Eating Self

It hasn't been completely back to normal this week, but it gets closer every day. I had dentist, hair cut, and biking in Des Moines once again. Everything went well, except for some news from the dentist.

First, I had a a new dental hygienist to break in. I normally stay in my chair for appointments, so he was having a challenge finding the best angle to get to me and see everything. At one point, the suction device ended up on my eye and I was thankful I had them closed. He did say my teeth looked a little worn for my age which resulted in explaining how I use my mouth stick to type and do anything.

After the hygienist finished, my dentist poked around and didn't like the feel of one of my teeth. It's the same tooth he did a root canal on a couple years ago and he was curious if problems were happening again. This meant going back to the new guy and figuring out how to x-rays. Since he's new to my dentist, the hygienist also doesn't have his own room. Therefore, we ended up putting the x-ray machine in the hall for my picture while another patient was getting worked on a few feet away.

The image showed the tooth is having absorption just below the jaw line, or basically eating itself. My previous root canal was done to stop the same process, but it didn't last very long. In further discussion, my dentist said the only solution is to pull the tooth. It's in the front right of my mouth, so his suggestion is to then get an implant so I can continue to use my stick and drive my chair as I do now. However, the entire process takes about six months.

Of course it's also considered cosmetic, so my insurance likely won't cover it. Ever since the diagnosis, I've been paying closer attention of how I hold my stick in relation to the tooth. For now, we're not doing anything, but he said at some point it will likely break off if not taken care of soon.

I'm thankful I have access to good dental care and a solution is possible. I know when I was a kid I managed my mouth stick through losing baby teeth and waiting for the new one to return. Whatever God has in store for this quad life, I will be carried through.