Saturday, February 11, 2023

Cherubs in the fountain

I caught these cherubs having a good time playing under the fountain in one of the water features on the grounds of the Château de Valençay. I kept my distance so they wouldn't be frightened and run away.

I think I see two. September 2003.

The mystery of the missing dentist was solved yesterday. He did answer my original call and left me several voice mails in return. But he was using the number of the cell phone that we keep in the car for emergencies. I don't know why we gave him the number (except that he might have insisted on a mobile number). It's not a smart phone and we don't normally check it for messages unless we're expecting one (which is rare). He has our land line number and my email address, but for some reason he didn't try to reach me with either of those. The car phone just happened to be in the house when it rang yesterday morning, so I answered it. It was him. "I didn't hear back so I wanted to be sure you would be here for your appointment at two o'clock." That afternoon.

So, yes, I scrambled and made it to the appointment. I asked him to delete that cell number and gave him my new one. All is well with the logistics.

As for the tooth, there's good news and there's bad news. The good news is that I did not crack a crown as I had thought. The bad news is that I broke the adjacent bicuspid clean in two, a formerly healthy tooth. One of the halves is a little loose and is sensitive to cold. The dentist says the tooth can't be saved and that it needs to be pulled and replaced with an implant. Lovely. He'll refer me to a specialist for that.

Both halves of the broken tooth are still in there. There's no serious pain (unless I put pressure on the tooth), but there is some soreness. The dentist told me to chew on the other side for a while. That's a no-brainer; I've been doing that for a week already.

11 comments:

  1. I was at a cocktail gathering a few years ago and the host serve up cubes of home salami and cheese. I popped a cube oof salami into my mouth and bit done on it. I heard a crack and felt instant pain. I had bitten down on a peppercorn and cracked a perfectly good molar. Three fourths of the tooth came off and the root was exposed. Lucky me my dentist was in attendance and we went to his office. Tooth coud not be saved and he pulled it. Very difficult because nothing to get a hold of. It was the type of extraction that nightmares are made of. It took three hours to remove. Not only painful but turned into an $18,000.00 dentist bill. It seemed that the tooth above was cracked also but could be saved and crowned. While prying during extraction the crown came off of the tooth next to it and it was discovered that there was a serious problem hidden was hidden. Well, that lead to that one being removed the next day. And people wonder why so many dislike visiting the dentist! May your experience be easy on the pain and the wallet.

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    1. Very sad, Woody, to hear of your teeth issues - but more about that bill! UGH. And, with a hidden peppercorn. I will forever forward be diligent in asking if there are peppercorns in that ____. Who would have guessed?
      The best thing was your dentist was there and you went home with answers even if they weren't what you wanted to hear. At least you didn't have to wait for an appointment.

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  2. Ouch. So sorry about the tooth... and the implant.

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  3. Oh, dear! I hope you have a good experience with the implant.

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  4. There is an assumption that everyone lives on their cell phone. I do more than before, but the house phone I can't ignore.

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  5. Wow, Woody!
    Good luck with the implant, Walt.

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  6. Have you had an implant before? I've had two implants, and, though they were not cheap, I'm very glad that I did them. My oral surgeon was excellent (it's definitely not a job for a standard dentist, until the crown part of the process), and they numbed me up very well, and there was no pain during the procedures (just the usual bit of swelling and soreness... I just took Ibufrofen, and used ice on and off a bit the first day). The process is spread out over many months (as least here, it is), because they first remove the tooth, and implant some bone tissue. Then, you wait a few months while the bone tissue grows, so that they have good bone into which to drill the titanium implant screw that will hold the new crown. Then, they put in that titanium implant screw. Then you wait a few more months, while the bone continues to grow around that, making it nice and strong. Then you go back to the dentist to be fitted for the new crown that goes on the titanium implant. Then you wait a few weeks for that to be made... then it gets placed! My newer implant crown is nifty, because it was screwed on by a tiny center screw... my dentist told me that this is so that, should any problem arise, they can remove it simply by unscrewing the screw, rather than having to have a new crown made.

    Plan ahead with grocery shopping and meal planning, because the first 10 days-ish after each of the first two procedures, you'll be on a soft foods diet (I ate oatmeal, cottage cheese, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, scrambled eggs, yogurt, creamy or puree soups, etc... nothing with little bits that can get caught in the little spaces).

    Ha! Probably more than you needed to know, but I always feel better about a major procedure, the more that I know about it. :)

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  7. I'm also imagining that dental and oral surgery work in France is much better covered by health insurance, than it is here. My costs were nothing like what Woody mentioned, though (with some insurance coverage, it was around $4500-$5000 for each of my implants)-- and well worth it to keep good teeth in my mouth.

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  8. woody, ouch! Sounds like a nightmare.

    mitch, I've never had one before, so it'll be a new experience for me.

    anon, so do I!

    travel, we plan to keep the land line, only now it's via the fiber optic cable.

    evelyn, thanks!

    judy, oh, thanks for that. After Woody's comment I was a little, no, a lot, nervous. The dentist did tell me something about four months for part of the procedure. And, he said the cost is about 2200 euros. Implants are not well covered here.

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  9. That was me above.
    Better

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  10. I live in Kentucky..mais nous avons une maison a Valençay...sur une de vos photos .. l’église de Valençay ou ma grand mère a été baptisée (dernière déçénie de 1800)..jamais je ne manque de la visiter.Aussi à ne pas manquer les yard sales du Curé,en face de l’église. Parfois rien d'intéressant mais parfois la chose unique dont vous avez absolument besoin. J'ai trouvé 2 trésors.
    Comment vous suivre sur internet ?
    Have a great day.
    Claire
    if l could live there right now, itwouldbe heavenly.

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