The evening of the 11th, I had some toast with Food for Thought's excellent tart cherry preserves. It was good bread, with some oomph to the crust. (And -- do yourself a favor and try FfT's tart cherries. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!)
Between bites, I noticed that if felt like I had cherry skin stuck to the back of one of my front teeth. One of my "two front teeth," on the bottom. I couldn't feel anything with my finger, but my tongue said something was quite different.
I finished my toast, and still felt that extra edge along the back of my tooth. Uh oh.
The back half of the top part of tooth was gone.
I didn't notice anything at the time it must have come off, nor did I notice anything hard in my mouth as I was eating.
Sigh.
First thing, the morning of the 12th, I called my dentist, and got shoe-horned into the schedule at 11:00.
I took advantage of having a car while my daughter is out of town, and went to the farmers' market.
It was another really really nice day.
Chrysanthemums in the garden at the other end of my old block.
Petunias.
Fuchsia with green!!!!!!!!!!!! This is what I miss, in the gray/brown monochrome of winter.....
Blue pollen! I'm not aware of other plants with blue pollen.....
Then I went to the dentist.
He said "since those front teeth are thin, they flex a little when you bite into things." He said "over time, the crystalline structure of teeth develops microfractures, and it's very common for bits to just let loose, even when you are not doing anything out of the ordinary."
I was very pleased to learn that my tooth could be fixed by putting various stuff ("shim stock" and "flowables") on it, curing the "flowables" with (ultraviolet?) light, shaping the results (with a grinder), and polishing.
(I'd had visions of all kinds of much more drastic intervention.....)
In a very short time, I was walking back out into the gorgeous day, good as new. If I hunt for it, I can tell that my two front bottom teeth are not identical, but I have to think about it and really pay attention.
Nice day, eh?
Going from a tooth that was very sharp on its cutting edge, and had another sharp edge across the back, a bit down from that top edge, to a tooth that feels the same to my tongue as before yesterday -- what I said yesterday, about many things being better than they used to be? Yeah. LOTS of things are LOTS better than olden times!
(It isn't a surprise that the tooth is just a tiny bit shorter than it used to be. Just a smidge. But just enough that I can't touch the top of the tooth with the matching tooth on top. I can't make 'em meet any more. It doesn't matter; it's just a difference.)
This car was in this same place when I left for the dentist, but I didn't want to take time right then to stop and take pics. I was glad it was still there when I came back.
Upon calm reflection, I don't suppose for a moment that I approve of the thinking that applies this sentiment to driving a car. But it makes me smile, and I'm going to imagine that the driver(s) of this car enjoy the car, but drive in a safe and respectful manner, rather than like cowboys...................
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