January 17, 2020

What will happen at my dental appointment today? What is the future of my teeth? My jaw? My mouth? Your guess is as good as mine. But I’d really appreciate your good juju/wishes/prayer/energies/thoughts/any/all, as I go in…

My oral teams have been trying to save one of my front teeth since I was first released from the hospital post-accident, when it was knocked perpendicular on impact and gouged straight through my upper lip, though splinted quickly enough to semi-reroot. However after four months, many procedures, countless x-rays, various expert doctors, an unsuccessful root canal, a successful root canal, different braces, multiple procedures to other teeth around it, accommodating soft food diet, no biting into anything ever, and lots of loving kindness… it is still painful, still out of place, still discolored.

Whether the jaw above remains fractured remains to be seen, which will determine if a bone graft is needed, an implant even feasible for that specific damned tooth, and subsequent priorities. So I know today will include new x-rays, new molds and new braces; I hope it brings new clarity, new consensus and new concrete plans; I am concerned it may result in a new hole in my mouth, new fake tooth and new questions; yet all I can do is summon new strength, new courage and new resolve.