Day 5 of wearing dentures. Not quite as bad spitting blood up in the morning, and I had no need for gauze at all today. My biggest problem is the discomfort of the swelling where they did the frenulectomy. The part behind where the front teeth were has swollen considerably, making wearing the dentures agonizing at times. There's also the issue of the mouth ulcer on my upper left canine area. The white blister has sunk in, so I guess it popped, but it hurts awfully bad, especially when I first put the denture in. It takes me a long time to ease it onto the gums and slowly adjust to the pain. Because of that, I plan to sleep with the denture out tonight.
I returned to all soft foods, no more experiments with chewing until this swelling goes down. Apple sauce, cream of wheat, lentil soup. I did attempt to suck on some Cheez-its just because I thought the salt might help. When part of the cracker hit one of the extraction holes, it hurt too bad. I won't be attempting that again. Lots of light swishing with salt water. And ice cream. Eating that without the dentures in felt good.
While eating dinner, two stitches came out on the bottom area. I inspected it, and that part looks almost completely healed.
Otherwise, I feel better. I even managed to make my husband breakfast and lunch, although that made me very dizzy. I've cut back a lot on pain meds since it was tearing up my stomach. I found a bottle of Vicodin from a previous medical procedure that are a lower dosage, so I'm taking them when the pain gets too bad. I'm currently sucking a teabag to help heal the upper extract areas, which still tend to bleed. Maybe it will take down the swelling of the frenulum area and the mouth ulcer.
I'm supposed to go into the dentist for a post-op checkup; however, since that involves hiking down the big hill we're living on and taking two buses, I've been putting it off. I'm far too dizzy for an outing like that. Still, I might call tomorrow to set one up, maybe for Thursday or next Monday, since the dentist is out on Fridays.
I still think the gums on the denture are set too low in the front. I have a gummy smile. It's not a problem with the denture so much as that's just how my face is. My upper lip is too small. Still, the extra plastic at the front of my mouth shrinks the amount of upper lip I have. I feel like I have monkey mouth, like my lips are puffed out, stretching to cover my teeth. Perhaps there's no way to really fix that problem with my new smile. I'd hate to do something that causes the denture to fit less tight. I really do like that solid fit, although it makes trying to take the denture out a challenge. I guess this must be discussed with the dentist.
I found out a friend's church has been praying for me, and I'm on a few prayer chains. That's very sweet! I'm not a Lutheran, but it's still sweet of them. Sadly, I missed band practice today, just slept through it. It's not like I can play trombone yet anyway, but I was looking forward to showing off my new smile to all my friends. At least when I go next week my face won't be bruised and swollen. Perhaps that will be better.
Hah! This is the first time in my life that I want to smile and show off my teeth!
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