Another Substacker recently wrote about teeth, I remember commenting at length, but I can find the post. Instead, I will talk about aging. I highly recommend "there was an old woman" by Andrea Carlisle to read up on the subject. You're not even fifty, but we all need to learn more about growing older. Yes, the body parts change, sometimes fail, but there is much to look forward to when you do get to this time of life (old age begins at 60, if you can believe that) which can be the longest stage of our lives if we live long enough. I'll be 80 in January. I might live to be 100 or close to it. I find joy and reasons to live every single day. You're right, we need more stories about bodies! All best to you and your dental procedure.
Oh, thanks so much for the book recommendation. I will check it out! And I lose things I read on Substack all the time.
It is good to hear stories of finding contentment in old age. I know for a lot of women, things get better after menopause and I'm not there yet, so maybe that's part of it.
Oh wow I feel this so hard. I, too, wrote through the anxiety about teeth. Dental issues are such triggers! And grocery panic - one of my specialties. It's so good to hear that I'm not alone (though I'm sorry for your struggle). Also, YES to the tiny Schweppes always, and I think the horseradish is in the refrigerated section somewhere? Though I'm sure it depends on the store. Good luck, it will all be fine. My unhinged dental rant (which I embarrassingly published) turned out to be so much overreaction. The work was done and I survived. Not fun, but survivable and now in the rear view mirror.
I found and read your rant and was deeply comforted. I do feel more fragile emotionally about bodily issues than I did when I was younger. Maybe it's perimenopausal anxiety. Maybe it's midlife crisis. Maybe the looming specter of death (didn't Freud say that dreams of your teeth falling out are all about death?). Maybe all of the above. But always good to know I'm not the only one and will be very happy to get on the other side of this.
I remember breaking a tooth around 40. Forty the age where every medical/dental provider said something like, "well you know once you're past forty these things happen". I was going to look old with no teeth.....
Anyway, glad your infection is detected and you're on the mend. The stars were surely out of alignment last week.
We are all on the same page, it would seem. When I wrote about my dental disaster a few weeks ago, someone kindly reminded me: "teeth aren't meant to last forever." In fact, as you've so wisely pointed out, not a single body part is designed to last forever. The journey of our bodies is an interesting one when we look at it from a distance; living inside it while it is coming apart is another whole thing. I'm glad you are okay. I'm glad you wrote about it. If you'd like to commiserate, here's mine (I'm still waiting for the permanent crowns and shuddering with nerve pain every time I drink something that is not body temperature): https://elizabethmarro.substack.com/p/teeth
I did read your own tooth journey, in those halcyon days before my own teeth betrayed me. That's a good point that teeth aren't meant to last forever and, in fact, nothing does. It's also what makes it so hard, I guess. Part of me wants to protest, "But can't something last forever?" Nope. Not how it works.
I'm at the beginning of a long journey. Extraction in October. Then it'll probably be 7-9 months before I have a new tooth in place. But, wow, will I ever appreciate that new tooth when it's finally here.
Another Substacker recently wrote about teeth, I remember commenting at length, but I can find the post. Instead, I will talk about aging. I highly recommend "there was an old woman" by Andrea Carlisle to read up on the subject. You're not even fifty, but we all need to learn more about growing older. Yes, the body parts change, sometimes fail, but there is much to look forward to when you do get to this time of life (old age begins at 60, if you can believe that) which can be the longest stage of our lives if we live long enough. I'll be 80 in January. I might live to be 100 or close to it. I find joy and reasons to live every single day. You're right, we need more stories about bodies! All best to you and your dental procedure.
Oh, thanks so much for the book recommendation. I will check it out! And I lose things I read on Substack all the time.
It is good to hear stories of finding contentment in old age. I know for a lot of women, things get better after menopause and I'm not there yet, so maybe that's part of it.
Thanks as always for reading and commenting.
Oh wow I feel this so hard. I, too, wrote through the anxiety about teeth. Dental issues are such triggers! And grocery panic - one of my specialties. It's so good to hear that I'm not alone (though I'm sorry for your struggle). Also, YES to the tiny Schweppes always, and I think the horseradish is in the refrigerated section somewhere? Though I'm sure it depends on the store. Good luck, it will all be fine. My unhinged dental rant (which I embarrassingly published) turned out to be so much overreaction. The work was done and I survived. Not fun, but survivable and now in the rear view mirror.
I found and read your rant and was deeply comforted. I do feel more fragile emotionally about bodily issues than I did when I was younger. Maybe it's perimenopausal anxiety. Maybe it's midlife crisis. Maybe the looming specter of death (didn't Freud say that dreams of your teeth falling out are all about death?). Maybe all of the above. But always good to know I'm not the only one and will be very happy to get on the other side of this.
Me, I'm the kind of person who has to have a tooth removed, last year. I brush mine, too.
Well, I'm in good company, then. I'm sorry I didn't know this.
Did I not say it? That really speaks to your point!
I remember breaking a tooth around 40. Forty the age where every medical/dental provider said something like, "well you know once you're past forty these things happen". I was going to look old with no teeth.....
Anyway, glad your infection is detected and you're on the mend. The stars were surely out of alignment last week.
The stars were out of alignment last week, for sure! Also, at least I'm on schedule. Past forty and all the things are falling apart.
We are all on the same page, it would seem. When I wrote about my dental disaster a few weeks ago, someone kindly reminded me: "teeth aren't meant to last forever." In fact, as you've so wisely pointed out, not a single body part is designed to last forever. The journey of our bodies is an interesting one when we look at it from a distance; living inside it while it is coming apart is another whole thing. I'm glad you are okay. I'm glad you wrote about it. If you'd like to commiserate, here's mine (I'm still waiting for the permanent crowns and shuddering with nerve pain every time I drink something that is not body temperature): https://elizabethmarro.substack.com/p/teeth
I did read your own tooth journey, in those halcyon days before my own teeth betrayed me. That's a good point that teeth aren't meant to last forever and, in fact, nothing does. It's also what makes it so hard, I guess. Part of me wants to protest, "But can't something last forever?" Nope. Not how it works.
I'm at the beginning of a long journey. Extraction in October. Then it'll probably be 7-9 months before I have a new tooth in place. But, wow, will I ever appreciate that new tooth when it's finally here.
You rock. Infection and all. ❤️
Thanks, Betsey!