Dental apocalypse part 2 – locusts, bad breath and other biblical plagues

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Who thought a dental appointment would produce two posts. For the money spent, it’s good to get something besides pearly whites.

To bring you up to speed, I had extensive dental work done last week (you can read about it here). I’ve had a lot of dental work done over the years so I wasn’t expecting anything different but it was.

First I was numb forever! Ok, it was five to six hours after the appointment which translates into seven to eight total hours of total numbness but I could still feel it the next day. I couldn’t eat at all because the inside of my mouth was swollen. Not so much that you would notice but it wrapped itself around my teeth causing me to chew my mouth.

That required a Starbucks mocha latte.

The next day I was sore. Sore enough that I still couldn’t eat. Along with the mocha latte, I added ice cream as a dietary staple. I debated on hot fudge topping and decided to forego it.

By the following day (Day 3) I thought it prudent to eat something with nutritional value or at least more nutritional value than chocolate and sweet frozen milk. It didn’t go well so I hunkered to soup. I could swallow the small lumps of vegetables and meat whole and the liquid slipped down the back. I found that soft cake worked too. I tried to find nutritious cake with sprinkles. I’m pretty sure sprinkles are a vegetable.

Day 4 and 5 was still pretty sore but the insides of my mouth were looking more normal except at the top sides where my lips kept getting in the way. I was biting myself every time I ate. Odd thing was that all the dental work was on the bottom.

I also developed a lisp because certain syllables had me biting my lip. I was starting to look very bizarre with my speech and eating patterns. Beloved husband wondered what happened to his wife and where this alien came from.

Day 6 brought some of the worst bad breath ever. The funny thing about bad breath is that you don’t smell it on yourself (trust me on this one. I’ve had to have those conversations with people when I worked!). If I could smell it, yikes!

Now I’m exhibiting signs of OCD as I keep rinsing, gargling and brushing the cesspool in my mouth. There is no way cake and mocha lattes can cause this. Must have been those vegetable sprinkles.

This is a good time to remind you that I always go for the dark side. If a normal person wakes up with a new ache they think that arthritis is kicking up or they are sore from an activity. I think it’s some form of deadly disease and I only have a month to live. I revisit my will, kiss my cats and start hugging people. It’s just me.

I was at the point where I would call the dentist because well…deadly disease and all that when it improved (except for the breath).

I remember that I am going through a streak of dry mouth that wakes me up at night to drink water. (Yes, I wake up to drink, then I wake up to pee. Welcome to getting older folks! I know, you only thought you had to worry about wrinkles.) Dry mouth can cause bad breath.

My next dental appointment is in two weeks (if I live that long). It won’t be as long or as extensive. Hopefully I can get the lip chewing and bad breath under control. (Bad breath is another reason NOT to be a dentist!)

As long as no one sends in the locusts and the rest of the plaques, I’ll be ok. However, the cats are looking forward to the locusts.

Author’s note: If you are curious about the procedure, I had five (yes five) veneers replaced on my bottom teeth. The old ones were 20 years old so I got my money’s worth. It cost twice as much as my first car but in the end it will be great. Also, none of this is a result of my dentist. He’s great – quick and thorough. It’s just me and my dear friend Hypochondria.

71 thoughts on “Dental apocalypse part 2 – locusts, bad breath and other biblical plagues”

  1. Pingback: Dental apocalypse part 3 or holy crap batman! | Views and Mews by Coffee Kat

  2. I’m sure you now have a beautiful smile! What an ordeal to get there, however. I don’t have dry mouth, thankfully, because I don’t need added liquid in the night–I already have to get up at least once! LOL! Yes. Aging is a treat! 🙂

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  3. I sympathize with you on this Kate! My mouth is nothing short of a dental Disneyland, so I know all about the joys of eating nothing with nutricial value for days. Is it me or did you crave things you know damn right well won’t be able to get into your mouth in its current condition, yet you feel the need to try? Just curious … lol

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    • Last night (12 days after procedure) I had my first “real” meat (not hamburger or shredded meat). Went well except for a few lip bites. I have learned to eat slowly and thoughtfully. I can no longer work on my shopping list in my head. It’s easy down, if no skin contact grind, repeat. Hope the final installation goes easier.

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  4. I wouldn’t call that hypochondria. I’d call it horrendous and scary and you are much more patient than me! However, I looked it up, and sprinkles ARE a vegetable. So feel free to slurp some more ice cream with sprinkles. You deserve it!!

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  5. Thanks for bringing a laugh to an unpleasant subject. A month ago I had my first root canal, and my saga was very much like yours–actually more week-long pain and less lip biting. I’d never heard of veneers. Just looked them up. You learn something new every day.

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  6. I have a phobia about going to the dentist. The most I’ve had done at once, was 4 front crowns and a lower filling.
    The last time I went, I had a tooth that needed extracting, it was apparently infected up into my sinuses. The dentist gave me a shot or two, left the room for about 40 seconds and returned. Grabbed his pliers and started pulling. I could feel the suction up into my sinuses. I thought my brains might come out with the tooth. Michelle said I screamed so much, that the waiting room emptied.
    When she ran back there, I was still in the chair, but I had the dentist by the necktie, with a murderous look on my face.
    Trust me, you need more than 40 seconds for numbing stuff to work, especially with a severely infected tooth.
    I’m glad your doing better Kate.

