Teeth Tales

We were going to go on vacation this summer, but then we decided to do something much more exciting with our money--oral surgery!!  Both Natalie and Emily had their wisdom teeth removed this summer.  

At her last orthodontic checkup, Emily was told that it was time for those pesky wisdom teeth to be taken out and we figured that if Emily needed to have hers removed than surely Natalie, who is two years older, would also need hers done.  So both girls got appointments with the oral surgeon and, of course, he recommended removal for both of them (Does a surgeon ever recommend against cutting you open?).  

Emily's surgery was first and Natalie was happy that for once in her life she didn't have to be the Guinea pig.  Although I don't know if watching Emily come home all loopy from the anesthesia was better or worse for the nerves. My favorite quote from drugged up Emily was a panicked,"My tongue is gone! My tongue is gone!"   

Poor Emily discovered that, just like Mom and Grandma, Lortab makes her extremely nauseous, and she had a rough first afternoon until she got it out of her system.

But, after the nausea wore off, Emily felt pretty good.  She even had a friend over to watch movies the evening after her surgery.  The nurse warned Emily that redheads have a tendency to swell up more and she certainly was proof of that.  She looked like a chipmunk for at least a week.  This picture was taken after the worst of the swelling had already gone down.

Two weeks after her surgery, Emily was pretty much back to normal and it was Natalie's turn.  Natalie learned from Emily's experience and didn't even try taking the Lortab.  She stuck to Advil and soft foods for several days and did just fine.  She also got to take two of her teeth home with her.  They were a lot bigger than I expected.