…my one tooth…
I have the worst teeth of anyone I know. As a young kid, I ground my teeth at night and that caused enough wear that when I turned 40 or so, I was advised that I needed crowns to prevent further damage. A kindly dentist who rented the office next to mine, here in Indianapolis, offered to do the major job before he retired. He agreed to do the work for the lab costs and would donate his labor. Of course, I don’t know if that was the case, but it was a nice offer that I accepted.
I ended up with 10 veneers and the rest of my teeth had crowns, some with posts. It was a massive undertaking and I remember that I had at least 4 sessions in the “chair” of at least 4 hours each. In fact, there were several times that I literally had every tooth in my head worked on during the afternoon. It was brutal. And with the lab work to make all the crowns, it was still rather expensive for a guy starting out in Indiana.
I have always had small teeth and that resulted in crowns that periodically came off and had to be cemented back into place. I quickly learned when something was loose or chipped and then I was back to the dentist to get things fixed. It worked well for the life of the crowns. Twenty two years later, the original set was wearing out and I was advised by the dentist I work with now, who bought the practice from my original friend, that it was time for another set. Like most things, the technology has continued to improve and my new set should last longer than the original set.
Now how many people do you know that have had two complete sets of crowns installed. So… back in 2014, I went through another series of appointments – only this time, all my teeth were crowned and no more veneers. Many sessions later, the work was completed. Mind you, these weren’t the only issues I had.
I needed two root canals in the same tooth. Then, still feeling that something wasn’t right, a jaw infection was discovered and I had to have my jaw drilled through and another root canal was done from the bottom of the infected tooth through my jaw. That was a traumatic experience – I assure you. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, that tooth eventually cracked and I needed an implant. Go figure. That was six years ago and things have been rather static since then.
Until last spring. In April, there was a problem with my first implant and the crown had to be replaced. During that procedure, the crown next door came off, and the tooth that supported it broke off as well. Well, another extraction, another bone graft, months and months of healing and finally, several weeks ago, I was measured for the new crown that would top off all the work that has been done during the last eight months.
Yesterday, the crown was delivered and installed. Of course, as is usually the case with me, a custom installation was necessary due to the myriad of problems I have had in my mouth throughout the years. So today is the first day with all my teeth back in place. Well, my purchased teeth, that is.
Clearly, I wanted to get this finished by Christmas. Hence, the name of my post tonight…. All I wanted for Christmas was my tooth! With all the procedures I have had, including replacing periodic crowns throughout the years, I have had more than 60 crowns, fifteen or more posts to support various crowns, four root canals including three in one tooth, two implants, four wisdom teeth out, several cracked teeth, my jaw drilled through to amputate a part of one tooth inside my jaw and ten veneers. And I am so grateful to Dr. Stordock, the kindly old gentleman who was our dentist as children. He taught me to trust dentists and I loved him dearly. He finally died when I was eighteen – he was 98, and still practicing! A really great role model.
If it had’t been for Dr. Stordock, I don’t know how I could have tolerated all the things that have been done over the years. As a result of his gentleness, I would much rather see a dentist than go to a doctor – and I know that is unusual.
Our verse for tonight highlights Paul’s admission that he had a thorn in his flesh. My mouth has been my thorn throughout the years, yet I am still appreciative that, for the most part, I have been spared major medical illnesses or procedures. Paul tells his audience in 2 Corinthians 12:7-11, “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
This is a complicated verse to understand, but suffice it to say that I can identify with Paul. And I am grateful that things haven’t been worse in my life. I am able to deal with the hand that I have been dealt and that is a blessings as far as I am concerned. I see so many folks around me who have had so much worse happen to them.
My encouragement this evening is that God is with us every step of the way during our trials and challenges. My prayer is that we will adopt a spirit of gratitude and realize that things could always be worse. On the bright side, I now have my early Christmas present! Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…