what the what?!

reader, the baron is angry.

the baron had taken the day off work, to take care of some weekday-only errands, including a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment, and emissions testing for her 1996 saturn. on the whole, the baron anticipated an easy day, business interspersed with couch time.

but.

the dentist ruined it for her.

the baron typically LOVES the dentist, being that she has pretty nice teeth. it's true, her teeth are jam-packed crooked in the front, on the bottom, but the cleanness of her teeth (especially BETWEEN her teeth) in spite of the jam-packiness always impresses the dentist. the baron, having been one of those children who loved to give the right answer, responds positively to this teeth-centric praise.

but.

this morning's appointment started as usual, with the dentist and the dental tech and the baron all crowded into a rather small exam room. the dentist pulled out the baron's last set of x-rays, from june of this year, and began her examination and cleaning of the baron's teeth.

halfway through the exam, the dentist made a noise. then the dentist spent quite a bit of extra time on one of the baron's bottom molars.

so.

after the exam and cleaning (and flossing, which was a first for the baron, being flossed by someone else), the dentist had this to say:

dentist: i am concerned about this molar. i would like to take an x-ray of it to get a better look.

the baron: well, what do you think is wrong with it?

dentist: let's not speculate. let's get the x-ray first.

so.

an x-ray was taken.

a short time later (really short, like 4 minutes later) the dentist returned to the exam room and pulled up the new x-ray.

dentist: you can see here there is obvious decay under the filling, not too too close to the nerve. your have two choices... the first is to have the filling removed, the decay cleaned out, and a new filling put in. the issue with this option is that, if too much of the tooth is decayed and has to be removed, we'll have to put in a crown or we'll have to remove the tooth. option two is a root canal, if the decay progresses toward the nerve.

the baron: what?

dentist:...

the baron: ok. the thing is, i just had that filling put in last december, which means that the dentist i saw then did a shoddy job? also, the x-ray you initially pulled up is from last june, which means that the dentist i saw at that time missed the decay in the molar? so, that's kind of two strikes, eh?

dentist: [the dentist actually tried to defend herself and her colleagues, but the baron - super annoyed in this moment - can't actually remember what the dentist said. sorry.]

the baron: so, i should have the filling removed, the decay removed, and a new filling put in?

the dentist: well. the current filling is very securely in place, which means there is no leakage. this means that the decay is within the tooth...

the baron: so, you recommend that i leave the filling in?

dentist: i think so.

the baron: and wait until new x-rays are taken, next june?

dentist: i think that's the best course of action. it's possible that the decay will not spread to the root.

the baron: ok.

dentist: don't worry. we'll check in june.

the baron: i'm not worried.

a short time later, after having left the dentist, after having run her errands, the baron was home and recounting this story. and you know what? she's recounting it through a mouthful of peanut m&ms, so root canal? YOU CAN SUCK IT!