Is that a new gum line you're wearing?

Why yes, yes it is.

So during the last like 10 visits to my dentist, the hygienist never had anything positive to say about my teeth. Doom and gloom, I tell you. The number 1 complaint - I had gum recession! AAAAAAHHHH! She said things like, "Whenever you are ready to make the decision to see a periodontist, you tell me." Yeah, like I'll ever be jazzed to see a periodontist. Thankfully, my cousin is my dentist. He did tell me that gum recession would probably never bring about tooth loss, but that it could bring on sensitivity in teeth.

First, let me back track a little. When I was in 8th grade, I got hit with a softball right in the kisser. My two front teeth got pushed back, but did stay in my mouth thanks to my braces. I knew they were good for something. Due to that trauma over 16 years ago, the roots in those two teeth basically puttered out and dried up or something, I'm not quite sure. But I do know that 1) I really can't feel anything painful on those two teeth and 2) my gums started to recede pretty badly. If you take a look at some of the pictures I have posted in the last few months, my two front teeth look HUGE and LONG! So, because of the lack of feeling in those teeth, I would probably never have to worry about sensitivity (the main issue with gum recession), I had gum surgery so that my teeth would not look so big in pictures!
I also wanted to get that hygienist off my back!

But I was worried. Dental work is not so cheap, and insurance companies don't think your mouth is worth their investment. But my brilliant cousin, the dentist recommended that I make an appointment with the Baylor College of Dentistry (BCD). He promised me I wouldn't have a bunch of 5 year-olds working on my mouth and that if there were, a fully trained and experienced periodontist would be on hand to make sure they did it right. He also said that it would be cheaper than going to a private practice. Sign me up!

The next thing I knew, I was getting the run down of what the resident at BCD wanted to do to my gums. I was going to get what is referred to as a flap procedure. This is much less invasive than a graft (which is another reason why I went ahead with the surgery now - more options). And the price. Let's just say that when I told my cousin how much it would be, he said, "Is that per tooth?" and I said no, that was for the entire procedure. He told me that if I had gone to a private practice, it would have cost about 10 - 15 times more. What a deal!! Oh, and the resident wasn't 5 years old. He was already a DDS! Yay for him!

I had the procedure last Wednesday (7/30). Everyone was so nice and took such great care of me. I had about 8 people standing around and staring down at me the entire time. They took pictures about every 10 minutes for my case presentation. I tried to smile every time. The teaching Dr. would give the resident tips on what to do and how to do it. It really wasn't painful, although I my mom tells me I have, and always have had, a high pain tolerance. I guess it's just from trying to keep up with the older brothers.

Post-op was a little stressful with some swelling, bruising, bleeding and I had to keep the sutures in for a week. But they are now out and I am working on getting my smile back! I will try to post a picture later this evening of what it looks like now.

So here's the bottom line, while I was going through all of this I had a ton of people tell me they were worried about their gum recession. I think some dentists can overreact, but I have to say that mine was pretty bad. If you do think you need some major dental work done, I definitely recommend BCD. Your visits or procedures may take longer because they are learning, but you receive first-class treatment and service. And you can't beat the price.