Thay Mithithippi

Today is the last day I will be without teeth
At least for any extended period

I will bring you up to date as to what's been happening inside my
mouth for the last month
It took less than an hour to pull my remaining 14 teeth
It took about 20 minutes to pull the one tooth that wanted to stay
It took about ten minutes for another stubborn one
And it took about ten minutes for the other 12

My mouth was full of abscesses and infection
Most of you know that I was overly conscience of my teeth for the
past couple years
On November 30th it all came to an end
When the Novocaine wore off, I took a couple Tylenol
The next day I felt pain where the stubborn teeth had been
I took a total of 6 Tylenol that day and on day three I needed to
take one when I could not sleep

When I left you last, I had decided to leave the UCSF Dental School
world which had caused me considerable grief
I remembered Lynn managed a dental office
I went there many years ago when I had dental insurance
I called and she set me up to see Dr Schulz
It was two days after the extractions and he tried to determine what
the issues might be with my getting dentures
I was deemed a candidate, however vacation was imminent
and I had to wait a couple weeks

February 15th I went in and he made a cast of my mouth
I went back a week later and he tried the wax model in my mouth
It was here when Dr Schulz began telling me how much I needed to commit
to this process
Some people get dentures and never use them
Or use them only when needed
That means they don't fit the way they should

Last Monday, they tried the “final” wax model
I met the denture maker who had an office down the hall
He made some real-time adjustments while inserting and removing the model
He showed me how to insert and remove them myself
An unpleasant experience, with a little pinch here and there,
but I kept looking at how much better things will be

Yesterday I tried the wax model with my actual new teeth
John (the denture maker) asked what color I wanted my teeth
I raised my Henley, exposing a tie-dye (hard to believe I was
wearing tie-dye?)
“I can make them purple if you want” he commented
I suggested average-looking teeth would be fine
But tie-dye teeth might be the ultimate freak flag!

When my teeth were in place, he had me do a few minor exercises
Biting, clicking the upper and lowers together and smiling were the tests
which I passed
Then he gave me a few words to pronounce
At first it was “Mithithipi”
Then when I got the hang of it, I could say my esses with no problem

Tomorrow (Friday) I pick up my dentures
I am to wear them over the weekend and return on Monday morning
There will be sores
I will have some discomfort
But it will show where the adjustments are needed
I am actually getting excited about it

I will tell you all about it next week
But now I must sign off and eat the last meal I must gum

The best thing about getting new teeth is that you will see them
when you see me
My teeth show when I smile
And seeing you makes me smile