Teeth

Among my few lasting childhood memories are my trips to the hospital when I was still living in Lubbock, once to have my tonsils removed and once to have some teeth surgically extracted because they were growing into my lower jaw. In those days, ether was still being used as an anesthetic, and its post-surgery residual effects were sickening.

Those lower teeth were never replaced and as I grew older, their absence destabilized my mouth, weakening the remaining teeth. While I was in the army at Fort Sill, I had some restorative dental work started, but I was discharged before it was completed and eventually additional teeth had to be removed. It was a hassle but under the circumstances, I can't complain.

To make a long story a little shorter, I'm completely missing a significant number of teeth, and the ones I still have are in bad condition. I expect dentures of some type are a strong possibility in the near future. That prospect bothers me because my teeth, sorry as they are, have served me well over the years and I imagine I'll miss them when they're gone.

Looking on the bright side, there are numerous changes I've resisted in the past: Home computers, digital cameras, compact disc and DVD players, cell phones, and automatic garage door openers are all devices that I insisted I had no use for and refused to buy for years. Now I own all those things and life is better because I do. I can't imagine living without some of those things, like my computers and CD players. If I end up with dentures, maybe I'll be kicking myself for not having my teeth replaced sooner. At least that's what I hope.