“Remoted” Day 341 (Saturday)

This morning had a routine cleaning appointment scheduled at the dentist. After the weird toothache that started yesterday and rolled right on into today, I’ve never looked forward to a dental visit as much as today’s. The ache was quite unpleasant this morning, starting at the tooth that got the crown over the summer, and the one directly above it. It included my jaw and the headache from last night.

The appointment included a full set of 18 x-rays, which the hygienist said happens every five years. That was thrilling, as the device never fits into my mouth easily. The images showed no decay and no infection.

The professional dental assessment is that my excessive jaw clenching, which has become an all day, every day condition for at least a month, is the cause. It is exacerbated by the upper tooth having a pointy feature making firm contact with the crown below. Even at night when I remember to put in the exceedingly attractive bite guard that causes me to lisp, there is a lot of pressure from the clenching. My shoulders and upper back are so hard and tense they could serve as a wall for handball.  

Whatever. After the cleaning, the dentist made an adjustment by filing down the point and easing the contact of the two teeth. He mentioned the jaw could be sore for around two weeks because the ligaments are aggravated. It’s good the expectation was set.

After the dentist, located halfway between my house and Mom’s, I continued down Route 2 to her house. We looked at old family photos that she has gathered to hand off to one of her cousins. It was nice and lowkey and helped me forget bout my sore jaw for a while.  

OMG, is this snuggling?

The evening delivered a surprise. After roughly ten years of giving each other lots of space, the dogs napped on the couch and were touching each other. Not just their butts, like has seemed to be an accident. They were side by side. Snuggling almost. During the night, Winston sometimes drags his bed a few feet across the bedroom floor to be closer to Moose’s. I am trying to contain my glee just in case it is an intimidation play. You know, like in junior high, when it was possible to completely stress someone out by standing close to them. Or maybe that was just me getting stressed out by my personal tormentors, especially the ones in high school. There was one girl in particular, who would stand in my very long checkout line at DeMoulas to buy a single pack of gum with a large bill, and call me names under her breath while I was counting back the change. She was royally pissed because her boyfriend, who lived near me, had given me a ride home from work. That is high on the list of things I don’t miss from high school. As for my dogs acting cozy with each other – that is high on my list of things to love today.