Light Hearted

My apologies for being so quiet on here this past week. The reason for my absence was that I was suffering from some of the worst mouth pain I’ve ever experienced – the kind that makes focusing on anything other than that incessant aching nearly impossible. Dental issues really are a unique form of torture.

This past week, I was supposed to have a tooth implant surgery, but I had to cancel due to developing this miserable mouth pain. At first, I thought it was just stemming from the extraction site being angry with me. But oh no, my mouth had other, far more sadistic plans to make me suffer.

Normally, talking and drinking didn’t cause any discomfort. But as soon as I tried to eat anything at all, it was like my left jawbone had sprung industrial-strength bear traps waiting to viciously clamp down. Eating became a harrowing experience that I tried to avoid at all costs. I basically stopped eating much and lost 4 pounds in just 4 days. My wife joked that at least I found an extremely unpleasant diet plan.

I went to see my dentist, hoping for some relief, but he didn’t find any obvious evil culprits upon poking around in there. However, he did notice a deep pocket in my gums between two teeth that he suspected was harboring tons of gunky plaque, irritating that area into revengeful pain. This confused me since I brush twice a day and use a waterpik flosser every day. I thought I was the oral hygiene champion of the world!

Still unconvinced that some silly old plaque could cause such torturous eating pain, I scheduled an appointment with another doctor for a second opinion. Luckily, I was also able to get a cleaning scheduled with the hygienist, Brenda, who I was hoping could be some kind of mouth pain whisperer.

Brenda was indeed able to convincingly explain how the trapped plaque and resulting gum pocket was likely the culprit all along. She did a deep cleaning of that area, and the doctor prescribed a medicated mouthwash. My wife Vani, drew from her Indian home remedies and suggested I should try keeping a laung (clove) in my mouth. I really didn’t believe that would help, but I was desperate enough to try anything at that point!

Over the past 3 days, my oral hygiene routine has ramped up more than I ever thought possible – brushing 3x per day, flossing with both a waterpik and conventional floss, using the prescribed mouthwash regularly, and I even gave the clove thing a try for a little while. I haven’t achieved full relief yet, but I’ve seen about 30-40% improvement in pain levels when eating.

It was quite humbling to realize that simply brushing and waterpik flossing daily wasn’t enough, despite my prior arrogance about being a dental hygiene superstar. While those habits are great for tooth enamel, I clearly needed to pay more attention to my poor, neglected gum health as well with regular cleanings and gum-focused products. I’ve since bought a fancy gum-care toothpaste and mentally committed to never skipping another cleaning appointment.

The moral of the story? Your gums deserve love and respect too! Those tiny little support pillars for your teeth can obviously bring about mega suffering if mistreated. With my parents’ histories of tooth troubles, this was a wake-up call that I need to be extra vigilant. I’ll keep you all posted on my mouth’s rehabilitation, but I’m hoping with this stepped-up hygiene plan, I’ll be back to joyfully devouring all my favorite crunchy food soon.