mercuriosity, posts by tag: health - LiveJournal (original) (raw)
Greetings, humans! I return to you...upgraded.
I had some oral surgery yesterday. It was the first in a series of procedures to replace two teeth that I'm missing with dental implants. This is something I've been needing to do for a while, and am finally getting around to (reasons for not doing it before: expense, lack of time, fear of having my mouth sliced open and drilled). It's sort of cool how they do it! They cut open the gum, then drill a hole in the jawbone where the tooth is missing. The implant is like a screw which is placed in the jawbone. The incision is then sealed, and the implant left to heal for several months, during which time the surrounding bone actually fuses to it! This makes it extremely durable, and able to stand up to a lot of pressure. After that happens (osseointegration, you should all be happy to add this to your cocktail party vocabulary), the gums are cut open again and an upper part is attached to the implant, so that it sticks out above the gumline. Then a crown is placed on the upper part, and ta-da! You can has real-looking and functional teeth.
( Cut for slightly gross, mostly just boring medical stuffCollapse )
The stitches in my mouth are a little Frankenstein-ish, but they're not highly visible. I got a prescription for an antibiotic, and one for Vicodin...I'm a little embarrassed to report that my first thought when she gave me the second script was, "Sweet, now I can be like House." All I need is a cane, some stubble, and a raging addiction.
Anyway, yadda yadda, the point is: there is lots of exciting oral surgery in my future. ALSO, I am well on my way to becoming a cyborg, one tooth at a time. I can taste your envy; it is like a delicious broth to me! A broth which I spoon into my aching mouth because it is the only thing I can eat.
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Only 10:30am, and already I'm sweating. It's supposed to get above 90 today. That'll be fun.
Meanwhile, I'm living in a sickhouse. My brother's planning some kind of party this Friday (his birthday was on the 4th), but he's been pretty miserably sick for the last week, and even though he's on the upswing and will no doubt be fine by then, my mom's now at home and out for the count, and I'm just waiting my turn. So I don't know how that will turn out.
Little brothers shouldn't turn 18, by the way. It's not right.
ugh. My throat feels itchy, but with this pollen all up on us it's hard to tell if it's everyday allergies or impending plague. T- two great tastes that go great together?
Current Music: Bubbles, "Bidibodi Bidibu"
Current Mood: sneezy
ME: This weekend sucks.
WEEKEND: You suck.
ME: *hangs head* Yeah, you're probably right.
Among other things, this is irritating the crap out of me right now: angular cheilitis. I'm pretty sure this is the lip/mouth problem that's been bugging me for as far back as I remember; why was I never able to find a name for it before today? My parents took me to doctors on multiple occasions when I was younger, and none of them seemed to know what to do other than try out various creams. If they ever gave it a useful label, I don't remember it, because I'd started to think it was just a weird variation of chapped lips that I'd managed to invent. But, no; it has a name! It also looks gross and hurts like hell. I ate a salad with vinaigrette dressing earlier--ow ow OW. Not my brightest idea.
And speaking of other things: I have a Chinese essay to write, a phonology test to study for, and my Chinese dialect project writeup to do, all for Monday. And Saturday seems to have disappeared when I had my back turned. WHAT.
Current Music: daft punk: digital love
Current Mood: glum