[Magdalen] Dental prayers please

[James Oppenheimer-Crawford]

An implant?!?! Oh, poor, poor dear!!

I dread having to go that route.  Thus far I've dodged the bullet.
Will you have to chew on the other side of your mouth for a few months or
what?  I hope it isn't a long period of healing.
But when the implant is finally set, is it correct to say that you will
have a tooth superior to the one nature gave you?

I have some background in psychology, so I find it fascinating how a person
is able to manage pain. I found an article which might be helpful for you,
I hope:
http://thebrainlady.com/articles/how-i-stayed-calm-at-the-dentist-mindfulness-works/

Also, there is a paradoxical technique I learned about with respect to
headaches that also helps in dental work. I discovered that my wife does
very similar strategies.
It is not the actual pain which bothers us most; it is the pain, plus our
lack of control. We focus on how bad the pain is, and we suffer. Most
people do this. I certainly do if I don't have a chance to think it through
first.
However, I find instead of wishing the pain would go away, I deliberately
pay attention to exactly what it is, and ask myself, Is this really
unbearable, or is it something I can deal with for a period of time? In my
case, it has been more a matter of the noise of the work going on, more
than the pain, that bothers me.  Once I look directly at the pain, I
generally can either say, "I've got this," or I might stop and tell the
dentist to give me another shot.  Thus far I have not had to do that, but
once.

By the time I turn on my PC again, all of this will be a memory, hopefully
not even a very bad one, and you can get on with the long-term process of
healing. Let us know how things go, please.



James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
*“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy

On Wed, Mar 16, 2016 at 11:52 PM, Susan Hagen <susanvhagen at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear sibs,
> Tomorrow morning I go for my dental implant, the next stage in the
> saga both of both dental and financial woes.  It has also been a sucky
> week at work, so much that at least tomorrow has the compensation that
> I will face it with anesthesia.  Could you spare me a few prayers
> around 10:30 DST?
>
> Thanks,
> Susan
>
> --
> The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among
> you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the
> land of Egypt.
> Leviticus 19:34
>