This morning, we finished the emergency and surprise dental work necessary on five of my teeth.

As always, Dr. Merryman caused me no pain; we laughed a lot as he did his job. He will also bond a new tooth in the space where one was taken out in my lower jaw.

(You can see Zinnia above dozing during the dental work. She is the Queen of Chill)

This is good news for me, I was starting to spit, lisp a bit, and eating was a bit uncomfortable at times.

I didn’t know it was possible to bond a plastic tooth between two others; I won’t even need to remove it. I’m surprised no one suggested that to me before.

I asked him why I suddenly had so many sudden and unusual problems with my teeth when I did everything I was supposed to do – no sugar of any kind, a water pic, brushing, and flossing and have had no dental troubles.

I take good care of my teeth and have rarely had cavities in the past five or six years or since my grandmother sold her ma and pa store and its penny candy.

Dr. Merryman told me several things I didn’t know. One was that my mouth and body get drier as I age, a kind of rolling dehydration.

What, I thought, does this have to do with cavities?

He explained that tooth decay happens when bacteria gather and create acids that erode the teeth.  It isn’t the bacteria that does all the damage but the acids it creates.

Water stops acid corrosion. If I drink more water, he said, not only would my body be healthier, but so would my teeth stay healthier.

He said no one had X-rayed all of my teeth for a couple of years, so the bacteria growth was not noticed. And he saw how dry my mouth was. I am just not drinking enough water. He recommended eight bottles or glasses a day, several times more than I am drinking.

People reading this might already know this, but I was hearing it for the first time. I have found that doctors often think we know more than we do, and most of them have very little time to do much teaching or explaining.

In Dr. Merryman, I have found the first dentist in my life who is willing to listen to me and talk to me and think about my questions. This is an important thing; to me, the salvation of my health has been due to doctors willing to get to know me and talk.

I want to keep my teeth until the end.

Good things always come from that.

So more money, of course, but a great thing to have that tooth back. I had developed a slight lisp and occasionally spit a bit when I was talking. He showed me three photos of patients who had had a tooth bonded and I couldn’t tell which were real and which one wasn’t. And I don’t have to take it out and soak it in medicine every night.

It’s permanent.

I was strongly encouraged to bring Zinnia with me; she was her usual accepting and calm self.

Every few minutes, one of the techs came in to see her and scratch her belly, and they promised treats if I brought her next time. I will. She was pleased there, and she always loves to come along.

Zinnia is such a great dog to go places with. I sat in the chair for a long time, and she lay down at my feet and went to sleep. She is lying at my feet now as I write this.

The dental work I did went well. The cavities were smaller and easier to fix than Dr. Merryman first thought, and my teeth should be fine. I’m getting checked every three months and taking X-rays more frequently. And I’m drinking a lot more water already.

It’s all about maintenance, not pity or complaint.

Tomorrow, the biggest challenge of the week – the third attempted gathering of the Mansion Men’s Club. Wish me luck. Dr. Merryman gave me a box of toothpaste to bring to the men when I told him about the group.