AN EXTRACTION

Over the past few months, I've been compiling a list a thiten that happen when you get old; things like the order taker at McDonald's suggesting you might like a bran muffin instead of a blueberry one or the cashier at Shoppers reaching into your hand for a nickel and dime to help make change.

Come on man, I used to be a math teacher, I wanted yell.

I can add another sign of aging after a visit to my dentist this morning. A sore tooth had been bothering me for a few weeks and although I kept hoping it would go away, I came to the realization on the weekend that it was something that needed professional help. Probably a cavity at the gum line, I thought to myself.

"The X-ray shows your molar ( #16 to be exact) has some cracked roots, " Doctor Lerner informed me. "That happens sometimes when you get older. It has to come out asap before an infection sets in."

Yikes. So much for my afternoon card game.

A few hours later, I was sitting in the chair of an oral surgeon, the same one who had taken out my wisdom some teeth thirty years earlier. His experience showed as he calmly explained what he was about to do.

"Do the cracked roots pose a problem?" I asked tentatively.

"It will make things a bit harder but I'm sure I can get the entire tooth out. I just might have to use a little more force than usual, that's all."

"You mean climbing up on a stool kind of force."  I have the odd habit of trying to be funny whenever I'm in a tough spot.

"No, no...I wouldn't do that, although you might feel my knee on your chest when I start to pull," he quipped.

Good one doc!

"Say, can I ask a favour before you begin? I said. "Could you give me a play by play of what you're doing. I'd like to be in the loop as you work." I'm a veteran of numerous dental procedures and I always find it reassuring to hear exactly what's happening.

"Actually I don't work that way. I need to stay focused on what I'm doing," he answered, suddenly all business. With that, he began the drilling and yanking.

Although the entire extraction process probably only took about fifreen minutes, it seemed much longer. Pain has a way of doing that.

Now that I'm home, I'm grateful for the expertise of the oral surgeon, the bowl of Jello I had for dinner and the Tylenol 3 that's easing the discomfort.

And, I had a very good excuse when Terry beat me at Scrabble tonight.