Our Own Worst Enemy

How often is life made more difficult because of a choice you have made? Even worse, as choice you know was wrong, and you knew it would only lead to bad things and yet you still made it?Okay, my bad choice is pretty lame, but I think many of us have done the above.

I hate the dentist. Growing up I always had crappy teeth. Every dental exam meant cavities, sealants, repairs, pulling of teeth etc. I was told I had spongy teeth and my enamel wasn't the greatest. At 18 I had to have all four wisdom teeth pulled. It never ended. Around the time I turned twenty, and was no longer on my parents dental plan...I stopped going. Yep, as crappy as my teeth were, knowing that I needed frequent interventions...I stopped going. Bright idea huh?

Well most of my readers will be familiar with the fact that while pregnant with M I needed an emergency root canal which I had done. I was supposed to get an immediate follow up once M was born, which I didn't and that resulted in the shattering of said tooth a few weeks ago. That night I made the decision that I needed to smarten up and start seeing a dentist again. I have so far successfully grown a positive dental relationship with my kids and their dentist, and I needed to do the same.

About 2 weeks ago I went back to the dentist for a full work up including x-rays. As bad as my list of repairs was, I was shocked it wasn't worse. Today was the first of many visits. I had three cavities filled on the right side. Next week, two on the left. Then comes the dreaded repair of the shattered tooth. I have additional places that are being watched, but I think despite my stupid decision, I wasn't 'punished' to badly.

Now, for this shattered tooth. It's my first molar on the left and to fix it, it will require a Core Build Up, a Lengthening Implant, a Crown and possible Bone Shaving. All of this sounds very expensive and time consuming. Anyone have some good reasons that I shouldn't just go ahead and have the thing pulled?