#tooth stuff

I've had a cockatoo for 18 years; almost half her life.

When a cockatoo is happy and looking for friendship and scratches and attention they often click their beak and make soft clicking and clucking noises, even while the scratches are being distributed.

When a cockatoo is particularly content, they will grind their beak. Their beaks grow through their life and don't often require maintenance with a good diet and environmental, such as things to chew on and calcium perches and treats.

I've been grinding my teeth to show her I'm also content with her company. For 18 years. Almost every day, multiple times a day, for 18 years.

I've worn the enamel off at least one tooth down to the pulp and only found out because of a particularly sharp Dorito.

the bad news is it's because they CAN'T fix my teeth with invisalign!

apparently one of my roots is very curved and basically touching its neighbor so there's no room to move it. they're going to have to close and seal the gap that's causing the issues with filling material and possibly do a gum graft. it will be significantly cheaper but much, much more uncomfortable and possibly require additional future procedures so.

i had the consult a couple weeks ago but this was the first Work. the dentist, hygienist, and tech were all really nice to me. they um. cleaned the shit out of my mouth and then obliterated some shitty old fillings that were overdrilled and therefore cracked my teeth? two right next to each other. and they did a bunch of stuff and then put temporary crowns on them. idk there was a lot of drilling. i'm not really interested in the details tbqh like none of that concerns me. they gave me valium and let me blast podcasts on my headphones and just tapped my chin when they needed something from me lol. they gave me a super crazy electric toothbrush (why is it so violent) and a water blaster thing and some special mouthwash.

i get my wisdom teeth out next thursday and then a week after that when i've started to heal my permanent crowns will be ready and i go get them on. and then there's some like minor fillings left to go i think.

i also got a physical the other day for the first time in. i can't even tell you how long. at least five years, possibly as much as ten. and guess what, my bloodwork is all normal. so like. it's fine actually

but actually i can't stress enough that if you have the means (i did not for some time and actually at 35, have dental insurance for the first time in my entire life so no shade there) you really really should just go to the fucking dentist bc it is so much more arduous and expensive if you put it off. and it doesn't just get better on its own.

fortunately i'm not one of those dipshits that waits until it's like. oh we need to pull all your teeth out. due to the Infection. happened to a couple people i know. and it's like guess what now you HAVE to come up with the money. and the suffering

Decades of depression and ADHD and other excuses (ha) adds up to wow dental work is *violently* expensive.