Day 4234

Good grief. Usually a trip to the dentist is uneventful for me. I have good teeth and seldom have problems. Today the dentist told me that I have a cavity in one tooth and need a root canal in another. My regular dentist doesn't do root canals, so I had to go see an endodontist. My regular dentist said it was time for another pano-x-ray. That wasn't good enough for the endodontist however. He said I needed a cone beam CT scan. I got both. Needless to say, it was an expensive afternoon. All I was expecting was a routine teeth cleaning today. My teeth don't hurt and I had no idea there was a problem. The x-rays don't lie unfortunately, so I've got two different appointments in August for some major dental work.

This is probably why I still haven't made appointment with two other doctors I need to see this summer. I hate surprises and the older you get, the more likely you are to be surprised during a routine doctor visit. I'll get everything done this summer, but I'm saving the colonoscopy for last. I'd really like to avoid that one. 

Medical expenses always seem so unrewarding. I'd much rather get a new camera lens than a root canal. You can't ignore your health though. Both dentists agreed that it wouldn't be wise to postpone the root canal, even though the tooth isn't bothering me at the moment. The endodontist said the infection was still contained within the bone. "You don't want this to spread to soft tissue," he told me. "It will be very painful." OK. I believe you. I've made both dental appointments and will probably go ahead and make all my other appointments as well. I might as well get all this medical stuff behind me. Then I can concentrate on important things like going to rocket launches and visiting the observatory again.

It was too late to go to the gym after I returned from my two dental visits today. Even though it was very hot, I went for a walk instead. There was no compelling reason to do anything, but I really wanted to get those steps. I have become a slave to Fitbit and my Apple Watch. There's nothing wrong with exercise though. I think I'm in pretty good shape for 73. Age catches up with you though. Dusty Hill died today. He was younger than I am. I never saw ZZ Top perform, although I really liked their music. I should have gone to a concert while I had a chance. The band spent a lot of time in Dallas. Actually Dusty was born here.

Dawn is still trying to lick and bite her paws. I had to put a cone on her before I went to the dentist today. She's still taking antibiotics and I thought it was funny that the endodontist prescribed the same antibiotic for me. I'm supposed to start taking the pills four days before the root canal procedure. The root canal is underneath a crown and I keep thinking that this never would have happened if I hadn't gotten the crown. I chipped a tooth years ago and I wanted the dentist to just smooth the little chipped part and seal it. Nope. He said I had to have a crown, even though only a tiny part of the tooth had broken off. I still think that tooth was basically fine. What do I know about dentistry though? I'm the guy who went fifteen years without seeing a dentist at all.

Tomorrow I get a haircut. Somehow it is much easier for me to make a hair appointment than a doctor's appointment.

Queenie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day