Teeth Are Not TOOLS

One of the many challenges I face of the daily level is just mechanics of life, how do I do stuff? I'm usually okay in figuring things out and usually there is a way to do what I need to do that's not harmful/dangerous to me or others. But as I age I think that is becoming another one of the things of the past. I'm trying my hardest to stay min assist in always. One of the things that is been drilled into me over and over since early rehab days – – back in the 60s is that “your teeth are not tools”. I mean of course I always use my teeth (it's in other semi hard things. I've been blessed with strong teeth, hard teeth, as the dentist to said over time. When you're quadriplegic you got to use your teeth. You use your teeth teeth to open things, to hold things, tear things and of course chew. For years I have been closing the door to wherever I lived by biting down the cord that I have typed with doorknob and driving my chair forward I let go of the cord just before the door closes save my teeth but shutting the door. This is always worked and it still does fairly well.

Last week I bit down on something I don't remember exactly what. Is that a meal of some sort and my left front tooth sheared off are the fascia sheared off. I've course of traumatized but immediately thankful that, but what felt like a huge piece of tooth shearing off, did not have any pain associated with the shear off.. I immediately called my dentist who got me in a couple of days which kind of frightened because I did not know what other trauma might result from a huge to hang out there as I had. I just didn't seem to worry so I tried not to ensure enough everything worked out fine in fact he didn't even use anesthetic to do the job. Post a quite proud of myself. Like everything else I was thankful for the repair but the repair was not as good as the original tooth and I miss that.

Fast-forward one week, a couple days ago, and I was leaving the house with my string in my mouth closing the door behind me and somehow the string caught the new feeling/tooth repairand sure enough popped the repair right off. Which once again necessitated another call. I was fortunate and was able to get in to see my dentist Friday. He fixed me up and got me out. Now I have a decent smile again but the build up on the back of the tooth repair seem somewhat large in my lower teeth bite into it every time I chew. I hope this is survivable maybe when my dentist gets back from Alaska in a couple weeks he can do something by grinding some of that bulk on the back side of the front tooth off. If not I learned to live with it

So now I am forcing myself to close the door, when I exit the house, holding the cord in my hand. It's hard to do, kind of scares me but I got a do it I don't have the time, money or pride to keep showing up at my doctor's office to have repair my mistakes.