I am going to lump together two posts because today and yesterday are dominated by my dental treatment and very little else. 

I was glad I had taken the time on Wednesday evening to make a curry because, if nothing else, it meant that there was food in the fridge for John for the weekend and I had the chicken which needed using up anyway.

I had promised to make the curry for Les when we had seen him early on Wednesday and we dropped it round before heading off for the dentists.  He looked frail and tired when I popped my head round the door to say hi but his face lit up when he realised that I had brought him a curry as promised.  When he was fitter and could walk around to our house he could tuck away a massive portion and take one home for another day.  It was a small thing to do for someone for whom now small things really matter.

It was another super hot day - when we set off for Peyia the car was showing 39 degrees in the shade here in Droushia and there is no respite in sight.  We arrived down at the dentists a bit early so popped into Philippos's to pick up some bits.

So the time had come for my treatment.  As a bit of background I have had some soreness of gums and some bleeding for a while - the picture above is not of my teeth but I can relate to the image on the left.  My dentist Dr Harris was concerned when he last did a clean about the amount of blood that was created and I have to say so was I.  He asked me to see a specialist for a second opinion and I did - Dr Fedeas explained the severity of the gum disease that I had and I agreed to continue with treatment (I must have been drunk).  Anyway I had to have a couple of blood tests to check on my Vitamin D levels which were within the permitted limits (low vitamin D can cause tooth decay) and on my glucose levels because gum disease can often indicate diabetes - fortunately my levels here were within the permitted limits which was good because their is a family history of diabetes.

Today I was having the right side of my mouth top and bottom deep cleaned.  This involved a number of injections to the front and back of my gums to make sure they were well numbed - I reckon there were about 40 in total and a couple of them near my front teeth made me cry.  Once numb the deep cleaning commenced.  That in itself wasn't too bad but my inability to keep my mouth wide open for any length of time (due to major jaw surgery 30+ years ago) means that I get severe pain across my cheeks whilst work is being carried out.

The first session of work lasted about 45 minutes.  I then had to get John to go to the chemists to get the medication prescribed before we could go home.  I felt pretty ropey I have to say and the numbness which was over the whole of the side of my face, including my nose didn't disappear for about 4 hours.  I was allowed to eat lukewarm, soft food - deep joy.

This was Charlie when we got home - flaked out around his food bowls.  He wasn't hungry but I think it was the only place he got a bit of breeze bless him.  I could sympathise as I just wanted to find somewhere nice and cool myself!

I was glad to get home and have my first lot of pain killers and antibiotics and to clean, sloosh and gel my poorly gums and retire to bed with the fan on full blast.  I really was not looking forward to round 2 but have to get it done.

I had a text from Clare thanking me for the curry, she said Les really enjoyed it and had even managed to pick up his guitar this afternoon for a little while.  It sounds like he perks up a bit in the afternoon which is good news.

Day two of my treatment when the left hand side of my face was worked on, top and bottom and inside and out.  This time I did not have to have quite so many injections - apparently this is something to do with it being the lefthand side and the flow of blood from the heart - I didn't really care eitherway because the injections are painful full stop.  

I had two occasions when I nearly hit the roof - both of which were when the middle teeth were being worked on and something sensitive was touched but luckily this side of my mouth was not so bad so the treatment only took about 40 minutes but having had that major surgery on my jaw that was long enough.  I returned home feeling pretty battered and with a raging headache.

Bless John, he had managed to find me some macaroni cheese in a pot.  I have to eat soft food for quite some time and it is quite hard to think of what to have save for scrambled eggs.  Macaroni Cheese and Baked Beans is one of my guilty pleasures but usually I buy it in tins and have it when John has gone to the UK to visit family and friends.  I can confirm that disgusting as it my seem these snack pots are really tasty and at least I managed to get something to eat because with both sides of my teeth having been done that was pretty difficult.