Am I like Superman if I change my own identity?

I know I’m the same person I was before the dental surgery that changed my life. I know I needed it

or things could’ve gotten a lot worse and I would be in bigger trouble than I was, but there are times now when I look in the mirror and, even though I’ve gotten used to my face without an entire row of teeth, it still makes me think there’s a different person looking back now.

A gummi-bear.

I can’t seem to get that name out of my head now. Gummi on one part only though, but still…

But maybe this is a phase, the adjustment phase.

Soft food recipes - Chicken & Sweetcorn Soup

Another meal idea for soft foods/post-surgery recovery.

Personally, I love this soup and there's no better kind of soup for healing and recovery than chicken soup. The corn just makes it a little better.

20g butter

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

5 chicken thigh fillets, trimmed and sliced

1 litre Real Stock Chicken

2 x 420g cans creamed corn

2 x 125g cans corn kernels, drained

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/4 cup sour cream

Salt and cracked black pepper

1/3 cup chopped coriander leaves

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.

Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, then add the chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Stir in the stock, creamed corn, corn kernels and sugar.

Bring to the boil then simmer for 15 minutes or until the chicken is very tender and you’re happy with the consistency.

Remove from the heat and stir through the sour cream, salt and pepper. Top with the coriander and serve.

For more varied texture, process one of the tins of whole corn kernels.

There are more ideas and recipes, or you want to change to a healthier diet, I recommend checking out Changing Habits.

Soft food for recovery

Brothy pumpkin soup

This is one of my favourite soups, easy to make and nourishing. Especially in winter as it is here in the Southern Hemisphere right now.

Perfect for when solid food is out of the question.

Ingredients

• 1 medium pumpkin, chopped with the skin removed
• 2 brown onions, quartered
• 1/2 clove of garlic
• 2-3 carrots, chopped
• 1-3 Litres of homemade broth (chicken, lamb, beef, turkey or goat) (Add less broth for a thicker consistency and more for a thinner consistency)
• 1-2 tsp Changing Habits Seaweed Salt
• 2 Tbsp Changing Habits Coconut Oil, butter or ghee
• 2 tsp ground turmeric powder
• Cream or yoghurt to garnish with (coconut or dairy)
• A handful of activated or toasted pumpkin seeds for garnishing
• A handful of chopped fresh herbs for garnish (parsley, coriander and/ or basil)
• A sprinkle of Changing Habits Dulse Flakes for garnish

Optional Add Ins: 3 potatoes peeled & chopped, 1 large sweet potato chopped, 2 golden beetroots chopped, other spices such as cumin, pepper, chilli, ginger ect..

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Add all of your chosen vegetables (except garlic) to a roasting tray with the coconut oil, butter or ghee and roast for 20-25 minutes.

2. After 20-25 minutes check the veggies and turn them over to make sure they cook evenly. Add the garlic to the trays and continue to cook until everything is golden brown.

3. Once ready, add all of the veggies to a large saucepan along with all other ingredients (except for garnishes).

4. Allow to simmer on the stove until desired (you can slow cook this down to intensify all of the flavours, or quickly cook then blitz to puree).

5. Once ready, ladel into bowls and garnish with cream or yoghurt, dulse flakes, herbs and some of the pepita seeds.

6. Store any leftovers in the fridge for later. 

Why do we always chew rice?

Funny thing, during the recovery phase I had a soft food diet, a very soft food diet; soups, minced

meat and an Asian rice dish called Congee, which is basically a porridge made of rice.

But even though rice is just small grains, you always get the instinctive reaction to chew it, how small does it have to be?

And let me tell you, chewing anything when you have stitches in your gums is never a pleasant feeling.

It’s strange, looking back when I had a full head of teeth, whenever I ate rice I always chewed it before swallowing. It wasn’t until I lost half my teeth that I found I could just swallow it.

It may be the most bizarre thing I’ve ever discovered about myself.

What’s more bizarre is that I’m willing to post it online…

But if you are going through the recovery phase and need something tastier, and healthier than plain old rice, check out this at changinghabits.

Hauling it out of your mouth

The first time I used fixative, taking the denture out seemed like a freakish experience. The technique used to remove it when there is no fixative is quite easy but doesn’t fully work once it’s fixed in. You need to jimmy it a bit with a finger, ease it down at the front and then rock it a bit. It may seem like a lot of work reading about it, but once you do it a few times it gets a lot easier.

Once it’s free, there’s another freakish experience in store. 

The fixative forms some sort of ‘spit bridge from hell’, have your denture brush ready and use soap (never toothpaste) to scrub the remaining fixative from the denture. Then you can put your denture away for the night it whatever container you use. It’s important not to leave it in overnight, even if it feels like you can’t get the denture out of your mouth. It’s important to rest your mouth and not risk putting the denture out of shape.

For the fixative still remaining on the gums, just spit the majority of it out (I don't need to tell you that, this WILL come naturally). Brush your remaining teeth and also gently brush the gum line and the roof of your mouth (also a freakish experience that eases in freakishness after a few times.

It’s all part of the adjustment phase. This becomes routine after a while and you get used to it.

If you’re new to dentures, I hope this takes away any apprehension of using fixative. At first I wasn’t too sure and waited a while to get used to the denture first, then took the leap. Yes, it will keep the denture in place but it’s not super glue, it can and will be removed if you need to (and do not, ever, use super glue on your dentures!!!)

If you have a different way or a better experience than mine, post it in the comments.

The Whistling 'S'

If you’ve just received your denture, you’ve no doubt noticed that any word containing the letter S sometimes makes you sound like a referee blowing a foul in a basketball match. It’s quite common and we all go through it.

The reason is because when you speak, the air rushes between the denture and the roof of the mouth and out of the small gap at the front between the denture and gum. Sure, it can be embarrassing when it happens, and for me it made me feel older, much older than I am. But there is one sure-fire way to prevent it, or at least minimise it while you re-learn to speak with the denture.

Happy(ish) anniversary

For me, today is four weeks with dentures incorporated into my life. I’ve adjusted well and still need to adjust more. This is a long road but a road that I must travel now.

In the beginning I didn’t think I would get through it. The inability to eat normally was the toughest but I got through it, yes there was some pain, and there is a little now when I eat.