by Nancy Green
All week long I've tried to think about what I could write, what could I do in a different way, and then I suddenly realized that the decision had been made for me last Monday during lunch.
I was having lunch with a friend of mine and she had ordered in hot sausage and pepper sandwiches. I had just taken a bite of this delicious sandwich when all of a sudden I knew I was chewing more than hot sausage. The tooth that holds my partial plate, on the left lower side, had broken off at my gum and there I was, unable to finish chewing and knowing this was probably the end of my partial, as I only now had one real tooth left in my mouth, the one holding my partial on the right lower side, and this tooth had been loose for quite a while.
I was able to get an appointment with my dentist at 8:30 the next morning, and he said that he would have to make me a lower plate as there was no way he could fix my broken tooth. He made an impression and on October 17th, I have to go back and he will pull my one real tooth, the part of my broken tooth that is still in my gum, and then will put the new plate right in. He said until then, eat soft food very carefully, and hopefully my partial will pretty much stay in place.
I have always chewed my food on my left side and now I have been forced to eat, very gingerly, on my other side. Everything feels so strange in my mouth, but survival is a very strong instinct in my life. I have found the joy of good soup with soggy crackers, the ecstasy of a good, hot baked potato with melted butter and salt and pepper. I can still eat my oatmeal each morning and my wonderful dish of ice cream each night. I think this coming week I will even try overcooked spaghetti and sauce and maybe some pudding.
Probably, by the time I get my new plate I will be very used to eating this new way and then I'll have to learn all over again how to eat on "the other side."
