I’ve just emerged from major dental surgery. A cracked tooth that could not be saved, requiring extraction, implant and, in another 3 months time, a new crown.
Here’s how it happened that I found myself thousands of dollars out of pocket and how it might have been avoided, or at least slightly less traumatic.
For the past several months I have experienced sensitivity on the left hand side of my mouth when I’m eating. I visit my dentist regularly and there were no alarm bells ringing for them, so I ignored it.
I simply started favouring my right side for serious chewing and regularly took panadol when the pain got a bit much.
At the same time this was all going on, there were several major life events unfolding.
A big international family wedding in Greece.
A couple of teenagers at home struggling with existential challenges.
Lots of heavy lifting at work with major projects and deadlines.
These life events became the focal point of my life, and I got caught in a dreaded whirlwind where that was all that existed.
And in response I broke all my own rules about self care.
I stopped exercising, meditating and eating with a focus on nutrition. I said “no” to most invitations from friends and stopped taking time out to have fun.
Work and family consumed me, and without these important self care rituals, at night I would grind my teeth in a stress response.
And so the tooth cracked.
Only when the pain became so unbearable I couldn’t think straight at work, did I call my dentist in desperation.
An hour later, I was in the chair, examined and x-rayed and given the news: the tooth could not be saved.
Four days later I was back in the dental chair, with drips in my hands for sedation, emerging an hour later with the offending tooth pulled, and so spaced out I couldn’t walk for half an hour.
I recalled my friend Charlotte from the mindfulness clinic talking about the trauma on the body from procedures such as these, with all the drugs and invasive works. But, as this was my first “procedure” I didn’t really understand it. And it really was traumatic. My body didn’t feel like my own, people were working on me like mechanics on a vehicle. The drugs made me feel I wasn’t in my own body. I didn’t like it. And, it was painful!
Damn you stress.
Damn you Belinda for not listening to your dear body giving you all the clues that chronic stress was eating away at you.
So as I sit in bed recovering, I feel compelled to remind myself and anyone else who might be missing these important red flags from the dear body:
- When pain and discomfort appear in the body, it is usually a sign there is a physical or emotional element that requires attention. Chronic stress and poor lifestyle are very often the cause;
- Exercise is a balm for stress, anxiety and overwhelm. Use it as a great gift to yourself daily;
- Meditation (or mindfulness, prayer, silence, breathing) calms the nervous system and helps bring perspective, even when you are faced with the biggest mental load. It’s a great daily habit, but can also be taken as needed (maybe a 5 minute meditation before popping more medication!);
- Food is medicine. It not only gives us energy, but many foods are healing. Put good stuff in your body, rather that poisoning it with toxins like sugar. Every day there is an opportunity to nurture yourself with whole foods (not too much) and feel your body say “thank you”;
And finally, when your dear body is in overwhelm or stress, consider the support options around you and put them to good use. That might be friends and family. It might be a national helpline such as Lifeline. Talking to the right people at the right time can course correct a path that might lead to worse than a cracked tooth.
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