Wednesday, October 10, 2007

The whole tooth and nothing but the tooth

I have a pristine set of teeth. When I was a mere boy and a beardless youth, our family's dentist would shower me with accolades and present my mother with a modest bill. Unfortunately, as the pressures of life's incessant barrage of trouble wore on my now adult mind, I began to grind and clench my teeth while I slept, no doubt my subconscious mind's way of reminding me that things are not, in fact, "okay" and that everything's going to shit. All of this jaw gnashing resulted in a solitary fracture in one of my bottom right molars, which I had clumsily repaired by an Israeli dentist in the autumn of 2004. The tooth never really felt "fixed," but having been handed a bill to the tune of $1,200, I was hesitant to ever set foot in a dentist's office again, for fear of losing all of my possessions because of a single tooth.

I avoided medical attention successfully until a few weeks ago, when my molar decided that it had had enough of this shit and unleashed a full out attack on my dumb mouth. The ensuing infection produced mind-numbing pain and a blister on the gum line. Defeated, I went to the dentist yesterday and he assured me I had nothing to fear. Then, he said he may have to perform two root canals and secure a brand new cap. Unless I miss my guess, that sounds like $2000 worth of work. Seeing as my insurance is a cruel joke one wouldn't wish on his worst enemy, my "out of pocket" expense (the term "out of pocket" makes me laugh every time. Who carries around $2000 in his pocket?) will be astronomical.

So, I have a small dilemma to overcome. Living with pain is not exactly a strange phenomenon in my life, but it would be foolish to proceed with it voluntarily. On the other hand, I was just starting to corral my finances into a workable routine and this will rend all of the progress I've made to shreds. Still, it's life. You know?

Ah, to be a replicant:

1 comment:

Hackett said...

Is it safe? ... Is it safe?