Thursday, April 17, 2008

A Woeful Tale of Dental Disaster

Due to an exploding tooth--he doesn't know how it happened, but the dentist was drilling to fill a cavity, and the tooth flew to pieces--there's been a gap in my teeth for several months. Not a noticeable one, since the tooth was on the bottom and off to the side, but a gap nonetheless.

After a couple attempts to find a quick and economical way to fill said gap, both attempts having included excavations of the gum that were neither pretty nor painless, the dentist settled yesterday on a method involving electrical currents to shrink the gum back and make room for a crown; but, in order for there to be a crown, there must be something to build it on.

Thus the little piece of metal currently screwed into my gum.

Thus the Lorcet currently messing with my head, stomach, and work schedule.

I went to work yesterday all drugged up, and functioned enough to complete several tasks and to provide inadvertent entertainment to the Club kids. Had to stay three hours past closing, though, so the medication could wear off enough that I could drive safely. Those three hours were well spent, but they were also accomplished in a fog.

Ah, the joys of modern medicine, and drugs that remove the pain and the brain.

6 comments:

Pappy said...

Those drugs designed to work on the mind never affected me. :)

Ed Mahony said...

When I was younger I went to a dentist whose breath smelt suspiciously of whiskey (whiskey blened with dentist mouth wash-type thing).

He was a nice guy and things weren't so bad when he was just looking into my gob, checking for things / chatting about things in general.

But things got a little bit more worrying when he had the drill in his hand .. I kind of hoped that it wasn't whiskey I was smelling.

One day I heard that this dentist had stopped practising. The reason: drink (whether he gave up voluntarily or was forced to, I never quite heard).

((I have since left the town but I hear that the guy has given up the drink and is now practising, again. (Good for him)).

Anonymous said...

Visit to the dentist are never fun. I can remember while in the Air Force a group of denists looked at my mouth in amazement and said what nice roomy wisdom teeth you have. Well, I can't this did anything for me in decisions throughout my life.. haa haa.
Convergence... wow.. you're a writer. I'm impressed... I'm into mysteries.

Anonymous said...

correction... I can't "say" this....

Anonymous said...

how many books have you written? when are you finishing the current one?

Keanan Brand said...

Tex - Why is that not a surprise? (laughing)

Eamon - When I was a kid, I cut the bottom of my foot and had to have it sewn up. The doctor's hands shook so bad that, a couple of times, he caught some skin that wasn't deadened. Makes me appreciate the courage of people who have to have to be sewn up or even have surgery without anaesthetic. (Wonder if the doctor ever did get a steady hand.)

Bachelor - Yeah, wouldn't it be great if "wisdom teeth" actually imparted wisdom? (FYI, my brother is in the Air Force.)

As for writing, I've tried mysteries, and much as I enjoy reading them I just can't write one. Mainly I stick to science fiction and fantasy, with a few modern tales thrown in. I've only published articles, poems, essays, and short stories. As for novels, I have one completed and a few others in the works, but none of them published yet. I have to finish this current manuscript before sending these first two books to someone who is waiting for them. Here's hopin'!