I had a consultation with a periodontist yesterday morning. I’m experiencing some gum recession with three of my upper teeth so they want to go in and do gum grafts (eek!). It’s pretty much the last thing I want to do, but in the interest of preventative maintenance I’ve scheduled an appointment for next month.
In the past week, I’ve been making more of an effort to get at least 8 hours of sleep per night. When I go to bed on time, I’ve noticed that I start waking up naturally before my alarm is set to go off and I feel better rested throughout the day (imagine that!).
I started going to bed later than usual when Paul and I moved in together last December. He prefers to stay up later than I do (but he also gets to sleep almost an hour longer than I do in the morning since we go to work at different times). However, now that we’ve been living together for over seven months, I’ve found myself reestablishing my earlier bedtime and going to sleep before he does most of the time. He knows I require a certain amount of rest, and if I’m happier/more alert throughout the day, that works out better for both of us.
Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs, 1 apple, sweet potato fries
Lunch: Beef stew with braised cabbage
Dinner: I did something abnormal today and had the same meal for both lunch and dinner — beef stew. I bought two helpings to work so I could have the second around 5pm; Paul was going to a happy hour after work with some co-workers and had invited me to attend. I know how hungry I get that time of day and I didn’t know what others would be eating, so I ate an early dinner before I left work.
It turned out to be a good decision on my part. Nobody had dinner at the restaurant; there was bread and cheese floating around but of course that wouldn’t have been acceptable. The second helping of beef stew kept me full until we got home, where I snacked on some blueberries before brushing my teeth.
I will definitely be cooking something new tomorrow!
(Reminder: I’m following the Whole30 for the month of July. Here’s why.)
I had one gum graft several years ago and it’s a super easy procedure. Nothing to stress over! Keep in mind this is coming from someone with little pain tolerance too. Some things to help gum recession to keep in mind are an electronic toothbrush or a soft toothbrush, a bite splint (that you wear at night – your dentist can make for you) and using ACT fluoride rinse at night (I know, not all that natural, but it really does make a difference in strengthening the exposed tooth). Good luck and hope this helps!
Thanks for the tips! I’m just kind of freaked out because the periodontist said the procedure would take about two hours. I can’t imagine being in that chair for so long! But he said he’d give me some kind of pills to help me relax, so I’m definitely planning to take him up on that offer. :)
Absolutely, I’m sure you’ll be fine! My procedure probably only took an hour, but I only had one small graft done. He didn’t give me any “happy pills” or anything, but I was pretty relaxed going into it and knew exactly what to expect since he briefed me on the procedure and basically knew exactly what I was in for.
I’m sure I’ll be reporting back on my experience, so I shall let you know. :)