Teeth and Sinuses

The Dawn of Congestion

Shortly before I entered my twenties, chronic congestion eased its way into my life. It started light and simple enough: I would start to get a little congested and then activity (e.g. a jog) would clear it right up. I took it as a sign to be more active. It didn't work for long, though, as the congestion settled over me like a smog.

I won't detail the longer version, but over the next 30 years, I tried everything from over-the-counter medications of every conceivably related variety to prescription medications that worked but bea the crap out of me, to an invasive surgery that permanently reconfigured my sinuses and promised at least years of relief, if not a lifetime. Within a month of healing from the surgery, I was already getting congested again. The surgery and recovery took twice as long to endure as the duration of relief I achieved. But at least it didn't destroy my olfactory senses.

Of course it was miersable, but I learned to live with it. My baseline discomfort became the new zero on the pain scale. I saw allergists, otolaryngologists, and pharmacists, but after the results of the failed surgery, I gave up on Western medicine. I saw acupuncturists, naturopaths, and weirder, but I never got lasting relief there, either.

I was at wit's end, and I gave up. I also got an illness that turned into an ear infection and left so much swelling around that, combined with the sinus congestion, I ruptured an eardrum. My timpanic membrane split painfully while I was on an airplane, and I wept phlegm out of my ear for weeks. My wife, disgusted with me, suggested another round with a doctor. I went back and was prescribed the same familiar round of Prednisone, Amoxycillin, antihistamines, and a sinus spray. I cleared up almost instantly, as always, but after discontinuing the prednisone, I stayed clear for days... which led to weeks... which led to months.

Something else must've changed.

Deconstructing Christianity

Of course a story of my teeth has to involve the deconstruction of Christianity. What doesn't, at this point. I was a good little boy, I believed, who really wanted to get into Heaven. Even through high school, I got even more involved in the church, attending weekly instead of just on holidays. That lasted several months or maybe a couple years at most. I haven't been to church since other than for weddings (not my own), memorials, and community events. It has been working out well for me.

There were so many ways, however, that I continued to constrain myself. Honoring the ten commandments doesn't feel like much of a good person, given that it's just a series of pretty decent ideas, where they aren't specifically about whatever god. It reads like a breakdown of "how to not be cruel to others" and "how to not be cruel to yourself." Killing hurts others. Covetousness hurts you.

The seven deadly sins are another thing though. While the old testament was more cruel in many ways, it was also kinda solid in its basic guidance. The seven deadly sins, on the other hand, feels like the hypocricy of a cruel ruler set on bending the will of his people. Gluttony is lovely, in moderation. Lust and greed can be fun from time to time. Pride, while annoying in excess, is immensely healthy in moderation. And oh, our king hates sloth, does he? He wishes us to be harder workers who produce greater wealth for him? Well, imagine that. And God forbid I take a rest and enjoy my lift a bit. Oh, God does indeed forbid? No, of course.

Ah, but there I was with a mouth full of creeked teeth and such a grave distaste of vanity that I did nothing about it. I distinctly remember saying at one point, "I'm not auditioning for any movies, thanks." I contented myself to that for a great many years before my son had a challenging-enough bite pattern that orthodontia was worth considering just to improve his quality of eating. We signed him up for Invisalign, and I joined him in it so that I could better understand what he was going through and give him some companionship in it.

The cause, in this case, was not vanity, so I was comfortable with it. In short order, my own bite pattern improved, and I realized that I had more than reasons of vanity all along. Shame on me for not seeing it sooner. Or, wait, is shame a sin?? Oh no, wait, that's the one non-sin.

Bringing it Together

And there I was, sinuses still clear after a round of drugs I'd done four or six times before, wondering what on earth made the difference this time. And then I realized that as my teeth were getting straightened out, so were my sinuses. What a wild thing.

A brief timeline:

1996: Onset of sinus congestion
2004: Great healthcare for a change, start rounds of prescriptions
2007: Sinus surgery
2009: All in on Eastern medicine
2016: Kinda give up on Eastern medicine as well
2025:
  April: Eardrum ruptures
  May: Orthodontist consultation
  August: Another round of prescriptions
2026: Still feeling great, and absolutely shocked about it

So now I'm left with the clear realization that getting my teeth in place helped my sinuses get in place. In fact, we still are not through our Invisalign. We've finished all 14 sets of round 1 and 4 sets (of 14) from the second and final round. 18/28ths of the way done and already reaping the benefits.