Monday, February 2, 2009

Day 117/365 - Reason No. 912 Why I'm An Idiot



Apologies for the somewhat gross nature of this week's self-portrait. This is a close-up of the left side of my mouth. This is the point where I confess that I haven't been to a dentist since the exit dental exam I received prior to leaving the Navy. That was in 1994. Yep, I'm an idiot.

I'm a guy, so I don't like going to the doctor or dentist unless something is really wrong with me. I believe this qualifies. As you can see in the photo above, I am missing a sizeable chunk off the side of one of my incisors. I first lost a little piece off this tooth about a year and a half ago, but it didn't hurt and it didn't cause me any inconvenience so I didn't feel any need to get myself to a dentist, pronto. I figured I'd eventually get around to making an appointment.

Then about three weeks ago I lost another little chunk from this tooth. Now I was starting to get a bit concerned. Plus food was getting caught in the gap and that was bothersome. But still I didn't feel the sense of urgency to find myself a dentist. Then last Thursday night I lost another chunk off of this tooth and now the gap between it and the neighboring tooth was seriously big. I was officially concerned at this point.

So Friday morning I got on my dental insurance company's website (yeah, I've had dental insurance for about four years now but I still haven't bothered to go to the dentist -- that's the special kind of stubborn and stupid I am) and found a dentist. When I tried to call and set up an appointment, however, I couldn't reach anyone. Today I finally got ahold of the receptionist at my prospective dentist and made an appointment for next Wednesday morning.

Hopefully I won't lose another chunk off my tooth between now and then.

(Taken with my Nikon Coolpix S200)

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