The Flood

Well, like I said in my Facebook post this morning, when it rains it pours. And in my family, it seems to be a veritable flood of medical problems right now. I just recently got the news that one of my aunts is in the hospital and doing so poorly that they don't know she'll make it. Her husband is currently battling terminal cancer and going through radiation treatments. My mother-in-law had to have her gall bladder removed today. And you all already know about Tara's challenges. By last night I was fearfully telling Terence that since everyone else is having things go wrong (with various degrees of seriousness) I'm terrified that it is only a matter of time until someone in our immediate family ends up with something going wrong too.

Well, if I'm lucky, that person is me.

Yes, me. The reason I say that is because I had my long-put-off visit to the dentist today. Mostly my teeth look great even though it has been over five years since I've been to the dentist. However, and I kind of knew this was coming, I officially have periodontal disease (a fancy name for gum disease). Funny that a girl who has still never had a cavity could find herself in this position, but there it is. The bone loss in many of my teeth-- almost all of my bottom teeth, in fact-- is extreme for someone as young as I am. Apparently, if I keep going at this rate, I will likely lose all my teeth by the time I am my parents' age.

Yikes!

The solution? First, I have to get my permanent wire retainers removed from my mouth. Way, way back in the day I went through years of braces only to have my teeth shift so badly right off the bat that my orthodontist decided I needed permanent wires behind my teeth. But apparently the bottom wire is causing the problem to be far worse than it would be otherwise. So just like I am a teenager again, I get to have wires taken off and then they are making me a retainer to wear at night again. (Yeah, we'll see how that goes. . . .) And then, I get to come in for a cleaning every 3 to 4 months for the rest of my life. Apparently nothing but professional cleanings will do the trick with this kind of problem. The dentist says if I faithfully stick to the cleaning schedule they give me, it will likely halt the bone loss. I can't get what I've already lost back, but at least I won't lose my teeth when I'm 50.

The news was kind of a bummer. I really, really hate going to the dentist. That's why this is only the 2nd time in ten years that I've actually gone. Now I'm going to be best buds with a dental hygienist. The only good news was that this is a hereditary problem so that means I can blame it on my dad instead of my paranoia of going in for checkups. Right, Dad? :-)

But like I said, I'm taking this whole thing as good news. If this is the only medical thing that goes wrong in my immediate family, I will take it and be oh so grateful!