Wednesday, February 05, 2014

On the Extraction of Wisdom Teeth

Hallie over at Moxie Wife is collecting Five Favorites. Here I tackle an usual list: Five Favorites - The Wisdom Teeth Edition.

If this past month had a motto, I do believe it would have to be Adventures in Dentistry. A crown, a root canal, complications from the root canal, complications from the complications, and, drum roll for this one, removal of Tim's wisdom teeth.

Here are simple suggestions to ensure all goes well:

1. Load up on soft comfort food -- chocolate pudding, refried beans, mac and cheese, broth, tomato soup, mashed potatoes.

2. Prepare to do nothing else the day of the surgery. Tim had his teeth yanked on my husband's birthday. Not a good plan (and not my plan), just the inevitable clash between our busy life and Tim's active social calendar. Clear your schedule.

3. Enjoy being Mama. Tim was pathetic, and I reveled in babying him. The minute he started feeling better, Tim was all cranky and irritable and rather demanding. I was glad I savored those fleeting moments of sweet.

Tim rounds out Five Favorites with advice of his own:

4. Videotape the patient. Between a system pumped with narcotic pain meds and a mouth full of gauze, Tim was well worth recording last Friday. We did snap a picture of his chipmunk gums, but missed the opportunity to record for all posterity his pwecious lisp.

5. Let the patient watch anything he wants, play whatever he wants, for as long as he wants. That's pretty much a direct quote.

Head over to Hallie's to add your Five Favorites.

4 comments:

Kris said...

I was laughing my way through this - my son's same experience! He had his out the day after Christmas. We had cleared out schedule except for the 27th, when we had a few family members over for lunch. I will add Cream of Wheat to the soft food mix - he lived on that for two days. And scrambled eggs. And he threatened his brothers will immediate death if there was so much as a hint of a recording device anywhere near him!

Anonymous said...

Poor guy. I know what you mean about the initial sweetness. When our (normally exceptionally grumpy) son had an operation, our daughter was there as he affectionately and woozily recognised us in the recovery room. She later asked, "Could we just give him general anaesthesia more often?" :-)

Kelly@http:/inthesheepfold.blogspot.com said...

Yeah, Christine. I think there should be some harmless form we could sprinkle in breakfast cereal, and everyone would be a touch more chipper.

This is one storm I'm afraid we simply ride out.

Unknown said...

Wisdom teeth extractions are much more delicate than a normal extractions due to the positioning of the teeth. It may require a little more delicate procedure than most and the pain setting in after is no joke either. Giving the patient the leisure to do whatever he/she pleases afterward can help them cope with the pain. Thanks for sharing! :)

Javier Portocarrero