Teeth

I bit down into the grainy goodness of an organic loaf and felt a crack. The porcelain inlay split down the tooth, became dislodged and floated to the front of my tongue. Shit. I thought immediately of health care, my situation, and the way a person can get caught in between. I grabbed the piece uneventfully and laid it on the table beside me.

I hadn't eaten all day. I do that from time to time as days get busy and we get in a hustle. So in the last efforts before evening, driving across town, I planned a stop at the grocer to get something. It's either this or the bar but I thought better of it and continued on. I went for healthy, a good choice.

So I cracked a beer, sipped and felt the wincing pain as the cold hit the tooth. Felt good. What to do? I finish the beer, crack a second and place the call to the guy who put it in less than two years ago. No go. Without health care there are no options. Fight harder, don't panic. I look to my laptop and the shiny new cover. Two weeks back I called about the cracked armature so they sent out a technician to replace it. On warranty, it happened quickly and at no charge. Dignified. This is my tooth on the other hand, down into the bone, two of them, less than two years out. No warranty and no responsibility. There is an option, for a couple hundred a temporary solution can be made until my 'situation' improves. Don't take it, move forward, demand what is medically called for. So I ask, "What is medically called for? Is it the repair of the inlay or this temporary splint?" No answer. Money will provide it. So back to the hovel, head high, mind low and we go. I'll need some options with more teeth... I already know what that is, money, as I head out to my position in the not-for-profits, civicly engaged, open belief, community, an organism.