...bite me

back several months ago...
when MM was dealing with another installment
of an especially ugly oral surgery...
I was very sympathetic...
because I've "been there"...

nothing anywhere as nasty
as the procedure she has endured a number of times...
but singularly unpleasant...
none the less...




these are not my teeth...
but, except for the root exposure...
[mine is "1"-"2" in front]
they could be...
as far as the cracks, chipping & thinning go...


I have a very "even" bite...
meaning, my top and bottom front teeth touch when chewing...
most peoples' don't meet so completely...
so my front teeth chip and wear down from the contact...

my dad's teeth were the same way...
and by the time he was 70...
his front teeth had been so worn down...
that they had to be pulled...

I'm fortunate enough to have found a dentist...
who is very good at "bonding"...
and she has rebuilt the 4 top front teeth...
and the 4 bottom front teeth...

unfortunately for me...
my even bite continues to chip away...
and wear down the bonded teeth...
and so I need to have them "done" again...
and again...

this will be the 3rd time...
and I REALLY hate it...



mainly because of this...

I have real panic issues re "choking"...
and having a piece of plastic stretched across my open mouth...
while laying too far backwards...
is NOT a "comfort zone" for me...

AND...

I will have to sit like that...
with a light shining on my face...
for quite a period of time...
so the bonding agent can "set up"...

AND... besides all this "fun"...

I have a cavity to be filled...

BUT... not your "normal" cavity...

OH, NOOOO... one next to an old amalgam filling
in a tooth that has "cracks" in it...
[fortunately, it's tooth 22,lower right canine...
and NOT in the back...]


[again, not MY tooth, but the same problem...]

SOOOO....

this tooth will be "crowned"...
nothing new for me...
I have a mouth full of gold crowns...

my childhood dentist put a filling in almost every tooth...
and 30 years ago, I started having them converted to gold...
and because my teeth seem to "crack"...
all of them are "crowns"...

"crowns" are used when teeth have cracks...
to stabilize the tooth...
trying to avoid a root canal...
or to help "keep" a tooth, AFTER a root canal...
avoiding a bridge or an implant...

the good news ?
this is just about the last of the amalgam fillings...
[they have mercury and should be replaced...]

the NOT so good news ?
my dental insurance will only cover a small part of it...
because I've used most of my allotment for the year...
so what we will probably have to do...
is to do the "crown prep"...
which includes "placing pins" into my jaw...
[oh joy, rapture, bliss...]
removing the old filling & the decay...
and placing a "temporary" crown...


[1= damaged tooth 2= prepped tooth w/crown being applied
3= finished crowned tooth]

THEN...

after January 1, 2009...
return to have the crown "placed"...

my "prep"/bonding appointment is for August 28...

I may not be able to hang with the temporary crown for 4 months...

BUT... if I have the crown put in BEFORE January...
I'll have to pay $750 out of my already taxed pocket...



I suppose it could be worse...

I could have NO insurance...
and need over $1500.00...

I guess that God is testing my ability to "trust"...
that He can... and will... provide all my needs...

OK...

after what I've seen lately...
I believe that He can, and will...
do anything necessary to provide what I need...

because...

God is good...