in mind that until yesterday, the only oral procedures I have ever had are as follows: dental cleanings, Invisalign measurements and implants that I wore for 1.5 years, orthodontic follow-ups, and sealants. Until yesterday, I’d never had Novocain… and I was terrified. Like, convinced a shot in the gums would hurt so bad I’d cry. Surprisingly, it didn’t hurt, and more surprisingly, I didn’t cry. Go me! I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that the minute I realized I was completely and totally numb, I was so incredibly relieved that I didn’t even feel scared anymore. Side note: my surgeon literally walked me through it step by step and told me what I’d be feeling as the shots when in, meanwhile, his assistant held my hand. They’re the sweetest people!
And then, for about two hours, I laid there with my mouth open while Dr. Cooke did his thing and I listened to music so as not hear any of the surgery-related sounds. They gave me a super soft blanket so I’d be comfortable as possible during the procedure and made sure I had what I needed the whole time. Dr. Cooke took breaks and told me that if I needed a break at any point to just tap him on the arm and we’d hold off. Like I said, they’re the sweetest. There were only a couple of uncomfortable things about the surgery itself.
- Because I was under conscious sedation, I had to be hooked up to a bunch of stuff. I had EKG readers, oxygen, a blood pressure cuff, and a pulse reader checking on me and giving me air. I also got to wear a super cute hair net and goggles. #flawless
- If you didn’t know this, now you will — redheaded people are scientifically proven to bleed more. I always tell doctors and surgeons and nurses this and they always think they can handle it. Well, when the graft was cut, obviously I bled… enough that they had to go get more gauze pads and I had to put pressure on it with my tongue to help it clot. I’m not saying, I’m just saying… I warned them.
- Because the bleeding took so long to stop, by the time Dr. Cooke was ready to start with my stitches, the Novocain was wearing off, and I could feel it. I was scared prior to surgery that if something like that happened I wouldn’t be brave enough to tell them… but let me tell you, when you can feel that happening, you say something. It was an impulse. So several shots later, I was numb again and good to go.
For the first couple of hours post-surgery, I was feeling great — Novocain was still in my system and I didn’t feel a thing. I ate a Frosty and made it home with no problem (don’t worry, I wasn’t driving!), and when I woke up from a nap, I was feeling the pain. Everyone had told me that the roof of my mouth would feel like a pizza burn. Because of the dressing they’d attached to that area, I didn’t feel a thing; it was the area where the gum had been stitched up and attached that throbbed. I was a little freaked out; no one bothered to tell me that part would hurt, so I thought I’d accidentally pulled out my stitches or something! Luckily, after a phone call to the office, they told me pain there was normal and would continue for a few days, but pain meds should help. And they did.
The dressing from the roof of my mouth came off in the night, and when I woke up I freaked out. First, I could feel where the incisions where… and it did NOT feel like a pizza burn. Second, I was afraid I would swallow the dressing (imagine dried play dough in the roof of your mouth). So, I got up super quickly — bad idea — rinsed my mouth and quickly realized I was queasy and dizzy and really hot. Note to self: Don’t jump out of bed quickly after having surgery.
Thankfully, they provided a mouth guard similar to a retainer for when the dressing fell off. Unlike a retainer, it has plastic all the way to the back of my mouth, so it covers the “pizza burn,” which does not feel like a pizza burn at all, which eased the pain almost immediately. The more uncomfortable piece of the puzzle is my lower gums, which looks lovely in that I look like I have dip in my lip and I can’t really smile very well at the moment. They said the swelling and bruising will subside in a few days, but currently it is sensitive to the touch to the point that I have to be careful about even laying on my side.
As far as food goes, I’ve eaten applesauce, oatmeal, homemade chocolate pudding, a little macaroni and cheese, and I’m sipping sweet tea. Soda and hot drinks are off the table, as well as juices. Next on the list of foods — for this weekend, hopefully — mashed potatoes, ice cream, and yogurt. I’m not particularly hungry, but in order to take the antibiotics and pain medicines, I have to eat, so I’m doing my best. I’ve found that snacking a little at a time is better than eating a whole entire bowl of something… except the applesauce, which I could probably eat three of in one sitting because it doesn’t hurt to eat at all. Chewing is extremely uncomfortable, so anything soft or that slides down is my favorite right now. Thankfully, I can eat with the mouth guard in place so that the “pizza burn that doesn’t feel like a pizza burn at all” is not exposed. Truth be told, if it was, I probably wouldn’t be eating much at all.
So, in case you’re wondering why the heck I just wrote all of this in such detail, it’s for two reasons. First of all, I would have really benefitted from an exhaustive explanation about how such a surgery would be and what the aftermath would be like. I think it would have helped ease my mind significantly, so, on the off chance that any of you are facing something similar, now you know what to expect. Secondly, I want to be able to look back on this the next time I have to have a procedure done (hopefully far, far, far away in the future) to remind myself that I survived and that it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I’m at a steady 4 – 6 on the pain scale, and I didn’t die or cry or toss my cookies. If I can make it through this, I can make it through other things, too. And so can you.
So, this is to remind you to be brave when you’re facing something scary and to know that it will all work out just fine, as long as you stay positive and don’t focus on the scary part. It’s also to remind you that as long as you have awesome wonderful beautiful human beings by your side, you can get through anything. Read: My mama has taken the best care of me from beginning to end, and Franklin literally has not left my side. My dad has sat and listened to me talk through things to work through it in my brain, and he even was brave enough to look at the incisions today. And of course, though Q is in Boston, he is being kind and supportive and so sweet from a distance.
I hope if you’re facing something scary or are worried about the unknown, be brave. Stay tough and don’t psych yourself out. And surround yourself with wonderful people who will make sure you’re comfortable and make you mashed potatoes and pudding so you can take your medicine.
Redheaded Dreams 