Settings: ISO 800, f/7.1, 1/100 sec shutter speed, 50mm lens

I spent about half my day at the dentist yesterday having gum surgery, so I thought it only appropriate to make my photo of the day dental in theme.  I won’t even go into detail, but in the last year, I have had about five dental surgeries – including three rounds of gum surgery, the surgical removal of an impacted tooth from the roof of my mouth and two dental implants surgically placed into my upper jaw. This is some crazy stuff.

See – I was born with a complicated mouth – very fitting as I was also born with a dentist as a father!  But my dad is a general dentist and now that I’m older he thought I needed to have some serious work done… stuff he doesn’t do at his practice.  So alas, he sent me to his dental school roommate who works in a fancy specialized dentistry practice in midtown Manhattan.  A year later, after probably 30-40 hours spent in the chair, I’m approaching the end of the process (thank god).  It’s been a dental marathon.

I’ve been trying to ice my face conscientiously today to minimize swelling … but chances are, if this time is anything like the last two times, I’ll be delightfully puffy and looking like a Cabbage Patch Kid by tomorrow morning.  Maybe photo 97 will be my bizzaro self-portrait.