Dental Part 11
Crossing oceans is like flossing. It has to be done regularly. 
It can be via air, boat or magic carpet, doesn’t matter, as long as it happens. Four weeks after Wilckodontics gum surgery and 5 weeks after my initial encounter with Invisalign, I took to the skies. Because airplane water does not inspire confidence, my sole concern was cleaning gums, teeth and trays on the plane. Decided there was an easy solution, don’t do it and go with gross teeth.
After eating I went to the restroom and unfortunately looked in the mirror (don’t do that). There was a wonderful selection of green bits of lettuce in my trays. As you might guess this was completely unacceptable. So here is what you need for travel in general and crossing oceans in particular. 
Bring a small bowl, retainer brite, bottled water, travel bottle of hydrogen peroxide and toothbrush. Retainer brite is a tablet for cleaning trays not unlike the “plop, plop fizz, fizz what a relief it is” equivalent of Alka-Seltzer. Put tablet and bottled water in bowl, add trays, use bottled water to brush and rinse trays. Trays back in. For good measure rinse with hydrogen peroxide and water. Yes there will be a line out the door when you are finished. Oh well.
When doing Wilcko, tray changes happen every two to three days and since there are always many excellent and delightful distractions on the road, a reminder system for tray change days is essential. 
I chose to label trays with the change date. Worked well and decided this was a habit to continue since there are always countless distractions and venue changes.
Why was I in Italy you might ask? A wedding near the small town of Contursi, Italy at the Hotel Terme Rosapepe…
To prevent meals from moving in between my back teeth, flossing is essential. The only solution during recovery is rinsing vigorously (still love this word). Plus I wonder if I need to stand a few feet away from people???
Maybe I wasn’t so great after all. Worse, she crouched down just before impact. I yelled don’t bend down but it was too late, she came in fast and low. I was propelled into the air, landed flat out leaving my skis exactly where they were. What a great photo that would have been.
So I am attempting to force the tray on my lower teeth and my finger slips and digs into my tender, Frankenstein gums. Yes, the F bomb came out of my mouth, vigorously you might say. It was not my finest moment. Of course I stood in the no longer serene room and apologized to all the young moms.
Soooo, let’s get to the question you have been dying to ask. How do you look after surgery? Not bad at first but the swelling kicked in on Wednesday and peaked Friday. 
Fair warning, these photos do not grasp the extent of the swelling but perhaps this story will paint an accurate picture. Earl was away for the weekend and when he returned on Sunday the swelling was almost gone. 
He duly noted that and then told me that I had looked like an old lady who lost her teeth. Hot.
Peak blackness was Sunday but those babies lingered through the following weekend. Come up with a good story. People either stare or ask. I like the “askers”. What I needed was some black lipstick to complete the look but alas my black lipstick was in Key West where such things are needed.
braces/invisalign by more than half. The first selfie above was the day after surgery, the second was 3 days after and the selfie with the zombie base makeup was at 6 days. And for comparison, the nonselfie photo was taken just before all this started. My vanity demanded inclusion of a normal photo.
Advance planning on the food front is essential especially for those who clock in multiple hours a day snacking and dining. The periodontist will recommend soft food. Pull the long ignored vitamix out of the closet unless you find days of yogurt and protein shakes satisfying. I started with foods like soups; blended vegetables with almond milk and protein powder; yogurt with hemp, peanut butter, fruit and walnuts. 
But before long I got really hungry. Drastic measures were called for and I did something that just feels wrong. I added meat to the blender. Cook a sweet potato, sauté shiitake mushrooms with a bit of ginger and put all this in the blender with flavored bone broth, a good source of protein. Add chicken, hit blend and do not look at the mess that is created.
By the fifth day, I was ready to sauté veges with eggs, lots of eggs. It was wonderful. And yes, there was also ice cream.
I soon discovered that my teeth had been weaponized. The attachments on the lower front teeth ate holes in the inside of my lip while I was engaged in some much needed retail therapy. As soon as I got home, I rushed to put the trays in but the damage had been done and now the edge of the tray was having its way in the same area. I should have called the orthodontist for suggestions but instead made the first of many trips to the dental and first aid aisle trying one thing after the other to alleviate the pain. I ended up tearing off a bit of napkin and shoving it in there at dinner and it was blessed relief. I didn’t even care that I looked like I had a chew in. 
It would be a lie to say the first few days were easy. They were unpleasant at best but everything turned around by day 4 and I struck an uneasy alliance with the trays. By the day before surgery, the inside of my lip was healed and the trays were easy to put in and out. Good thing too because no dental wax was allowed after surgery…
To begin, the orthodontist completed a 3D scan of my teeth. Invisalign uses this scan to produce clear plastic aligners or trays which when worn sequentially will shift the teeth into the proper position. For me, 41 trays were produced. Consider this process a real life flipbook. 
s of food get stuck in them. Really attractive. And let’s not forget cavities.