Had my consultation with a periodontist this morning.
It looks like my damaged teeth (from my little bike accident) are going to cost about $6000 to repair.
So click on an ad, won’t you? At my current rate of return on AdSense, I should be able to cover that sum in a mere 60 years. I’ll be 103. A winning smile will be pretty far down my lists of things to be concerned with. Details below the fold (no pictures or anything unpleasant, honest.)
[composed and posted with ecto]
I need to have one tooth (#8, for reference) removed, replaced with an implant — a metal rod — and then covered by a crown, similar to what was there before it met the bridge deck. The underlying tooth was broken off close to the gum-line and the options are to pull it part-way out of the socket to allow a better bond or just remove and replace. The R&R sounds like a better option, as it takes less time. Even so, it will take several months. Corn on the cob will be off the menu for this year before I am able to enjoy it, it seems.
Number 9 simply needs to be re-crowned, once 8 is taken care of. The crowns need to be color-matched, so they get done pretty late in the process. In the meantime, they’ll build a temporary prosthesis — the old flipper — or a couple of fake crowns on a wire that will fill the gap.
All in all, a lengthy process: two surgeries and a lot of hours in the dentist’s chair. The iPod will get a workout . . . .
There is a chance insurance may come into play: my sources tell me persistence and precise language can make the difference.
Now playing: Symphony 5 – Beethoven by BBC Philharmonic conducted by Gianandrea Noseda from the album “The Beethoven Experience – Downloads”