Eating My Way Through... Part 1

And thus, with six hours left on the sixth day, I look forward to the next sunrise when the sutures/stitches will be removed and the area assessed by the dentist. The first two days after surgery weren’t pleasant. The pain was almost gone on the first night but the swelling starts soon after.

I had to open my mouth – no, more like not able to shut it properly – as my upper tooth will rest directly on the swollen area of the gum. Fine, I thought. I’d prop my head on two pillows, tilted it slightly to the right and downwards, and go to sleep. Giving myself an imaginary pat on the back, I went to sleep.

I was jolted from my slumber and I remember opening my mouth (seemed like reflex on hindsight) sucking in some air in a vain attempt to sooth the pain. Somehow, my brain decided then to tell the jaws to shut. Tight.

Now I got smarter and on the second night, I rolled some dental gauze pads together and place them between my premolars on the right; a good distance from the left side should the gauze fall inside my mouth. I awoke to a very dry mouth the next day.

Eating wasn’t a nice experience. Due to the minimal jaw opening, I had to use a teaspoon to feed myself. Although I made killer (or nearly so) mash potatoes, it’s so difficult to spoon a small amount mash and slowly introduce it into the buccal cavity. Any bigger and I’d be kissing the mash.

Fast forwarding...

Today I had porridge for lunch. Five days of mash potatoes seemed like too much for too long. The area where the partially erupted tooth used to be now looked puffy and it felt much smaller when I tried biting down. And it slightly red but pink overall. I need to sink my teeth into some meat soon.

And oh, I'll be having rice vermicelli for dinner. Soup's ready. The scent of seaweed, mushroom, dried scallops, and sesame oil beckons. I might as well cook the vermicelli now.