Farewell #14

#14 is the one labled Second Molar I believe - mine was on the left...

Every year, our school district (6th graders only) get to look forward to going to Camp Cutler down in Naples for Outdoor Ed, a time when most teachers call in a sub and teach something outside of the curriculum for two days. This year, there was archery, chase the chicken (capture the flag with a rubber chicken... I like the idea!), tye dying, and Sue (my mentor and close friend) and I taught macramé. Basically, we turned all of our kids into hemp-wearing hippies ;-). I will look forward to the time when Aubrey and I get to go to camp for those two days to be there with Lanie. It was a ton of fun... until all of a sudden I was hit in the face with a meteorite - ok, so that part didn't happen, but apparently an abscess above a tooth (#14 that I have now had TWO root canals, 10 DIFFERENT crowns, and all kinds of other work on) began to erupt. OUCH BLOODY HELL THAT HURTS! Seriously, I think the analogy of the meteorite is pretty close. Anyhow, I had to rush an hour back to Rochester (Naples is pretty far - but OH SO AMAZING THERE) to see a periodontist (who I would recommend to ANYONE who has the need and a few grand to spend on their teeth!) http://www.phsmile.com/html/Maryann%20Lester.html
Anyhow, by the time I got there, they could not give me any sedative or calming stuff other than when the Dr. started doing a guided meditation while giving me my 50 (no joke) shots of Novocaine, which by the way, I felt NONE of. Not a lie! Didn't help me to not be nervous though. I had to chuckle though - her assistant turns out to be the parent of one of my students that I will have next year... I asked her not to tell her daughter that I was a crying mess when I was in there!!

Anyhow, she pulled the tooth since that was the last option. I have a "bio-incompatibility" with adhesives that attach a crown to the teeth, so no sense in a bridge since that would destroy the two teeth around it, and apparently there was not enough root to hold another crown if I had a crown-lengthening procedure, which I was scheduled for this summer. So, after she pulled the tooth, she placed a bone graft (wow!) in the jaw, and some kind of membrane over it, and then stitched it in with 6 stitches. In one week I get the stitches out, and then in 3 months, they insert a titanium rod in for the implant. Then I get another (#11 I think) crown on that, and la-tee-da, I am done ( I hope!)

Good times, peeps. Good times. I think I am still in shock over this though. I didn't think I would have a tooth pulled like that at my age. Where the hell is the tooth fairy when you need her? I am still waiting for the $1500 to be left under my pillow that the Dentist charged me!!!!!