The week before my 50th birthday I had some weird tooth issues I thought I’d make a note about. It’s great having a place to do this on actually, as it build a timeline of how things are going with my body. It started after I ate some of those small carrots as a snack in the evening while binge watching Line of Duty with Julia (great series that).
The day after I’ve noticed severe soreness on my bottom right molar, as if something had got stuck between tooth and gum, but different. I made sure to clean all gaps as I usually do and didn’t find any evidence of festering carrot pieces. A day later the pain got worse, enough for me to consider Aleve to get through the day. What made it worse was that the top right molar was also hurting a bit, something that can’t be explained with the carrot piece theory.
I now know that something underneath my bottom molar must have happened that seems to have pushed the tooth up slightly, perhaps as much as 1mm although it was probably less than that. Julia tells me that I have a tendency to grind my teeth overnight, something I wasn’t aware of until now, but it would explain why the elevated molar from the bottom would have affected the one above it.
This has been going on for almost a week, and finally the bottom molar has come down again into its previous position, or at least almost. I can bite down again without the top molar complaining (well almost at least), and there’s no more sensitivity around the bottom gums.
However, I’ve now noticed that the outside of the bottom molar doesn’t seem to be covered in gums anymore: it looks severely receded, much further than on the other side of my mouth. As a result, the exposed bit of the molar is now extremely sensitive to temperature change. Cold tap water is agonizing, as is a draft of air if I inhale the wrong way through my mouth.
I’m hoping that this will just go away over time, it’s only been a week (again which is why it’s so important to make these notes and have time stamps of incidents). Right now I’m using Colgate toothpaste for sensitive teeth and will keep an eye on the situation. Julia suggested rinsing with warm salt water. I’ll report back should the situation not improve.
Colonoscopy
I really need to book in that colonoscopy and an appointment with Dr. Cusnir afterwards. Dang! The year is nearly half over, where does the time go?
On a positive note, I’m really busy with projects and determined to finish those up this week. I’m very aware of my limited time on this planet, and I’m trying my best to put as much as I can out there while I can, while also making sure that I fare well as I do it. Things take much longer than I’d like them to. But I’m trying hard to fit them all in.