Over the last year, or so, I’ve become a bit obsessive about my teeth. After the extraction of a wisdom tooth three years ago the molar next to it has slipped back. This provides a nice crevice to hide all sorts of food bits. While not painful it is uncomfortable. So I’ve been carrying floss and after most meals I slip into a bath room to extract the offending bits.
But nothing does the cleaning job better than my Water Pik. Some days, as I watch food particles flowing down the drain, I wonder if I am receiving proper nutrition. I like the Water Pik so much I bought a travel model. This medel isn’t on a par with the home model but it’ll have to do.
So, it’s agreed I’ve become obsessive about my teeth, right? Well, you can imagine my alarm when, four days ago, one me molars developed this black line all around the gum line. I silently googled “black line around tooth” and discovered this symptom could be degenerative gum disease, loss of bone or tooth decay.
I wanted to see a dentist right away. Our friends, with whom we are staying in San Jose, CA directed me to a walk-in dentist. I felt this “emergency” reaction was necessary since upon our return home we would take off for London in four days.
The dental clinic was super posh. And expensive. The ladies at the front desk were beautiful and efficient. Within ten minutes I was greeted by Angie, a dental assistant. The treatment bay, there were fifteen, sported the latest electronics and a lounge chair I wanted to take home. Angie spent s lot of time taking my medical history, I was impressed. She then asked if she could take X-rays. Four were tsken an displayed on a monitor in front of me.
Five minutes later the dentist entered, Sarena. Tall and pretty pretty she also went over my history. Sarena is Russian. I suspect all this history stuff was simply to stretch out the appointment. But I wasn’t paying by the minute.
Sarena was calm, bright and helpful. She quickly advised me not to look up medical of dental issues on the Internet. The explanations always seem dire.
So, the black band around my tooth, right at the gum line? Metal. This tooth was a crown. The insides are metal and my gum had receded below the enemal exposing the metal band.
Serena inquired about my dental habits: electric tooth brush and water pick.
