LIFE LESSONS

Dry Socket: An Ode

It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose.

My dentist has just finished inspecting the right side of my mouth, six days after the first extractions of my wonky wisdom teeth. Two down, two to go!

In their stead should be two beautifully congealed blood clots, a protective shield to help the gums knit themselves back together.

But one of those clots is lost, missing in action and in its place is — nothing.

Dry socket (alveolar osteitis) is the dreaded consequence of having a tooth pulled, because it can be excruciatingly painful and there’s not all that much we can do to speed on the recovery process except pop painkillers.

Apparently, if you look closely enough, you might even see a bit of bone.

The pain I can handle. The possibility it’s my own fault I cannot.

Did I follow the dental surgeon’s instructions closely enough? Did I start rinsing too soon? Did I rinse too much? Did I chew on the wrong side? Should I have stuck to mashed banana and yoghurt?

I feel hard done by. Dry socket was the condition I wanted to avoid, and I tried so hard. I did everything I was meant to do. I even stopped drinking wine.

And all for nothing.

But sometimes, that’s the way it goes. And so today’s life lesson is:

“It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life.” (Captain Jean-Luc Picard)

If you like what you see, then you might like my novel. The Beautiful Anatomy of Despair (2022) — out now!