You may wonder what getting wisdom teeth extracted has to do with our extended bike trip, but if those wisdom teeth are flaring up into pain frequently, and we’re in difficult physical situations, suddenly getting them removed sounds like the deal of a lifetime.
Over the length of our bike trip Chelsea had been consistently mentioning the discomfort with her teeth but we didn’t have any straightforward solutions.
Then in September, out of the blue, Chelsea and Alex’s dad offered to pay for the extractions. It turns out Alex’s teeth had been bothering him quite a bit, so it was a win-win for both Chelsea and Alex. They were thrilled to accept their dad’s offer.
Finding a dentist was a lengthy and somewhat protracted process, as was coordinating with each other, their dad, and the dental office, but they finally got everything set. First came the initial appointments, then the required cleaning, then cavities had to be filled. Alex had a few crowns thrown in there too, both to his annoyance and relief.
Making the appointments and keeping them was a challenge in itself, as Chelsea and Alex had to coordinate their schedules with both each other and the dental office. But the big day finally came, after weeks of nervous anticipation and listening to many horror stories from others.
Chelsea went first. She was in and out in less than an hour, with four teeth removed, two of them impacted. Chelsea was a bit woozy from the required dose of antibiotic and numbing agent they’d given her, but we made our way to the car, meeting Alex in the parking lot on his way in.
It was very funny and sweet seeing the two siblings giving each other a big hug near the car, one on the way out of a much-anticipated experience and one on the way in.
We were armed with prescriptions for a designer antibiotic (Chelsea and Alex are both allergic to the penicillin family) and Vicodin for Chelsea, but we had neither the money nor the inclination to get them. On a last minute impulse I pulled into the Whole Foods Market, thinking I’d get mashed potatoes and polenta for Chelsea when she was ready to eat.
I ran through the store grabbing what I needed, making another last minute stop at the personal health section. I’ve always found Whole Foods employees to be well educated in their areas of expertise and this time was no exception. In five minutes I was out the door with natural remedies for Chelsea for pain and infection, along with a bag of goodies to eat.
Alex’s appointment took marginally longer (he had four teeth removed, one of them impacted), but worried that Chelsea would need it, he stopped by the house on his way home, woozy and all, to give us money for the medications. We took it just in case, but wanted to stick to our principles of using only natural remedies.
I really had to laugh as Chelsea and Alex texted each other over the next day or two, comparing notes on their recovery. What a sibling bonding experience. Alex’s seemed to be a wee bit rougher at first, but he also had to go back to work after only one day off!!
For those who are interested in natural remedies, we are happy to report that Chelsea used Solaray IbuActin and Boiron Arnica Montana 200ck, and had absolutely no problems with her recovery. Everything healed quickly with no delay. She used no antibiotics and no painkillers. Pretty great, huh? Natural remedies come through once again!!!
Chelsea got pretty bored with the food choices so she begged me to puree macaroni and cheese in our juicer. I was gagging just looking at it. I kept telling Chelsea that she’d darn well better eat it after going through all that hassle. It was really a mess to puree and to clean up. She assured me she would.
She didn’t. She could only bring herself to taste it, gagged, then wouldn’t eat it. Six weeks later I finally threw it out, glaring at her all the way to the trashcan. She just laughed.
She survived on miso soup, polenta, protein/fruit shakes, mashed potatoes, and scrambled eggs, with the big thrill a few days later of being able to eat real macaroni and cheese, not pureed.
So the wisdom teeth saga is finally over for both Chelsea and Alex. They never have to do it again. Now they have their own stories to tell. And we don’t have to wonder how we’ll solve it on our trip. It’s done.
Here’s a big shout-out to Ralph for making it all possible!