My First Lost Tooth...
The periodontist fixed up the gums of several of my teeth over the last year or so, but there was one tooth that he seemed uninterested in saving and another he felt had little hope of survival. For the past few weeks the tooth that he was not interested in was starting to hurt so yesterday I went to my family dentist.
"The tooth is toast." was his diagnosis, "It's got to come out." "Do you have insurance?"
Hmmm. That sounded expensive.
"No." I said, "I was hoping you had some sort of loyalty plan."
"Well it's a good thing you're loaded because this is going to cost you." He chuckled.
"I'll pull the tooth now, and in the fall we'll see if the bone has regenerated enough to allow an implant. If not, you'll need a bridge."
That was it! A faithful friend of about 55 years, and two hundred and fifty bucks, both gone in a flash. The hole where my second premolar (bicuspid) lived. (fifth from the part in my teeth, known in dental school as #15) It bled a bit but there was no pain even after the freezing disappeared. So long old buddy. You were missed at dinner last night.
Hopefully an implant (left) will work $$$$ Ca-ching. Otherwise it's a bridge for me. $$$$ Ca-ching $$$$ Ca-ching!
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| Canadian Tooth Numbers (Patient's Right and Left) |
As is often the case it seems, Americans have a different way than the rest of the world and number their teeth as below:
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| American Tooth Numbers |
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