dental surgery

that has a rather jolly ring to it, doesn't it? yes, yes. and it is in my future.

abject confession: prior to yesterday afternoon, it had been 15 years since i've sat in a dentist's chair. i know, i know. deplorable, irresponsible. still, it's very easy to not go to the dentist if you put your mind to it. i haven't had any tooth pain over the years, and once the first year or two had gone by it became more and more difficult to summon the stones to make an appointment. but i did it, i made that appointment, and i went.

and it wasn't bad. the dentist and all his techs and hygienists were very kind, friendly, and goodlooking. more than a dozen x-rays were taken and then the dentist did his examination. he was gentle. then he was very thorough in his explanation of his findings. for not having had a professional dental cleaning since 1993, he said, my teeth are in remarkably good shape. there is some tartar and there are some cavities, but i still have good bone surrounding each tooth. (evidently i have good genes, dentalwise.) oh, and i need to have my wisdom teeth removed.

heck - i didn't even know i had wisdom teeth. the way he explained the reason for the need for the extractions was so nonchalant and friendly that it wasn't until i got home and talked to kara - hey honey guess what? - that it struck me that this could be a very unpleasant procedure. teeth 1, 16, 17, and 32 will be history, and in their place will be inflammation, pain, and - oh yes - pain. (but - perhaps i will get percocet!) so i made an appointment with an oral & maxillofacial surgeon for feb 14 - valentine's day - for a consult. and i go back to the same dentist this afternoon for stage 1 (of as many as 4 stages) of dental cleaning.

still, the dentist told me that it looked like, after the professional cleaning, the surgery, and the filling of my cavities, i should be a low-maintenance dental patient. after 15 years, i'm sure it could be a heck of a lot worse. and i don't even floss!