Seven Days of Reprieve

Posted Wed, 01/25/06

I escaped the dentist chair once again. After delaying my next procedure for a few weeks, I finally went in today like a lamb being led to slaughter.

Because my bones are deteriorating, the four teeth on my upper-top are coming loose. It's only a mater of time before they fall out completely, so the dentist took an impression of my upper and lower and sent for a partial denture to be made just for the four teeth. Since I'm allergic to metal, the partial was to be made entirely with titanium and plastic.

This did not lessen my trepidation about the procedure. Who wants to have four teeth yanked from their head in one go? The dentist was getting ready to dive in when I noticed the partial's frame was constructed with metal, including the upper plate which eventually rests against the roof of the mouth. I pointed this out to the dear doctor, and he was mortified. He and I have discussed the procedure many times over the last few months, always with the understanding that the partial would be specially made with titanium and plastic by a lab in town.

The snafu left me free of imminent doom today, but next Wednesday should see the matter settled.

I've always been a nervous person genetically speaking, but when the dentist saw me in full jitters today he told me on an anxiety scale of one to ten I rated an 11½.

Next week I plan to pop two Vicodin to see me through the procedure, much to my tooth-doctor's relief. Otherwise, he'll be peeling me from the ceiling.