The Importance of Dental Care

Last Tuesday I was eating lunch at work.

Thrilling, right?

While eating my chicken, a small piece of bone had gone unnoticed and was not very happy about that, so with a vengeance fit for a bloodthirsty army, it sneak attacked one of my molars, shooting pain into my cheek and up into the rest of my face. Or simply put, I bit into it... Ow. Needless to say me being me, I cried and cried but tried to work through it. About an hour or two later I still could not stop so I asked my boss for the number to our insurance, but she didn't have it so I got the number to HR.

After an hour on the phone with them and the dentist I got the okay to leave early and headed to my emergency appointment. Turns out I had a very very bad cavity that needed a root canal and the molar behind it was indeed cracked. Both need crowns. $1800 plus later, I have had my root canal and crown extension (did I mention it was a really bad cavity?) but I have to have temporary crowns, stitches, an antibiotic, two different pain medications, and a special mouthwash to use for three weeks while I heal before I get the actual crowns.

Now I take good care of my teeth. I brush twice a day, use mouthwash, and occasionally floss. I say I occasionally because my molars are so close together I break glide floss between them. Dentists have suggested braces to fix the spacing. My point is, you can take great care of your teeth but still have to get major dental work done. Cavities and teeth issues not only affect your smile, but it affects your weight and health as well. I work normal business hours which is when the dentist is open, and being a contracted employee, time off is a joke, but I have learned a few things from this:
1. Make the time. As someone who can't, I'm finding that it's better to do whatever you can to get your ass down there than not. Because ow. Having the dentist drill into your jaw so they can put a piece of fake tooth in your mouth so the actual crown has something to sit on... Yeah. Not fun. It freaking hurts even with anesthetic
2. Sometimes it isn't your fault. Genetics can play a big role, as does things like breathing through your mouth. Just do what you can in terms of prevention
3. You will never realize the emotional attachment you have to your teeth until they are reduced to tiny nubs in your mouth
4. Sitting in the dentist's office waiting, they had these nifty screens that were very informative. Bad teeth can lead/attribute to weight gain or loss, heart disease, diabetes, and a number of other medical conditions
5. I really really miss working out. I have to wait to heal before I can go to the gym again. It's been a week and I am so bored and feel so gross. My limited diet as set by the dentist of soft foods is not helping. So many foods I want to eat, like zucchini and carrots, are not soft

So if you don't want your weight loss and weight maintenance, or even your wallet, thrown out of whack, GO TO THE DENTIST!