Changes to Feedburner.. and Some Other Stuff

 Two things...

1- If you are following me via email (feedburner), you need to be aware- the email subscription service will be discontinued in July 2021. I will be looking for a way for my email followers to still get updates via email. but no guarantees.

2- The actual post for today!

I'm not looking for solutions, just sympathy, and maybe a tube of Anbesol to suck on.

My smile is crap. It wasn't great before this, and it's even worse now.

See, I had the first step of a multi-step proceedure done recently. I know this is just a step in the process, but it's an awfully painful step. The dentist expects my mouth to be ready for the next step in 4-6 months. That's months, not weeks!

Because there was a lot of bone loss (Seriously, brush your teeth, folks!) I had all my upper teeth pulled. Now, I'm using a denture to provide me with a decent smile, allow me to chew (mostly), and to help my gums heal as they need to for the next step.

The thing is... I was wholly unprepared for what I look like without my upper teeth. That first time I took the denture out was actually kind of traumatic! I have never sincerely hated how I look until that night when I took it out.

I cried. My sweet husband had to work, so I cried at home alone.

The third night after the extraction (second night to be pulling the denture out for bedtime), I didn't even look in the mirror afterward. I couldn't. At least right now, I can't. But I'm getting more comfortable with it, more detached from the image of no-teeth-me.

I called and talked to a friend the other day. I shared with her my confidence issue. She suggested washing and fluffing my hair, or putting on eye makeup. While I appreciate the suggestions, no amount of other grooming and primping can make up for no-teeth. The absence of tha tphysical support structure totally changes the shape of my face. It alters the dynamics and movement of the soft tissues of my face.

And that's where I hate what I look like. I hate that my upper lip sinks into my mouth. I hate that there's nothing there when I smile. I hate that I have this wild teeter totter in my mouth and any random pressure can... and does cause pain on the other side of my mouth.

I hate that it hurts physically when it's in. And it hurts emotionally when it's out.

I think I'm going to have another bowl of ice cream. Yes, I'm eating my feelings.

Not a great image, but I do like how the denture looks.