It's Just a Tooth

One of the perks of chemo, as I wrote back in October , was that I got a get out of dentist free card. Unfortunately -- or maybe fortunately -- that card expired. 

So I went to the dentist today and the good news is that my teeth are clean. The bad news is that #19's gotta go. I kind of suspected that -- the tooth's been on it's way out, so to speak for years, but I'm not really here to write about my teeth.

I'm here to write about my dentist.

After he evaluated the tooth to see what the verdict was, he sighed. He put down his instruments, and looked at me very seriously (or at least that's what I thought, but he was wearing his magnifying glasses and I was wearing goggles of sorts, so it was hard to tell). And he said, "I'm afraid it can't be saved." 

And all I thought was, "It's just a tooth."

I mean, I know having oral surgery will suck. Been there, done that. I know it will likely be expensive to get an implant. I know it will be inconvenient with appointments and recovery and such. 

But ... it's just a tooth.

Once again. Thank you, cancer, for the perspective.

--Michael