New

Sorry I didn't write yesterday.  I had an appointment with a dentist.  A specialist I didn't really need.  One of my crowns came off.  I went to the dentist who put it on to get it put back on.  He sent me to the specialist sharing his office.  The specialist wanted a lot of money.  He would do the prep in the morning and put the crown on that afternoon.  I went in at nine.  Shots.  Mouth stretching.  Sharp pains.  Jaw breaking.  But there was none of the old ways here other than the needles and the pain.  The specialist put a tiny camera in my mouth and began taking pictures.  There was no molding materials, just pictures.

I was hurt and worn out when I finally showed up at the factory.  Then I started wondering.  I'll bet they print the new crown on a 3D printer, I said.

When I went back in the afternoon, the tooth wasn't ready.  It was still in the oven, they said, baking.  Come back in an hour.  I asked, and it was true.  They printed it from the pictures of my teeth.

When I went back, the tooth was ready.  The specialist put it in.  It felt about three times as big as my other teeth.  I said so.  He kept grinding it down to make it fit with the molar above.  I was dizzy, sweaty, and spinning.  Is it o.k.? he asked.  I didn't know.  It felt awful.  I asked if I could just try it out for the weekend.  Sure, he said.  He was ready to go home.

This morning, it feels better in my mouth--mostly.  Maybe it will take awhile to get used to it.  It still feels big.  I don't know.

I won't tell you the price.  I am embarrassed by it.  All of it.

Is this what it is like to get old in a new world?  

Surely.