Tough as Nails

For years the dentist has been telling Russ to get his wisdom teeth out. There is nothing anyone does not want to do more than have their wisdom teeth out. So Russ just kept not doing it. Russ was not like me. When I was still in high school the second my dentist said I needed my wisdom teeth out I jumped right on it while I was still on my parents insurance and they paid the co-pay.

After years of avoiding this surgery Russ finally broke an important tooth which required surgery in quick time. While he was going in for that they said they could take out his two remaining wisdom teeth at the same time. So he finally agreed since he was going to have to miss a day of work he would kill two birds with one stone.

I was required as driver, first to the oral surgeon and then right from there to the dentist. As the one not under anesthesia I was given the instructions at the oral surgeon for the follow up care and pain management. Russ had a head wrap ice pack and alternating pain medication. No hot foods, no straws, only soft food.

After all the medical and dental procedures were complete I brought him home to recover. He was well enough by four-thirty for me to leave him to go teach Mah Jongg.

I got home tonight and he was up, not swollen at all, no ice pack, had eaten dinner and done two loads of laundry and was working. So much for recovery. He still has to heal and then get a permanent replacement tooth made, but as far as this being a bad day he has done quite well. I am a little suspicious about how that anesthesia affected him, laundry is not something he ever does. I’m not complaining about his, but if I knew having his wisdom teeth it was going to have this kind of effect on him I would have insisted it happened earlier, just for the sake of his teeth.