You can read Part I here.
When I first leaned back into Dr. Benjamin's chair this morning, I said a little prayer that Gaby would be the wonderful 4 year old that everyone thinks she is, and not talk talk talk talk all the time we were in there, and that she'd not end up being traumatized over what she was watching happen to my mouth. She was a little concerned that I was getting the rest of the my teeth yanked out. Much to my relief (and probably Dr. Benjamin and his staff as well), she was a perfect angel!
When Dr. Benjamin came in with the two small dental appliances in his hand I hadn't realized I was holding my breath, and once again had a death grip on the examination chair. A few minutes, some deep breaths and a couple of minor tweaks here and there and it was time to place the appliances in my mouth. Once they were in, he handed me a mirror. I took a deep breath in and then...SMILED! Really and truly smiled for the first time in over a decade.
All I could say was, "Wow!" over and over again. I was getting used to the feel of the Essix appliance (I finally remembered what it was called) and amazed at the difference in my smile and mouth. I couldn't think of anything else to say. Eventually I shut up long enough to listen to Dr. Benjamin explain to me the next step in the process as the Essix is only temporary. There will be another, longer term temporary fix that will be in place probably by October and last until May of next year depending on some things I may have going on, and then next summer I will have the permanent dental implants put in place.
So, wanna see the smile...the whole smile? I kinda thought you would. Here's the before shot from Part I...
Here is the "after" as of 11AM this morning...
I have been smiling for the entire afternoon...probably even when I joined Gaby in an afternoon nap. Hell, I even smiled while cleaning up multiple piles of cat puke. Griffy is a pro at retaliatory vomiting and when I didn't get him his food fast enough this afternoon he made several little messes for me to clean up. Big deal Griffenstein! You completely annoy me sometimes but not even today can you wipe off the smile on my face. Don't let all that dry-heaving fool you...you might be a pro at pissing me off, but even your furry, infuriating self will not get me to stop smiling. Not today anyhow.
Dr. Benjamin, thank you so much for helping me find my smile again. You've made this such a pleasant process and I am so very pleased with the results!
Here's to lots more smiles!
