July 16, 2009
Spent most of the morning at the dentist’s office waiting for Bill. The other day he had a crown fall out of his head. He saved it and looked up how to fix it. Couldn’t find the cement. Just as well. He started having pain--pretty severe pain--shortly thereafter. Finally he called around to see if there was someone who could put the crown back in. He found a person who could fit him in this morning--Robert Wilcox. So we arrived, he filled out the paperwork and we waited. After what seemed like a very long time, I figured that there was something happening, but probably not a simple recemeting job. Sure enough, he came out and said that the dentist told him that he was really uncomfortable putting the crown back in because the problem was with an adjacent tooth. There was a small hole there that was somehow managing to drain well enough to avoid infection, though Bill has had some pain and discomfort in that area in the past. Anyway, he was concerned that if he put the crown back on, it would block the hole and an abscess would be the result. Bill explained to him that he could not afford to have any extensive dental work done right now, so Dr. Wilcox came up with an alternate plan that was actually somewhat cheaper than recementing the crown. I guess it is pretty much the beginning of a root canal that will have to be completed at a later date. Bill is just pretty happy to have the pain gone. And Dr. Wilcox gave him a bunch of stuff and a note to give to the next dentist. And a prescription for an antibiotic, just in case he needs it. He did say to keep the crown because it’s a nice one (!) that is worth between $750 and $1000. Once this other tooth is fixed, it can be put back again.
As I was waiting there for him, I was amazed at how happy everyone seemed. It is a dentist’s office after all. I have not been in many of those, but I do not believe I have ever seen such a group of cheerful people in such a setting before! It was clear that these people cared about one another. The receptionists were asking very specific questions about people’s families, trips, the hay crop, and other things. It was plain that they keep up with one another’s lives. It was pretty nice to watch! One of the big topics of conversation this morning was that Town Talk is closed this week because the owners have gone fishin’. The people in the office were, however, willing to put up with Safeway doughnuts so that they could have a great time fishing. As one woman said, “I’m glad they went fishing. They work really hard.” Everyone agreed wholeheartedly with that sentiment. A patient actually brought the doughnuts as a gift. I guess that I never considered a dentist’s office to be a place where one would witness community, but I saw it there today.
Tomorrow morning we leave for Hardin, MT. I have no idea what to expect, so I have decided to expect nothing and see what I get! Might as well embrace surprise!
