TEETH

I ate a bowl of cereal last week and bit down on something hard. I thought it was a small rock so I got it out and inspected it.

A tooth. Or part of one. About half of a molar that had been held together by fillings had broken off.

I was pretty sure I'd need a crown. The dentist saw me right away and verified it. Unfortunately, the tooth had broken off below the gum line so it seems an ordinary crown procedure won't do. No, I have to have something called 'crown lengthening' before I can have the tooth capped.

More expensive than a regular crown, he said sympathetically. But less expensive than a bridge or an implant. And the root wasn't exposed, he said encouragingly.

He needed a longer appointment time to do the pre-dental work for the crown lengthening, which is done by a periodontist or oral surgeon. So I'm going back in a few days for that. Then to the periodontist. Then back for the crown.

In the meanwhile, I keep tonguing half a tooth and wondering if it's going to break off. It's hard to remember to eat on the other side.

Maybe I can lose some weight.