Day #215 – Dental VI

Gatlinburg TN

My capped tooth is pretty sore.  The dentist told me that if it doesn’t stop hurting in the next couple days, it will be an indication that the crack could not be stopped and the tooth will need to be extracted. 

The stitches under my tongue are causing me big hassles.  I can’t lick my lips or yawn.  Trust me - you have no idea how many times a day you do those two things until you can’t!  Eating is a problem, too, because I can’t use my tongue to move food around in my mouth.  So, I put little pieces of food on the right side of my mouth, chew a couple times, and then swallow.  I can’t drink without a straw.  And, poor Kelly – she’s running herself ragged trying to make it all better.

Not much other news to report.

After dental appointments, we usually shop at the near-by Kroger because they carry organic products, including organic meats.  We also found a music shop where old men hang out with their dogs and play music.  Between us, we manage to find an excuse nearly every week to stop by.

We are eagerly anticipating a pre-Fourth holiday with Debbie and Linda in Elizabethton.  We are nervously anticipating the arrival of the campground owners.

Day #212 – Dental V

Gatlinburg TN

Repairing a cracked tooth is like trying to stop a crack in concrete.  When my molar cracked, back on May 13, a long series of tooth-saving activities began.  The dentist tried repeatedly to drill out around the crack and fill it.  Initially, he thought an on-lay would be enough to stop the crack’s progress, but it failed.  The crack grew until it went all the way to the root.  Today was a last-ditch effort to save the tooth - a root canal.

The dentist warned me that he might not be able to prevent all the pain involved, but that he would do the best he could.  Well, he did a pretty good job.  He stopped numerous times during the procedure to shoot in more pain killers.  The whole procedure took four hours.  It was rough on both of us.  I got cramps in my neck, and he was just plain exhausted.  Near the end, he zigged and I zagged and he caught his drill on the underside of my tongue.  Two stitches later, and we continued.  After finishing the root canal, he placed a temporary crown across and around the whole tooth.

He felt terrible about nicking my tongue, but it really wasn’t his fault.  He checked on me in the evening and I tried to joke about it.  We’re crossing our fingers that the temporary crown keeps the crack under control.  If this doesn’t work, he’ll pull the tooth and we’ll go down the road of bone grafts and implants.

Day #209 – Work Camping II

Gatlinburg TN

Well, we worked hard this week, trying to learn how to do these jobs and how to best organize ourselves.  We were expected to work 20 hours; we worked 27.  We didn’t do much else.