Queen - finally!

So I'm officially a queen - I've finally got my crown this week, but it doesn't have jewels and glitter, and it isn't on my head. It's sitting on my lower right molar.... I cracked a tooth that required a crown to save it. I had hoped it was only a filling, because after all, I'm the one with a mouthful of fillings, one in each tooth, plus some. Having a filling replaced is a piece of cake next to the griding down of the existing tooth to make room for the crown. And the price - WOW! I guess the .08 oz. of gold that it will have is my newest 401k investment - and it's not even going to show when I smile!



When the dentist, who by the way is gentle and skillful, told me the bad news I had a few tears - I guess the cavities are gone but now my teeth at getting old.... this one in particular, she pointed out, came in when I was about 6. That didn't make me feel any better - ALL of my teeth are that old! And this one cracked after biting down on an almond, something I was eating to be more healthy.



As I sat in the chair, paper bib draped across my chest and water splattering all over my face from the drilling and rinsing the dentist and assistant were doing, I tried to focus on the picture of a mountain scene stapled on the ceiling. It might have worked if it was a photo of some sexy, half-dressed hunk. Go to a happy place, I told myself. It wasn't working. The smell of the grinding of teeth was too distracting. So all I could do was close my eyes and take deep breaths, waiting for it to be over. And when it was, I was left with an incredible numb left side of my mouth and face. The drops of water that I felt on my throat: drool from my lips, which I could not feel. And a good thing, because that is the one thing my dentist is best at - I never feel pain while she is working. Just anxiety. I should have asked for a Zanax!

Being at the dentist is always difficult, but what makes it harder for me (and if you know me, talking is what I do) is not being able to talk, to communicate, to ask how her kids are, if there is a grandchild on the way yet, or how their vacation to Costa Rica was (I've been going to her office for over 20 years). Sitting in a fairly comfy chair with other women in the room is prime time for chit chat. But with all the things they use, from scrapers and mirrors to suction tubes it is impossible to do much more than nod or give a "uuhh huhhh." And after, when your face is numb and speech slurred, there is no desire to talk. Maybe I can learn sign language for next time. I know there will be a next time........