The Gentleman Can Start His Chomping

New software allows the patient to view the status of each
tooth. The latest X-rays are in the bottom left corner.

It's been a year since my last visit to Stan the Dentist. I was due for a cleaning, which went quickly because I've been flossing regularly and using an electric toothbrush.

I also needed him to re-glue one of my gold crowns. Since late December I had been chewing very carefully; biting on a loose crown could distort its shape, perhaps ruining the fit. But what I most feared was swallowing the bit (!) of precious metal and having to retrieve it, if you know what I mean and I think you do.

I told Stan that the subject crown was the left bottom molar, the furthest one back. Oh, you mean number 18. He "sandblasted" (his words) the tooth and crown and applied cement. The crown had been installed in 1987, so by applying simple linear extrapolation we'll have to do this again in 2045. Rampant chomping has resumed.