Toothless

I'm extremely fastidious and careful with my teeth. Ask any of my former co-workers, I had a toothbrush at work that I would use after lunch. I carry little floss picks in my purse, and can't stand to have food stuck in my teeth. So, a few weeks ago I had a big surprise when I broke my molar. The tooth broke from the top down on the inside, and took off almost half of the crown part of the tooth. My dentist, Dr. L, has been doing some research and helping me to figure out what is best to do (of course none of it is cheap). When we were traveling to California over Easter, I had a bout of extreme pain from my jaw up to my ear. My tooth was abscessing. I spent last week on penicillin. Today Dr. L pulled out my tooth. I now have a big hole on the bottom right side of my mouth between the back molar and the next teeth. I'm going to have a new tooth "implanted" in my mouth, but the process will take several months. First I have to let this hole heal, and bone grow back in the places where the big roots were. In about three months, Dr. L will place a titanium screw into my jaw. It will disappear underneath the gums. That has to heal for another few months. Then finally, Dr. L will attach a pretty new tooth to the titanium screw. It will be permanent, won't decay, and will hopefully also be a good foundation and security for my other teeth. I've inherited a problem with bone loss in my teeth. No matter how careful I am, I continue to lose bone around the roots. So, this permanent fix (rather than a root canal and a crown which may only last 10 years), will help the other teeth as well.