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  7. Are you doing better today? Your dental procedure sounds annoying and weirdly painful and not like something I want to do. [Like you did?] However if you 20 more years out of the new veneers then maybe this is worth it.

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  9. Hi, Kate – Your Starbucks’ Mocha Lattes, Ice Cream and Soft Cake were all very well deserved. Wishing you smooth sailing at your appointment in two-weeks time!

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  11. If it makes you feel any better, I wake up during the night to drink too. For me, it’s the antihistamines for my allergies. They make my mouth feel like a desert. I am SO PARANOID about bad breath. I am constantly sipping on water.

    Hope the next appointment Is less invasive than the last one and your poor mouth has a chance to finally recover!!

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    • So glad you commented! I don’t know anyone else who gets up to drink water! It kicked up lately and I suspect it’s from the allergy eyedrops I use. Although not officially allergic, I get seasonal conjunctivitis and the pollen has been concentrated because of the shortened spring. (Seriously shortened!)

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      • We are still waiting for spring to arrive. This weekend we had an ice storm and it’s an unholy mess out there right now 😖
        I suspect I’m going to have the same problem with my pollen allergies once the weather finally starts to warm up.

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  12. Oh, dear. I missed Part I of this somehow… how awful for you. Or really, how awful for the beloved — halitoses is never any fun for the partner in crime. But then again, dessert for most meals is. So never mind; I think he’s “suffering” along with you just fine. Please do let us know if locusts in fact do arrive. I look for omens everywhere, even Pennsylvania. – Marty

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    • We do get locusts but they are really cicadas and don’t come until August! Today I had some tiramisu. Nice and soft and yummy. If this doesn’t resolve itself, I’ll gain 50 lbs! I’ve been drinking more water to keep the juices flowing and the bad breath is better or maybe I just can’t smell it anymore. In any case I’m keeping my distance from everyone!

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  13. I was at the dentist today because of sudden sensitivity to cold liquids. I was sure I was going to need something replaced.

    Turns out I just need to quit grinding my teeth.

    I told the dentist I’m gonna need a 24 hour mouth guard until Trump is impeached.

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  14. I tried not to laugh but your post is so familiar it seems funny. I am also an end-of-the-worlder. In fact I am having a deep cleaning next month…have to be numbed in a 2 step procedure and already fretting about possible death with pain. 😫

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    • Wow! Deep cleaning! I’m impressed. I had to have gum surgery about 30 years ago and that resolved my gum issues. Death is definitely a possibility so focus on the wonderful treat you will give yourself afterward. Maybe before. It would be a shame to die before the treat.

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  18. That’s horrendous when your teeth and lips are not on the same page. I hope this agony will be over for you as soon as possible.

    One of our daughters always goes to the dark side. When she has an occasional headache, she assumes she has a brain tumor. It’s probably a good thing for me that she lives in Denmark.

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  19. We are hypochondria sisters, Kate. I go straight to the worst case scenario, too.

    I had dental work done in 2011 that landed me in the hospital! Whatever he did triggered a domino of events, and he was my regular dentist for 10 years. My neurosis worst-case-scenario mindset may cause me to have rotting teeth before I ever get serious work done again. I go for my regular cleanings, but it was the needles and drilling that started the whole ball rolling back then.

    I told you this AFTER you had the big work done, ha, in case of triggering your worst-case-scenario mindset. 😉

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  21. ” my lips kept getting in the way.” Gads that is the worst! (well, we’re too polite to mention the breath – HA! screen talk has benefits! )
    Impressed you’ve got such fortitude – sounds horrible…..(I think I’ll just pause now and go brush may teeth in hopes of not having to go through this…or to have to pay for it – YIKES!)
    Hope it’s all smiles there shortly!

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  22. That seems like a long time to be experiencing the after effects of your dental work. Bad breath can also indicate tooth disease. I don’t mean to go to the dark side with you but are you sure everything is OK? I had veneers “installed” too and certainly didn’t experience what you are. Good luck!

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    • I agree with you (which is partly why I went to the dark side). I haven’t experiences this with other veneers either. I think it’s because I had so many done and my jaw was stressed for such a long time — 1 1/2 hrs. They had to remove the old ones and prep for the new plus the goo. Right now except for chewing on my upper lip, it’s much better. Since he was in my mouth a week ago, I don’t think the bad breath is linked to the teeth but the dry mouth. It’s severe enough to wake me up to drink. I will be asking him about that. I didn’t have this much happen when the originals were installed but I was 20 years younger and they didn’t have to sandblast anything off. Hopefully there won’t be another post but I will do an update on the Random 5 when it all works out beautifully (hopefully).

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  23. I do hope you live long enough for your next appointment, so that we can get another funny blog post. That sounds wrong, doesn’t it. 🙂
    Thanks for the laughs and hopefully things will get better quickly for you! I think your cats need to give you some extra loving. 🙂

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  26. The dental profession is interesting, because it it may well be the only profession that is virtually guaranteed to give you regular discomfort; sometimes pain; probably occasional lock-jaw, and will convince you to make an appointment for a similar experience in 6 months time. The final insult is that we have to pay them “an arm and a leg” (as well as a few teeth) for services rendered. There is something inherently wrong with this!

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