One of the delights of getting older (she said sarcastically) is discovering new ways in which your body can break down on you.
My current experience is a prime example. Over the past couple of weeks, my jaw had been so tightly clenched that it was giving me headaches and an earache on the side that was the most affected. It took a massage and a trip to the chiropractor to set it right.
Apparently, all the clenching and grinding of my teeth caused the filling in one of my back molars to come loose and then come out. Now that I think back, I can say with reasonable assurance that it happened on Friday night while I was eating pizza with my nephew.
I didn't really start to notice that there was a problem until the next morning, when I discovered that heat, cold and sweets made it really twinge. At first I thought I'd cracked my tooth, but a look in the mirror revealed the actual problem.
Of course, there's nothing you can really do about something like that over a weekend. I called my dentist's office and left a message, so I'm hoping I can get an appointment on Monday to get fixed back up. They'd listed an emergency number on the voicemail greeting, but I wouldn't call this an emergency. It's inconvenient and I'm getting tired of chewing everything on the other side, but I'll survive just fine until they can squeeze me in for a new filling.
If you need me, I'll be over here half-enjoying a meal of something soft and lukewarm.
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