What I'd currently KILL for!!

[AcidFlashGordon]

A hamburger, fries and a Coke!!

Now, the reason behind that. After putting up with dental problems since I came back from my contractor's job in Kuwait in 99, I decided to take care of it once and for all. So, on 4 June, I went to the oral surgeon and he removed the problem...i.e. all of my teeth. Currently, the dentures don't fit well, seeing as how my gums are still healing and there is the occasional bit of pain, dealt with by the prescription for Hydrocodone. Mushy (read not having to be chewed) food just doesn't cut it, especially when, on my way to the store, I can smell the steaks and other good food being cooked at the casinos, fast food joints and steak houses.

So, I'm sucking it all up and just biding my time until I can run to the local fast food outlet and chow down on some real solid food. The other plus? I can really GRIN now instead of a reserved smile without being embarrassed by my (formerly) terrible dental condition.

 

[ROGER4314]

Glad that you got that taken care of! I have 4 broken teeth and I'm running out of places to chew. I used to wonder why old people had crapped out teeth and now I know. Dentists require money for their work and retired people don't have any money!

Flash

 

[AcidFlashGordon]

Very true. I have insurance through work but it only paid $2,000 of the bill. I ended up paying $6,100 on top of that. But I do have a savings account and every month I transfer about $1,000 into it, after my bills are paid. I had that and more to cover the expenses. But as you said, some people don't have that "safety net" of savings to fall back on.

As for running out of places to chew, I DO know THAT feeling......

 

[shortround]

I never understood why people had bad dental health.

That is, until I got older.

No amount of brushing, flossing, or dental hygiene treatments will delay the inevitable.

It's time to suck it up and pay a dentist to fix my broken teeth.

Hope that lasts until the lid of the coffin is closed.

 

[Acesn8's]

Got a dental appt in the morning to be fitted fer a new crown ,finally chewed a hole in the old one in the last 30 years.

 

[macshooter]

Got just the thing for you, pototo and leek soup. Ain't no burger, but it's damn good in the summer heat.


[h=1]Classic Vichyssoise[/h]
[h=3]Ingredients[/h]

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 leeks, bulb only, sliced into rings
• 1 onion, sliced
• 5 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

[h=3]Directions[/h]

1. In a large stock pot melt butter over low heat. Add leeks and onion, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.
2. Add potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Add thyme, marjoram, bay leaf and stir well. Cover pot and continue to cook for 12 minutes.
3. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook, partially covered for 30 minutes.
4. Puree soup in blender or food processor and cool.
5. Prior to serving add cream. If you are serving this soup warm you need to reheat the soup slowly so that the cream does not change consistency.

 

[bootsdeal]

Been there, done that and it's all behind me now and it was definetely worth it. Here's a trick you may want to try after your gums heal. I brush the inside of my mouth (roof of mouth and all my gums) every morning with a soft tooth brush and tooth paste. I am certain that this brushing has toughend up my gums, similar to callouses on hands due to work. I've never, ever had any soreness or discomfort from my dentures in the last 20 years.. Even when I get something under them, it's not a real big deal.

 

[AcidFlashGordon]

I'll put that suggestion next to the plastic container my dentures are in. Right now it makes me cringe but as you noted, it's done after my gums heal. I know that in the long run, my choice makes sense because I've gotten rid of some possible/probable problems dealing with infections that could affect my health, such as it is. You have added confirmation of yet another denture wearer that has had little or no problems with them. Many in my family had them and had few, if any, problems...the main one being food particles getting under them. That, to me, is a very small price to pay to have gotten rid of an embarrassing situation (broken and missing teeth making me look like some kind of homeless old fart).

macshooter, that recipe sounds very good. I think I'll give it a try, especially since it's pureed and doesn't involve anything but "slurping" it up.

 

[Driller]

Usually takes at most 6 months for the gums to completely heal. Most shrinkage is over with in the first 2 months. They will need to be relined at about the 6 month time.

 

[bootsdeal]

Oh, by the way, I also use a goodly amount of Fixodent on both uppers and lowers, as it acts both as a cushion and also adds a little more confidence that they won't shift around, as well as keeping stuff out from under them. It takes a while to figure out just how much to use, as you don't want it oozing out. Once you get used to them, you should have no problem. If you do, the dentist should be able to handle it with a little grinding here and there.

