Tuesday, August 03, 2021

Clenching the Teeth and the Wallet

August, 2021: looks the same as January, 2020
Nine months after the last cleaning I dutifully showed up for the dental appointment.

To these untrained eyes the X-rays looked the same as they did 18 months ago. Stan the Dentist confirmed that there was no decay or gum disease, so everything was copacetic except for the fact that...

A piece of the large filling that we had been watching for over 20 years had finally broken off.

Stan's business person quoted $1,539 for a porcelain crown, about double the cost of the gold crowns that were installed 30 years ago. $800 was a lot of literal and figurative gold in 1990, but at the time I could justify that investment with more than half my expected life lying before me.

Now....well, I asked for an estimate for a gold crown and upon receiving it will probably chew on that decision for a while.

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