The Dentists

Today I took the morning off to go to the dentists.  First the periodontist, then the regular dentist.    Both appointments were on time and, hopefully, successful. The injections of novocaine hurt a bit, but not overly so.  The periodontist used a technique that involved wiggling my lip back and forth as he inserted the needle into the gums near my back molar, repeatedly.  I was curious if he had read about that in a journal somewhere, or perhaps made it up on his own. Later, I got the opportunity to look at x-rays of my mouth and could see that the bone graft I had this summer worked out, for the most part.  The periodontist actually thinks I might need an additional gum graft in that area, but that's down the line. On the back burner, so to speak.  His niece is currently studying to be a periodontist. I met her during my appointment and was able to listen in on periodontal knowledge being passed from elder to younger. One of the assistants talked to me about her son, who is procrastinating at school and not earning his prize points.  I encouraged her to go easy on him. Thought about recommending Kohn's Punished By Rewards, but decided against it.  The periodontist took a screw out of my implant and gave it to me to keep in case anything else goes wrong with my tooth in the future.  It's in the junk drawer now.  Let's not forget that.  The morning went well, and included some interesting and unique experiences I'll not soon forget.  Now I'm heading in to the school site to educate the Thirdlanders about measurement again.