Sunday night I had some popcorn as a snack and then I was using a floss pick to clean out the hulls. I felt something give, thinking the floss pick broke, I was surprised to find my front tooth in my hand.
This tooth has had a lot of work starting with an abcess when I was in college in Eau Claire. The dentist I used then damaged the tooth and left me with a less than lovely smile. Eventually, I think after I went to work at Coors, I had the tooth capped. I'm guessing that was in 1980. The cap never matched my good front tooth. After I moved to Rice Lake I had my other front tooth capped. Finally, a matched set.
Now, I am faced with a difficult decision as to whether to have an implant or a bridge to replace that tooth. It's a hard choice. The price is not drastically different but the timing for completion of the repair is vastly different. The other consideration is whether spending $6000 on a 70 year old mouth is wise, when $4000 would give a cosmetically nice result. Front teeth are important to self-esteem & self-confidence.
This is the first time I've really had to consider my potential life span as part of a medical choice.
It's unsettling to have a choice like this hanging, I'm hoping that by tomorrow I'll be comfortable with one of the options offered and so that I can commit & also ease my mind.
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| I guess this is my 'before' pic |
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