Ah, there is nothing like a good story involving a dentist…
For the past year, I have been truly enjoying the fact that my teeth and gums are finally in good shape. And I am not just patting myself on the back. Oh, no…I have objective evidence.
The last two times that I have gone in for my 6 month cleaning, even though it pains him to do so, my dentist has been forced to compliment me on how well my “home care” has been going. And it has…
Every night, I make sure that every – square – centimeter of my teeth and gums and anything else near them are brushed, flossed, proxy-brushed and Listerined! When I am finished, you can almost hear the wind whispering through the pine trees in snowy Colorado every time I breathe.
However…
On Monday, a little bump formed on my right upper gum where it joins the skin. The last time something like this happened (5/6/12), it was the result of a sinus infection and the swelling went down within a week.
On Wednesday afternoon, it had not gone down. Then I remembered that I had an appointment with my doctor on Thursday afternoon. I was going in for my first physical in over 6 years. It then “occurred to me” that the doctor’s office is fairly close to my dentist’s office.
“Why don’t I see if I could drop in and have my dentist take a quick look at my gum, ‘just to be safe’. “
The dentist called back on Thursday morning and we set an appointment for 3:30.
“Perfect!”
As I was walking into my 2:00 doctor’s appointment, I noticed that the swelling in my gum had started to go down. I thought about cancelling the dentist appointment but decided that I didn’t have enough time right then.
By the time my doctor finished humbling me (I’m referring to the prostate exam!), I was so concerned that one of the nurses was going to ask me to turn in my ‘man card’ when I checked out and headed to my car that I didn’t even really think about cancelling the appointment.
I had just regained my masculine equilibrium as I sat down in the dentist’s chair. After a quick look, my dentist said, “You have an abscess.”
I thought, “I know…that’s why I made the appointment!”
He then ordered an x-ray.
“X-ray? What???”
I protested, “Why do you want an x-ray?”
“Are you second guessing me? I thought you came here because you wanted me to look at your teeth…(pregnant pause)…Did you change your mind?”
He had me…
While his assistant was preparing to carry that order out, he said “Do you remember that I put a crown on one of your teeth…?”
“Yes.” (How do you forget that?)
“My guess is that the root to that tooth has died and is decaying and that is probably what is causing the infection.”
I recoiled…“So what does that mean?”
With no emotion, he replied, “That means you either need a root canal or we will have to pull the tooth.”
A dark storm cloud started forming around my head…things were going horribly wrong!
“Now wait just a minute! I just stopped by for a quick visit…you were just going to take a quick peek, charge me $20-40, and I was going to drive home feeling really good about how wise and mature I was in deciding to check in with you!”
Now, even though I didn’t really know what a root canal was, I flinched inside when I heard those two words escape from his mouth. Somewhere, deep in the catacombs of my memory banks, extreme discomfort, yes, even pain, seem to be associated with those words. On top of that, I had the distinct impression that this was not a simple, inexpensive procedure and the thought of a small family of Benjamins leaving my bank account was not pleasant at all!
As for the other “choice”…I have already had three teeth pulled…but those were way in the back of my mouth. Don’t get me wrong, I would rather still have them but…I can still eat…and my wife still likes my smile.
But the tooth now in question is right smack dab in the middle of my remaining molars! My wife will definitely see this one! And I don’t even want to think about what it would be like to eat! I can just see a small piece of unchewed steak fitting snugly into that gaping hole!
I decided very quickly that “pulling it” was not an option.
“What if I decide to wait it out and see if it heals?”
“Well, the infection could move up into your brain and kill you.”
“Now there’s a third option that I hadn’t thought about!”
I had been ambushed. All of the fight and resistance disappeared.
As I was sitting in the chair with a small but growing headache (because I had fasted for my blood work) with my jaw splayed completely opened while my dentist drilled a hole in my tooth to drain the fluid, my mind reeled at how my plans were so unexpectedly and dramatically altered.
“This is unbelievable! How did this happen?”
As I reflected on the simple, small, “random” decisions that led to this situation, my disbelief gave way to gratitude.
The only reason I thought about getting a physical in the first place was that my wife recently had one and informed me that it was completely covered under our insurance plan’s “wellness” provision.
I called for an appointment in September because I wanted to get it done before ObamaCare kicks in October.
Although I made the appointment with the doctor several weeks ago, today was the earliest opening available.
I called the dentist solely because it “occurred to me” to me that I would already be in the area.
The only reason I didn’t call to cancel the dentist appointment was because I spent an extra 10 minutes looking for the place because the receptionist’s gave me terrible directions!
Each of those small things put me in a position where my dentist could spare me from much more serious health problems. So as I listened to the sound of the drill, I silently thanked God for directing my steps and protecting me.
