Ouchie!!!! Day 6 after my extraction of my 2 lower bicuspids...Day 5 having a dry socket and still in excruciating pain. I've been back to my dentist 3x to get it packed with clove packing. Helps but only for 4-8hrs. I try not to disturb the packing by eating mushy food and just swallowing them. I'm afraid of developing a dry socket on the other extraction site so I'm trying not to eat anything hard. I feel so weak!

I've never experienced this pain before ever as in EVER! More painful than having a papercut...well those hurts too. Anyway, it's really really really painful. I try not to take too much tylenol coz I really don't want to damage my liver, I'm sure that's worse than having a dry socket. Yesterday was pretty bad. I took Tylenol 500mg (3x) and Tylenol 3 w/ Codeine once for bed. I know it's not even close to the max amount of 4000mg/daily but still I don't really want to depend on it too much.

Ever since I've gotten my lower braces, I haven't been able to eat my fave dishes...coz of the brace pain I was going through until the day of my bicuspid extraction. My braces didn't feel as tight and was able to eat anything. Then after the extraction which is 6 days ago, my diet mainly consist of mashed potatoes, soups mainly broth, pudding, choc. milk, ice cream, and orange juice. Eeek! I'm Asian/Pacific Islander...I've never eaten this much mashed potatoes in my life. Well don't get me wrong, it's yummy but I still miss my rice. I haven't been eating rice and meat coz I'm afraid I'm going to disrupt the exctraction site and get something in there, which still happens w/ my mushy food but it's easier to get out.

I've been obsessed with 'dry socket' and googling it everyday. I've read personal experiences stories and to be honest, it's a great pain reliever knowing that I'm not alone. Some say they had dry socket pain for a week others had theirs for as long as a year. Eeeek!!! I hope mine won't be that long coz I'm getting my lower braces tightened in 2 weeks. I can imagine it now, DOUBLE the pain. Also, I'm going to San Francisco in a week. I want to at least be able to eat in a nice restaurant in SF.

Oh...I almost forgot, I bought "Clove Oil" yesterday, one of the main ingredients my dentist use to pack my dry socket. I put it on a Q-tip and swabbed it around my dry socket and inside. It helped for an hour or so but the pain came back. It tastes awful btw. It stings and burns your tongue and lips. Also too much of it is not good for you...lethal. I think I'm going to get a dropper..the thing parents use to feed meds to their babies. I'll use it to drop it in the hole. It's more like a numbing agent and also I read online that there's some healing power...hmmm...

It's 2:11pm...@ work..Halloween Day and quite hungry. No candies for me for sure. What's for lunch? Mashed potatoes w/ gravy, Motts purred fruit cup, and pudding! YUMMMM!!!! (sense the sarcasm?) I think I'll get some V8 - more nutrients. Oh I lost 5lbs!!!! As much as I want to lose weight, I don't want to do it this way. I can't even work out. Just walking alone, I can feel my socket throbbing. My friends and I are driving to Edmonton this weekend and plan to have a few drinks. I don't think I can, especially when I'm taking pain relievers. Also, I was advised not to drink alcohol but it shouldn't really hurt me if I do. I'll be in pain coz it thins the blood which in turn causes more pain...??? something like that. Oh brushing...soooo horrible..I have to brush gently and it feels like my mouth isn't clean enought after brushing blah!

Oh one more thing, I was so desperate I called my Aunt (a dentist from the Philippines) for advice. We've been texting each other and giving me pointers and she has been quite helpful. Hmmm, I guess I should send her something for X-mas. I remember back in the days when I was little she would pull my teeth out and she'd always check on me and made sure I was okay. I miss that but then my dentist here in Canada, Dr. Fletcher and his team have been great. Funny, they all know me by name and by voice. I'd call them and right when I say "hello"...they go, "Cherry?". Okay, my stomach is really grumbling and it's time for me to eat my YUMMMMY lunch. Yesterday, I ate in front of a mirror just to make sure I didn't disturb the dry socket packing. Omg!!! for the love of...whatever.

I'll keep you posted!

