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I know now why that second option wasn’t offered until it was determined that it was absolutely necessary, so I opted not to give the doctor a hard time about drilling through my cap. Knowing what I know now, I don’t think that I would’ve chosen this route if I could’ve avoided it. Luckily for me, the aftermath wasn’t nearly as painful as the Wisdom Tooth Experience, which I was truly thankful for, but there were some pretty icky parts to the procedure that I wish I didn’t have to go through. Overall, though, it wasn’t too bad. The root in question was partially extended into my sinus, and when he opened it up, just breathing was the nastiest feeling in the world. It felt like I had something lodged in the back of my throat. And the drilling, oh the drilling... well, it was more like a jackhammer, really. I hated that part. I never had a hard time with the drills before, but having that sinus open made it terrible! I was so happy when he closed it back up again! I did have a good time talking through the whole thing, because my mouth was mostly closed for this one, I could talk like a ventriloquist through clenched teeth while he worked on the gums. It was the first time I could hold a conversation with the dentist while in the chair! *LOL*

The surgery went very well, and like I said, the pain wasn’t too bad. I wasn’t thrilled with the bloody noses that resulted from the opened sinus, but I only had like four of them, and they didn’t last very long. I got another chance to wear the headgear that I got from the Wisdom Tooth Experience. I’m so glad I didn’t get rid of it; those ice packs were a Godsend! I went in yesterday to get the stitches removed and the doctor was amazed that I didn’t swell more than I did. I’m just an awesome patient, that’s all : ) I think the quote was “It looks great, whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.” Yay me! I’m forbidden to brush the upper right side of my mouth until Sunday (which I hate), but I have an anti-bacterial rinse that’s supposed to keep the bugs away. I don’t like it, it’s bitter and gross, but it’s better than nothing I guess. I’m also forbidden from sneezing; can’t sneeze or it’ll mess up the healing sinus. I never thought about how hard it would be to suppress sneezes until I had to do it. There’s a lot of nose pinching involved! Most of the soreness is gone today and I can smile again now that the stitches are out, woo hoo! I have to wait a month before I can have it crowned so the gums and stuff can be totally healed and I won’t have any problems.

I think (I hope) that this is the last major dental procedure that I need to have done. I’m so sick of freakin’ root canals! I want to cap everything that needs to be capped and get braces in March (after Lil’ Brudder’s wedding). I don’t care that I’m “too old” for braces, and I don’t care that my “upper teeth are mostly straight anyway”. I’ve wanted braces since I was little, but could never get them for one reason or another. Now I can. And I’m gonna! So I’ve been researching my options. I looked into Invisalign, but they’re too expensive, and I’ve heard that you get really bad headaches with them, and I don’t like the old metal mouth ones, so I really don’t want those. I looked and looked for a happy medium and finally discovered it in porcelain braces. They’re not invisible, but they’re not as noticeable as the metal ones. I’m so happy that I’m gonna have straight teeth! Finally!

I had to take Friday off for recovery, so I got three whole days to work on Christmas presents. Unfortunately, I didn’t make nearly as big a dent in the list as I had hoped to. I’m getting REALLY worried now that I won’t have them all done in time. I’ve been trying to determine who would be the least effected by tardiness so I can focus on those that would be missed on Christmas Eve. I figure that our Cali people can wait a little while for theirs since we won’t be out there to see them right away, so now I can turn to our immediate family and friends that live here in AZ. I can only cross a couple people off that list though; these projects take a lot longer than one would think!

That’s all for now.