lovin' the ipod..

sometimes i just don't put a lot of thought into certain decisions i make. let's get right to the point, shall we? i had a chipped molar on the bottom left side of my jaw that had already been through the ringer in terms of having had a root canal, etc. well, i was eating a toasted bagel of all things, when it chipped. i went to the dentist the friday before last and she basically said there was no saving the tooth because of all the work i had done on it previously, and that i would need to get it extracted. i wasn't in any pain, however, so there was really no rush, except for the fact that i kept getting food stuck in it, which annoyed me to no end. so i decided, what the hell it can't be that big of a deal, let me just go ahead and get it extracted before i leave for bangladesh so i can just get it over with and enjoy my vacation.

well, it turned to be a bigger deal than i thought.

i went to a referred oral surgeon this past saturday to get the tooth extracted. he took a look at it and said that because of blah blah blah, he would need to drill it to get it out. whatever, i'm numb, drill if you will so long as i don't feel it. well, the procedure took a bit longer than expected and my jaw was sore as hell from having to keep it open for so long, but it was done and the bad tooth was out.

the dentist said i'd be pretty sore and that i should expect some swelling, and he prescribed me tylenol with codeine and a 7 day course of antibiotics.

well, let me just say, thank god for the tylenol with codeine. that shit was a lifesaver!

anyway, after the numbness wore off, i started feeling around the area with my tongue and all of a sudden realized that there were areas of flesh missing from the inside of my cheek! the fucking doctor drilled the flesh off my fucking cheek! and the fucked up part about it is that my cheek was in more pain than the area surrounding my extracted tooth!

so now, i can't laugh, can't smile too hard, the left side of my cheek is slightly swollen, and i can't eat anything harder than fucking pasta. but i have been sneaking a couple of drags of a cigarette even though i'm not supposed to smoke.

i have a follow up with the butcher dentist tomorrow right before i get on the plane, and while i'm not sure if this flesh hacking comes with the territory of tooth extractions, i plan on letting him know that i'm not happy with his surgical skills.

i'm sure i'll be okay, but i just wish i had waited to do this when i got back from vacation because now it'll just make my 20 hour journey all the more uncomfortable.

you think tylenol with codeine works even better when you're 32,000 feet up in the air? i certainly hope so. and i hope it won't be long till my mouth heals so i can enjoy my mama's cooking!