Here's more Dentist visit Timeline:

Oct 28/08: Dentist - 1st "Dry Socket" Treatment
Oct 29/08: Dentist - 2nd "Dry Socket" Treatment
Oct 31/08: Dentist - 3rd "Dry Socket" Treatment
Nov 01/08: Scheduled to go for my 4th "Dry Socket" Treatment

i got my 2 lower bicuspids out 2 days ago and i wish i could say they're healing fine. i missed 1.5 work days already...they said it's going to be a simple procedure...it was but the recovery is taking longer than expected. my left is healing okay but the right developed a 'dry socket' : excruciating pain...pain i've never felt before. more painful than getting my braces tightened. i wasn't sure if it was my braces pulling to the extraction hole or the hole itself was in pain. i didn't want to go back to my dentist and thought i'd wait on it...but the pain was getting worse and worse by the min, so, i went to my dentist and that's when they diagnosed me w/ dry socket. what is a dry socket? blood clot that does not properly fill the empty socket...very painful. i was extra careful with my extractions. i followed the post-opt instructions to a T but it still happened. anyway, i'm feeling better now. they packed some kind of tea leaves or something in it and it hurt like a mofo and i have to go back again tom to get it repacked. something to do with helping it heal. tastes awful too. they also prescribed me Tylenol3. i'm allergic to iboprufen (advil) and extra strength tylenol wasn't helping. i haven't eaten anything good in the past couple of days...i've been swallowing everything and not chewing any. talk about indigestion. it hurts when i talk or when i move my mouth. i've been keeping my tongue away from the exctraction site. i'm hoping all of this discomfort goes away soon. i find that getting braces is a lot of work...and pain...lucky, others don't have to go through this. i guess i just have to keep saying it..."in a year, i'll have a beautiful smile"

Day 4 - still in pain but it's not as bad as yesterday, however some of the brackets are starting to irritate the inside of my cheeks and lips. I've been putting some wax on them and they do help. I forgot to mention earlier that the Ortho assistant added some kind of glue or something on my molars about 2mm height. so my bite is really off right now. W/O the glue i'd be biting on to some of the brackets in the back. Chewing is hell. My upper teeth don't meet my lower teeth at all because of the harden glue they used on my molars. They said it will wear out eventually and when it does my teeth should've adjusted and the brackets will no longer get in the way. I say blah! Again, I know in the end, I'll have a beautiful smile :D

I uploaded a video...just a warning...not attractive to look at.

IN PAIN...I got my bottom braces 3 days ago. Has clear brackets and they left 2 teeth with no brackets. My ortho says that my 2 lower bicuspids need to be removed. See...I have a small mouth with lotsa teeth. Over crowded...I also found out that my bottom wisdom teeth are impacted. Therefore a specialist will need to remove them. It won't affect my treatment at all, however, I was advised that they have to be removed as soon as I can to prevent infection. So, I've decided to remove them after my treatment. Less trauma for my mouth.

So here's my story. I've always wanted to get braces. When I was 10, my Aunt (dentist from the Philippines) removed 2 of my upper bicuspids. I had this one tooth that was slightly out of place. So she made me a retainer so that it'll guide the tooth to grow and align itself with the rest of my upper teeth. Being 10 and irresponsible. I lost them. So, that tooth began to grow behind my front teeth. Not attractive at all.

In my early twenties, my upper wisdom teeth grew and both were removed by my dentist. So my upper teeth aren't over crowded at all. It's just that one tooth that's not aligned. To make a long story short...I decided to take advantage of my Dental benefits and went for a consultation . I heard about i-braces from a friend so, I thought it would be perfect for me. I-braces are just like regular braces except they're on the back of your teeth. Custom made to fit. Turns out I'm a good candidate for i-braces. It's a little bit more expensive than regular braces but it's worth it. Invisalign was another option however, I had a consulation with another orthodontist a few years ago and said I wasn't a good candidate because I had a slight bite problem and invisalign will not fix it. Also, treatment might take a lot longer than reg. braces. Anyway, I decided to get i-braces for the top and regular clear brackets braces for the bottom to save some money. My ortho says my treatment should last 10-12 months. I'm crossing my fingers. I hope he's right.

so...here I am waiting for my 2 bicuspids to be extracted. I thought the dentist were going to remove them yesterday (Oct 17) but it was just a consulation. I've been leaving work early just for these braces. Just for smile...so much to do...so much pain...my boss reminded me w/ the old saying - "no pain, no gain..." she's right. Even my pay check is in pain for missing work and using up all my overtime banked hours.

here's a little timeline...

Sept 16/08: Scheduled dental cleaning (Dentist) am - Braces consultation (Orthodontist) pm
Sept 20/08: Scheduled filling (4 teeth)
Oct 9/08: Orthodontist - x-ray and moulds
Oct 16/08: Attached lower braces (clear brackets)
Oct 17/08: Dentist consulation (removal of my 2 bicuspids and lower wisdom)
Oct 26/08: Scheduled removal of my 2 bicuspids - dentist
Nov 18/08: Scheduled lower braces - tightening
Dec 16/08: Installation of upper i-braces (they had to order it - custom made from Texas)