If there is one thing that can really derail even the best laid plans, it is a toothache. Or, to be more precise in my case, a broken tooth. For the past several days my tongue had been seeking out an irregular, sharp feeling surface along the borders of one of my lower teeth. Kinda like when you get a piece of popcorn kernel lodged along the gum and it wont come out. Which at first I thought it was. Which is interesting in that I cannot recall the last time I had popcorn. No pain, no sensitivity to heat or cold. Nothing. Except my tongue continually finding the tooth edge and rubbing along it.
So, since I will be leaving in 12 days and do not relish the idea of trying to find a dentist on an island off Panama with a population of 350 and no electricity or running water, I figured Christmas Eve was a good time to give my dentist, Dr. Gene DeStefano, a courtesy call. To my surprise, the office was not only closed for Christmas, he was away until January 5th, MY departure date. How inconvenient. Fortunately, he was still around and could be reached through a call back service. He agreed to meet me at the office for a look at 4:00 pm. One quick look confirmed that indeed I had broken a tooth along a previous filling site. While we discussed the merits of a "wait and see" approach I failed to notice him cueing up the novocaine gel and syringe. With little fanfare, my favorite sculptor went to work. 40 minutes later I left his office with a smooth, regular feeling tooth. You really rock Gene - thanks a big bunch.
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