Today I missed gym and by the time I should have been walking in through those doors, I was sitting in traffic just off the M3 winding my way towards Claremont. I got there about 15 minutes ahead of my 8-30am appointment.
As you walk in there is a screen with your name on it and you tap your name to confirm your arrival. I sat and read the Cape Times until a short while later, Dr. Strydom came. The whole reason I had to come to him is because he is the next generation. As technology has moved along, so has dentistry. The appointment was very interesting for me. A few things came to light. I have always thought I had an extra tooth, where in fact I have one missing. David did too. He had a missing tooth and during his orthodontic treatment ten years ago, he had an implant done. No dentist had ever told me I was missing a tooth. He got my history and then examined my mouth. He then asked me if any dentist had ever spoken to me about my jaw. Nope, not a word.
He explained what he had seen. Pretty much, there was good news and there was bad news. The bad news is that everything is worse than I thought it was. My bottom bite hits the soft tissue of my upper palate. There is already damage. Given another 10 – 15 years, my upper incisors (my front teeth) will no longer have a place to sit and I will lose them. The cause is largely due to a jaw mal-alignment (who knew?). That was the bad news. The good news is that it is treatable and, while it will be expensive, it is most likely that I will have to have surgery, which will result in an overnight hospital stay. This means that medical aid will most likely cover the bulk of that expense and I will wake up with braces on.
The full extent of the treatment I will only discover at my next appointment which is in mid October.
After the appointment, I was left with his lovely assistant, who took photos, x-rays and moulds of my upper and lower palate.
The price of all of this was sent to me in an email prior to the appointment, so I knew what I was in for today.
R3131.
I drove home in the rain, pondering all I had learned. I was grateful for something else on my drive home.
#902 of my 1000 thanks is for the four new tyres my car got yesterday. The car feels so much better and is so much safer in the rain.
On my arrival home, I had breakfast and coffee and spent a few minutes before jumping in the car and going to Echo to meet with Leanne who is doing our plans and Werner who we hope to get to build the house for us. There was much discussion and ironing out of some issues. It was positive. Who knows we may actually get to build this house!
They are not ready yet to submit but we hope they will be in the next couple of weeks.
I came home and worked for nearly 5 hours.
Psalm 110:7
Hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love.
These are the days!
Keep the smile going.
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