Surgery and Sutures

I just got home from the dentists. And, I must admit that... i hate going to the dentist. I hated it from when I was a little kid. From those cleaning moments, to the whirring of some sort of strange saw (or so I thought/imagined) to the doctor saying that I need to get braces. Then to carry those horrific memories from childhood to teenage and adulthood. I still don't like going to the dentist - even if it's just to see the dental hygienist. By the way, the last time I went to get my teeth scaled was not that great of an experience. Hearing the constant scraping and screeching sound of metal against my teeth just didn't give me a lot of room for visual imagery. All I could think of was that she was scraping and scraping with those metal picks at my teeth. And my teeth being sheared and ugh. It was not a lovely picture. Even the paintings of Tigger and Winnie the Pooh, Bugs Bunny and Tweety on the ceiling was not enough to quench and relish my vivid imagination. I wish she talked to me and said something to me to help ease and perhaps even wash away my disturbing imagery pictures.

Well, today... Today was different. I must admit that I was nervous, and scared. Because, i do hate going to the dentist's office - regardless of the dentist and what I'll be doing. It just gives me the chills. This Dentist, located at Midland and Finch, was a little different. I agree with Hei, he is really nice. He talked to me and made comments and jokes. It was nice to hear a person say something to me while I'm laying there with my mouth open. Eyes open but having no visual input of what's going on. Ears open only to hear noises from happenings that I cannot see, and my mind wide-awake trying to make sense of the noises I'm receiving. The dentist helped me make sense of the noises I was hearing. He talked me through the procedures and what he was doing. He communicated with the hygienist that was his right-hand helper (left-hand, rather).

He told me what he was doing when he did what he did. For example, applying the greenish-blue paste. This was some Topic, he explained, which will help ease the pain of the anesthetic needles. Okay, I relax a bit.

-Oh, it's time to change the gauze I need to bite on -

Then, there's this drill that's kinda hot. I think I feel it on my gums, I feel something. And, i say "ow ow ow ow ow". And, the dentist chuckles, "Ow?!". "Yes I feel something". "You feel the pressure?", he asks. "Yes, I think so". I believe it was more the hotness of the instrument aginst my lips/corner of mouth that I was feeling. But pull, and the tooth was out. It was FAST. So fast, that I looked surprisingly at my dentist and asked "it's out?!". I was quite excited at the prospect of having one of my teeth pulled out. there was a big smile on my face and I was more excited for the second one.

The second, bottom tooth was a bit more stubborn than it's previous sibling. It took a while for him to get it out. It was already loose and out of place but... yes, I could understand the dentist. There was no space for the tooth to be clipped onto. There was gum covering it and stuff. But, it did come out! And, it's BIG. A big tooth for a small mouth. I don't have a tiny mouth, but I do find it difficult to floss near the back.

And, I got sutures!!! Who gets excited about getting sutures?! Well, I was! My first sutures!

Because of that, I get 2 birds with one stone. My first surgery, and my first sutures (or stitches). And, these stitches will dissolve themselves. He told me they were made of lamb gut/intestines. Wonderfully brilliant! I get to have lamb gut on my gums!

p.s. i decided to make a label called "firsts". This one is really not the first 'first' that I've blogged about, but I think today is a good place to start. I'll add the labels at a later time (if I ever get around to doing so^^.

Edit: My teeth are HUGE, and I'll post a picture of them to show it to you. It's kinda gross, but I'm holding them, so you don't see them all. Tylenol and Ferrero Rocher - my two companions.