Canine

On Friday evening, my left upper canine started hurting. That's the worst possible time, because the dentist isn't open till Monday.

On Saturday it got worse, and I started self-medicating on Listerine, on the thought that it's an antiseptic, it might do some good on the bacteria in my mouth.

On Sunday it was about the same, on Monday slightly better, but on Monday the dentist is open, so I phoned up. I got an appointment for the next day!

So today, I went to the dentist. The canine had stopped hurting, but I went anyway, because the appointment had been made, and maybe it would flare up again if ignored. The dentist had a good look around inside, wiggled the tooth a bit, and said that there's nothing wrong with it. He thought that I'd probably bruised it by biting too hard - apparently I grind my teeth while asleep.

No work was done, so the visit was free, courtesy of our lovely NHS system. The bad news, though, is that he's retiring. He's been my dentist for 35 years, and he knew the inside of my mouth like the back of his hand. He leaves in July, and although he's a very nice guy, I can't help hoping that I don't see him by then.

But I will, probably. I'm going in tomorrow for a routine "dental hygene" visit, to be done by his daughter (also in the trade). This just means a bit of a scrape to get off any plaque I've missed.

If you're looking for an NHS dentist, you'd do well to sign up at this practice - they're advertising for more patients right now. Phone 01494 727013.