sarahmichelef

Dear my friends on the Internets, allow me to save you lots of physical pain along with the hassle and cost of a short-notice dental visit.  Here are the things I learned today:

1. Due to what I'm sure is a sick sense of humor on the part of some higher power, popcorn hulls are just the right shape to suction themselves to one's teeth.  They can do this below or above the gumline.
2. Regular flossing often only serves to drive said suction-cupped popcorn hull deeper.
3. Popcorn hulls do not show up on dental x-rays.
4. The way to get it out by yourself, without shelling out fifty bucks or more to the dentist:  tie a knot in a piece of dental floss, get it in the affected space and pull it out laterally (let go of one end and pull it through the gap and out the other side).  The knot should grab whatever's stuck in there and drag it out with it.
   

I can eat again!  I will not have to drug myself to go to sleep at night!  (I only had to do that last night, really.)  The blood spatter from my mouth went REALLY FAR!

The best part, though, is that neither the hygienist nor the dentist made me feel like an ass about the situation, and afterwards the dentist, office girl, and I were swapping sinus lavage stories.  My dental clinic is awesome.