# Chapter 135

Today is root canal day. What can I say? The 10 or so teeth I had filled and capped throughout my pre-teen and teenage years are biting the dust and just crumbling into shards 45 years later. I think they have held up quite nicely all these years, but they have reached the end of their existence and now I have had to replace nearly all of them. What is astonishing is that this is still the same solution to deteriorating teeth as 45 years ago!! A root canal and a filling! Yes there have been some improvements in X-rays and such so that they don’t have to guess about the location of the root as they did in the past. I am sure they (the dentists) believe they the materials are superior to the old fashion ones, but we will see if they hold up 45 years.

And when there is no longer anything left of the tooth to hold a cap, then yes, they can put an implant in rather than leaving a gapping hole like my dad has, and I even have one of those. It replaced the bridge I wore for many years. But the pain of getting the implant put in, almost negated the positives completely. Wowza that hurt. And of course today is not going to be a jog in the park either, but hopefully this will resolve the months of toothaches and pain I have had as my mouth falls apart.

And lets not forget the price!! As we don’t have dental insurance, this procedure costs a tidy fortune. I paid less for each of the last three cars that I have purchased around the world. Something is seriously wrong in the culture when a root canal costs more than the car I drive for years and years. And so it begins . . .