[insert creative title, that has to do with my tooth, here]

well i got home from germany on july 9th. (sad sad day.) tracy and i just wallowed in self pity for the first couple days and didn't quite know what to do with ourselves (besides write on our friends' facebook walls and complain about how much we missed them.)


on july 13th 2010 i went to the endodontist. (a glorified dentist) i HATE the dentist ... and anything that has to do with dentists. i always feel like i'm being experimented on by aliens. think about it ... you're lying back on this chair with a huge light in your eyes and you're staring up at this: 

freaks. me. out. 

so the tooth that was giving me problems is right up in front. i think in my last blog i called it number three. i just made that up to sound smart. it was really number 6.  let's be honest - you didn't know either.  

it was that one. the little devil.

instead of drilling all the way up into the tooth (because the infection was too deep) he sliced into the side of my gum and got up in there that way. don't worry i was numb the whole time. i couldn't feel a thing other than the pressure of him messing around up there. it was a little uncomfortable but it only took about 30 minutes. while he was working on me he told me that the abscess i had was the size of a dime! a DIME!!! my friend briana so kindly reminded me that that is the smallest american coin ...  


just so you know ... i brush my teeth ... a LOT! ask any one of my mission companions and they'll tell you. especially kaitlin i got her hooked on flossing and stephanie thought i was weird for brushing my teeth after lunch [but now she does it!] 


to validate myself this infection was NOT my fault. the root canal i had two years ago wasn't sealed correctly making it possible for bacteria to get in there via my bloodstream. over time dead tissue built up and the infection just got worse ... until june 23rd and i'm on my way to scotland and it FINALLY decides to act up. perfect timing. the root canal wasn't my fault either ... the filling that was in my tooth leaked and touched my root causing an infection and killing my root. the initial cavity requiring a filling ... ok so that may have been my fault. too much candy? perhaps, but let this be a lesson to you ... 


a simple filling can lead to whiskey in ireland. BRUSH YOUR TEETH! 

when he was done he stitched me up and sent me on my way. and that was that. it's been a  week since and the stitches are pretty much gone - they are the kind that disintegrate ... my cheek was a little swollen at first. and it hurt to laugh and smile - which is a problem especially if you know who i hang out with. they're funny people. 

swollen face july 13th 2010

(ok seriously why are my posts so freaking long? sorry guys) 


now it's mostly better. it just looks kinda gross and my already crooked smile is a little more crooked also i lost some feeling in my gums next to that tooth. i can't feel it when i floss or poke them; is that bad?