(Please don’t read this entry if you’re squeamish or triggered by anything that is gross.)

Is in my mouth.

I had a small pain in my molar on occasion–honestly, it would just come and go–and it was a little sensitive to cold for 3-years. It wasn’t unbearable until it wasn’t. On the 26th of February, I took my son out to dinner and we got pan seared steaks. I couldn’t really chew mine. The pain was excruciating. I ate enough to not be starving and then gave him the rest after finishing most of the mashed potatoes and broccoli with peppers.

I guess that I thought that midway through last month that I had some weird mobile bacteria because I had stomach stuff, a sinus infection, and when on the 14th of this month the roof of my mouth looked like it had a mandarin orange in it, I knew that there was something really wrong.

I found out what it was.

Yesterday I was so nervous. I had my wisdom teeth out when they got impacted when I was in my early 20s, but since that time I have only ever had a couple of fillings. I have never been to an oral and maxillofacial surgeon.

What a lovely man. He was calm, caring, professional and explained everything that had happened. He examined the area and said, “Wow, that’s strange.” He told me that if he touched the side of my gums near where the tooth was pus would just ooze.

This fact explains why I’ve felt so terrible, and skipped so much guitar, and gone to bed so early and slept until 5 or 5:30 anyway. I have had a massive bacterial infection. I don’t know where it started, but likely entered through the broken tooth.

The choices were: a partial denture, a bridge, or a titanium screw after the extraction. I was probably in the procedure 11-minutes and could feel pressure and hear crunching and tightening, but that was it. Of the three shots, I only felt the one on the side where my gums were infected. He was a gem. The tech took another x-ray and it looks like there is a wall anchor in my jaw.

The surgeon called me yesterday, but I was at the vet with my dog so she could get her allergy shot and other stuff to get her ready for spring. I couldn’t get the call being in the vet’s office. However, it all went well. I went through a lot of gauze yesterday and was generally swallowing some blood, but feel good. I don’t see him until July 26 and my dentist builds an implant on the screw on July 1st. I’m going to get a tooth colored one.

Although I have a wall anchor in my mouth, I’m grateful. Grateful for days off. Grateful for only being responsible for under $1,200 for the nearly $6,000 procedure. I’m also grateful to have this source of infection gone!