Saga of a Tooth

One day my daughter told me she wanted to go to the dentist because the gum around one of her molars was swollen and painful. So off to the dentist we went. Little did I know that it was the beginning of a very long story.

Appointment 1: Food wedged under gum removed. Diagnosis: excess gum around tooth. Solution: something called a gingivectomy, in which excess gum is removed.

ONE MONTH LATER

Appointment 2: Arrive at periodontist for gingivectomy. Procedure not performed. Diagnosis: Tooth broken, removing excess gum pointless. Solution: Extract tooth.

Appointment 3: Dentist wants to confirm above information. X-ray taken. Diagnosis: They're right. The tooth is broken. How on earth did we miss that? Solution: Extract tooth.

Appointment 4: Partner dentist also wants verification. Diagnosis: What are they talking about? The tooth isn't broken. It's just in at an angle. Solution: Remove the excess gum already!

Appointment 5: Periodontist wants to verify what was found at appointment 4. Diagnosis: Hey, I guess it might not be broken after all. Solution: Let's remove the excess gum. But it might not be a permanent solution. Permanent solution: wait for daughter's jaw to grow or get braces. And stop chewing on that side pretty much forever.

My thoughts: You really think that at age 15 her jaw is suddenly going to start growing significantly? And we can't afford braces right now. But thanks for getting the procedure done.

Some might think that getting a second opinion is important. Well, I got FIVE opinions. And I didn't even ask for them.

The only good thing out of this whole mess is that both my kids have reached maximum benefits on dental insurance and we might not have to pay for any of these appointments. I wonder if they will reimburse me for the gas I used up in all this driving around?

Pinkish Daffodil

So my daffodils are finally blooming. And although I am pleased to see that they were not damaged by squirrels or certain cats using the flower bed as a litter box (namely Olivia), I was slightly disappointed that the daffodils did not turn out like the catalog picture.

The top picture is a photo of the rosy cloud daffodil. The catalog described its white petals on the outside and the fluffy pink double center. Also, the flower seems to be lifted up.

The bottom picture is my daffodil. It seems to be lacking somewhat in the fluffy center department, not to mention that it doesn't look very pink. And the flower is drooping down. It also doesn't help that the picture was taken on a dreary rainy day.

I don't know what was done to make the top daffodil look so pink and fluffy. The flower looks real. It just doesn't look like mine.

All the same, the fact that I have living flowers (and not just from weeds) in the flower bed does say something for my fledgling gardening skills. Maybe the pansies that I hope to plant soon will be more colorful.