Last Wednesday, i had four teeth removed and posts installed to anchor eventual implants. I also received a temporary bridge with fake teeth that i'm to wear for the coming months (2-6) that the posts are healing into my bone. I had two root canals about a month earlier and one didn't take. I also had a bite guard made as i was grinding my teeth at night, not only giving me headaches but killing the root of a tooth. So, i've had a lot of "stuff" going on in my mouth since Thanksgiving.>>>>>>> And it has, sadly,not been painfree.No, not by a long shot. I"m pretty tough on pain but this isn't the sharp pain of a slice or broken bone but rather a constant, nagging ache throughout my jaw, nose, forehead and into my ears. Acetaminophen and ibuprofen subdue it to a dull roar but also make me bleed more so i have bruises on my arms and legs from incidental bumps and even from drying my hands too agressively.>>>>>>> I was saddest by this yesterday when i came to a resolution...an eiphany if you will.>>>>>>> This is just how it's going to be going forward. This is going to be my "new normal". I will always have some discomfort and will have to be used to it and focus on what is working in my life. Looking outward at the pretty hummingbirds on the bush near my lunch table rather than thinking of how biting into the peanut butter sandwich is uncomfortable.....thinking of how blessed i am that i can get new teeth, eventually, instead of having an open space like my friend Brenda has...and, the bridge/temporary teeth look better than the caps that i had there before (from a dentist in NM after a fall) so there is the expectation that the final implants will look nice.>>>>>>> But, will it ever be the comfort that i had four years ago, before my fall that started all this "fun"? Nope. I don't think so. I think that not being 20 years old anymore means that things break and fall apart and stop working as well. There is some wear and tear and this means that i'll just always have "something". I can walk out in nature every day. I ahve friends and family. I live in flippin' paradise. Life is good...and more so if i focus on the good and not the piddly inconveniences (that said, i would love love love to be able to be 20 again...if only for a day!).>>>>>>>Pura Vida.