Once In A While We Have All "Found" A Small Piece Of Bone While Chewing Food, Right?

  No big deal, just spit it out.

Well, Blog buddy Leigh found out the hard way just how bad things can go.


He filled me in on what he has dealt with after a small bone punctured his gums and jammed into
his jaw bone.......

Leigh's email......

"Remember the whole deal with me biting a pork bone, the ensuing infection - and what not?
Well it gets better........
At my regularly scheduled dentist appointment, a week and-a-half later, a different dentist looked at my injury. The infection hadn't gone away, but I was managing to keep it from getting worse. He wrote me a full script for Amoxacillan.  Because the infection got so bad, I got an abscessed tooth in the back. Bad enough that the roots were damaged to the point where the tooth was going to die.
So I had two options: pull it or root canal.
Well, not want to lose anymore teeth, I opted for the root canal. So two Friday's ago, I had the root canal done. Not as bad as I had thought, but it still sucked. As the swelling started to subside, I could feel a depression where the pork bone had got me.
The odd thing was, there were protrusions above and below the site of the puncture. As the swelling subsided, the protrusions became more pronounced, until it became apparent what they were - bone fragments. Ultimately they penetrated my gums, rubbing the bottom of my tongue raw. When the pork bone punctured my gums, it also pierced my jaw bone - fragmenting the two pieces I could feel around the wound site. It got so bad that last Friday, I used my little screwdriver to dig the upper piece out. Unfortunately, the piece in the bottom has re-fused with the jaw bone. It feels like a 3/8" long serrated steak knife under the side of my tongue. REALLY sucks. Monday, I went to the dentist, and they confirmed what I had assumed.
Now I get to go to an oral surgeon next Thursday to get my gums cut open, the bone fragment removed, and stitches in my mouth. I can't wait...... 



If this had been a Grid- Down, TEOTWAWKI, situation things may have had a very unhappy ending. This wasn't even a unnecessary risk I took either, it was just a freak accident with serious implications. Without medical attention, the infection very well could have gotten into my bones.
Don't think that this hasn't been a lesson learned on my end.
The fracture was below the standard area of dental X-rays. Also the swelling obscured the extent of the actual wound. I'm sure they would have done something had they known. I'm not pointing any fingers. I just want it fixed so it will finally heal. "



Good luck Leigh