 

[AcidFlashGordon]

I just had my one week follow-up appointment with the oral surgeon so he could check on my recovery progress. He and his surgical assistant (a real cutie) said that I could now use one of the "holding" products like Fixodent or Polygrip as a kind of buffer between my gums and the dentures. But only a small amount, or "carefully" as the surgeon said. I might just try that a bit later on but for now I'm just going without. So far, the only problem happens to be the length of the sides of the bottom plate. Everything else is a decent fit.

 

[ROGER4314]

It's amazing what you really miss when everything is taken from you. My house took a direct hit from the eye wall of Hurricane IKE and we were without water and electricity for about 10 days. I went outside during the eye passage and the storm came right up my road. We couldn't leave because the roads were patrolled and the "man" wouldn't let us return once we got out.

I had $1000 in my pocket but there was nowhere to go and nothing to buy once you got there. It rained the next day so I took a shower and washed my hair in the rain. It was one of the coldest showers I've ever had! I would have given a big chunk of the $1K for a glass of water with real ice! I missed ice water so badly that it became an obsession.

Once I got out, stranded people hit me up constantly for money. McD's was one of the first places that got back into operation. I bought food at McDonald's for several strangers. My rule was if they hit me for money and they didn't smell like I smelled, they were phoney! I'd buy them food but refused to give them money.

Ice water.........who would have thought?

Flash

 

[AcidFlashGordon]

You are SO right about how the "simple" things can be missed when they suddenly become unavailable. Cold beer or soda. Hot food. Clean clothes. Being able to shower daily. LIGHTS (electricity, which also covers all the modern "gadgets" we own that run on it). Indoor plumbing. The list can go on and on and will differ from person to person. I went through 3 hurricanes as a child while my Father was in the Marine Corps and stationed on the east coast. Not an experience I would care to repeat. Although after having lived in the Peoples' Яepublik of Kalifornia for many years and experienced some of the more violent earthquakes, I think I'd take the hurricanes over having the ground shaking like a madman. You get a warning with hurricanes.......

 

[shortround]

Obama-Care says nothing {NOTHING} about dental health!

 

[TrailDust]

A hamburger, fries and a Coke!!

Now, the reason behind that. After putting up with dental problems since I came back from my contractor's job in Kuwait in 99, I decided to take care of it once and for all. So, on 4 June, I went to the oral surgeon and he removed the problem...i.e. all of my teeth. Currently, the dentures don't fit well, seeing as how my gums are still healing and there is the occasional bit of pain, dealt with by the prescription for Hydrocodone. Mushy (read not having to be chewed) food just doesn't cut it, especially when, on my way to the store, I can smell the steaks and other good food being cooked at the casinos, fast food joints and steak houses.

So, I'm sucking it all up and just biding my time until I can run to the local fast food outlet and chow down on some real solid food. The other plus? I can really GRIN now instead of a reserved smile without being embarrassed by my (formerly) terrible dental condition.

You know I feel sorry for you, man! You all may remember from my other thread that I also had teeth removed. Like Flash I've got 10 months to go of eating bananas, yogurt, and that kind of crap before I will be able to eat a good steak or hamburger again. You and I are partners in misery, I feel for you!!! Get better soon!

 

[AcidFlashGordon]

You know I feel sorry for you, man! You all may remember from my other thread that I also had teeth removed. Like Flash I've got 10 months to go of eating bananas, yogurt, and that kind of crap before I will be able to eat a good steak or hamburger again. You and I are partners in misery, I feel for you!!! Get better soon!

10 months? My God, I hope it's less time for you than that. It's too bad that we all can't just zap ourselves about 100 years into the future. Maybe, by that time, they'll have made enough progress in dentistry that there won't be all the "discomfort" of putting up with dental procedures.

 

[deemus]

Let me ask one thing from you. Once you get the dentures fitted right and all is back to normal, don't lick your dentures to clean them after eating.

My dad did that. His country ass would pop them out, lick the food off, and swallow it. Grossed all of us kids out, and embarrassed the crap out of us when he did it in public.

They make bathroom sinks for that sort of thing.

 

[AcidFlashGordon]

No worries about that. Once I get them fitted correctly (and it seems like it's taking forever), they're NOT coming out of my mouth until the evening when I'm home and I take them out to plop them into the Polident for overnight cleaning.