Praise then darkness, and creation unfinished

I have been to the dentist, and had my teeth cleaned by a new-to-me hygienist. This was a less intense cleaning than I'd been getting from the previous hygienist in that location, but the hygienist found a gap in my gum large enough that she strongly recommended an antibiotic. I could tell that she was used to having to talk people into the antibiotic, as well as into letting her apply fluoride paint for their gums. I didn't need persuading, just to check that the antibiotic they use isn't something I'm allergic to. (It's tetracycline, placed on/in the gum in question.) The hygienist also praised me more than once for being a good patient, and for flossing regularly. I'm not supposed to floss that area of my mouth for ten days, but that was the only specific instruction.

I saw her at 1:00, an inconvenient time (given that I don't live near the office) that they rescheduled my appointment to. Follow-up in four months (rather than 3), at 2:30 on March 17th, so it will be easy to eat lunch first, even if it's not good weather for eating outdoors. Today, I took the bus to Harvard Square and went to Pokeworks; it seemed like the best option, given that I wasn't supposed to eat or drink anything hot for two hours after the fluoride treatment.

Other differences, some larger than others: my next cleaning will be four months out, rather than three, which was their idea rather than mine. The hygienist didn't give me mouthwash and tell me to swirl it around for a minute before spitting it out (I do not miss that bit of covid precaution at all). She was wearing a procedure mask, rather than the previous hygienist's N95, and se offered me one to wear home, saying it was a good mask because it's three-ply; I declined, saying I like my N95s. I alsp had to ask her to pull her mask back up over her nose and mouth at one point while she was explaining something about the fluoride. I think she was going to point at her own teeth to show me where she'd placed the fluoride, but I asked for written/printed instructions instead. And, the hygienist asked me to pick a flavor of toothpaste, rather than just using mint, so I asked for cherry.

I needed today's dental appointment to adjust the flapper, and may need another after this:

When I tried using the thing Wednesday, Ifound one spot on my right gum that hurt when I put the thing on, and kept hurting if I left it on. I tried once more, with the same result, and decided to wait a day. Thursday afternoon wasn't as bad, but it wasn't good, and when I touched my gum with my fingertip, it felt tender and a little swollen.

I had an appointment for them to adjust the thing this morning. As instructed, I put it on before leaving the house, and left it there, even though it was uncomfortable.

The dental assistant asked me several questions about whether my gums hurt just wearing the thing (yes) abd which areas hurt, by which she meant which side of the gum, which was difficult to answer. (Interestingly, she referred to the side begubd the teeth as "lingual," and didn't call the other side anything, but when I took a guess at terminology and said "labial" she knew what I meant.)

Based on what I said, she removed a little more material from the base of the flapper, and had me try again. That felt like an improvement, but the thing was still uncomfortable. By then she could see the inflammation, so she just polished the bit she'd modified, and put the flapper back in my mouth, with the instruction to wear it until I got home, then remove it, and try again in a day or two.

I have an appointment Monday at 1:30, and will decide Monday morning whether (a) all is well, and I can cancel the appointment, (b) I want to keep the appointment as scheduled, or (c) it's too soon to tell, because the tender bits are still inflamed, in which case I'll call to reschedule. I asked for Monday rather than Tuesday because I'd rather not do this the day before I fly to Montreal.

On my way out, I asked a couple of questions about how to use the flapper once it fits properly. So, clean with a soft manual toothbrush and toothpaste after meals, and yes wear it at night. Since part of why I want the thing is that I hope it will reduce dry mouth, I do want to have it in at night.

I went to the dentist today, and he did the first half (or maybe the first three quarters?) of the work to put crowns on two of my lower teeth. It took almost an hour and a half, in part because I needed three tries to bite firmly enough with the correct teeth to make the impression that will be used for the permanent crowns.

I will be going back on March 13, and until then I have temporary crowns on those teeth. So, I am supposed to chew only on the right side of my mouth for six weeks, and not floss near the teeth in question. These are both so I don't pull the temporary crowns off, though the dental assistant also told me that if they do come off, I can buy the appropriate adhesive at CVS and glue them back on.

The dentist made sure to use enough anesthesia, which I appreciated, even though that means it took longer to wear off afterwards. I didn't always know what was going on, beyond the instructions to do things like open or close my mouth, or turn my head to the right, because the dentist and his assistant were speaking Russian.

By the time we were done, I was cold and tired, but I took transit home because I know how to do that, and it was in some ways simpler than calling a Lyft would have been. I have put a note on my calendar for the next appointment to wear a sweater, because the dental office is chilly.