Update: No more freaking out

I am very happy to say that I don't need a root canal. In fact, I didn't even have a cavity. Everyone can say, "I told you so." I'm still practically perfect in every way. Well, at least my teeth are. The pus spot on my gums contained a small piece of my wisdom tooth that was extracted over 12 years ago. The tooth had been impacted and the dentist had to break it into pieces to get it out. At least, that's what my mom tells me. I have absolutely no memory of the incident. They gave me some really good drugs. It took all this time for that tiny little piece to work it's way to the surface. It had infected the area around it and that was why I couldn't put my finger on exactly which tooth hurt because the answer was that none of them did. It was only my gums that were hurting. Yes, you can say "Duh Christa. You should have been able to tell that." It was easily removed and it was practically pain free to do it. I only winced a couple of times. I had them clean and buff up my teeth after that and they feel brand new.

I also learned something kind of exciting. I know it's hard to tell in my profile picture because it's really tiny, but if you've seen me in person you know that I'm a gap-toothed geek. It's not a huge one, but it's something I've always hated. My teeth are relatively straight. I don't have a perfect bite, but it gets the job done. So, braces were never really considered for me. Today, the dentist asked my how attached I was to the space. I told him not at all. He said that he could fill it in with a white surface filling and make it disappear. (In case you're wondering why he's never asked me this before the answer is this: this was my first time going to this dentist. I called him because he's the one Ryan's parents go to and he could get me in today. Getting in today was just what my freaking out self needed.) He asked if I wanted him to do a quick, temporary fill just to see what it would look like. Oh, heck yes! I was amazed at how good his quick fix looked. It actually looked quite natural. I had to look really hard to even see the filler material. He said I could schedule an appointment for about 2 weeks from now (that's when his next openings were) and have a "permanent" fill done. I say "permanent" because no one can say for sure just how long it would last. It could stay on my teeth for 6 months, 15 years, or forever. All teeth are different and it would just depend on how well my teeth took to the product. The temporary filler stuff fell out after an hour and he said that would most likely happen. He said I might not even get to my car before it fell out. So, I didn't get the chance to take a picture of it to show anyone. It did feel weird to me to not have air whistling through my space and I never realized how often I stick my tongue between it. It was a bit of a strange feeling to have it gone and not be able to do that. So, I'm not sure just yet how I feel about making it a permanent thing. We'll see.