So when I got a real job (as a printer), I started thinking about getting my teeth fixed after neglecting them for much of my youth. It really wasn’t a thing in our family, and my immediate family was all in dentures by their forties. But I didn’t want that, and I ended up with a couple of appointments with Dr. Gilliam, but his treatment plan was several years in length–well, maybe not so, but a tooth at a time, it seemed. After a couple appointments with him, I got a tech job and moved to the northwestern reaches of St. Louis County–my first residence in Casinoport, actually–and I went to a sedation dentist which was the hotness at the time. They give you some valium and do a bunch of work at once. Smilin’ Jimmy scheduled me for two appointments and did the right side of my mouth at the first. He put a filling on a nerve, though, which left me in quite a bit of pain for a week or two until I got a recommendation for Dr. Dean. I scheduled an appointment with him, and although he did not have time to do a root canal that day, he sent me to an emergency dentist who did. And Dr. Dean took over the dentistry for my beautiful wife and I until we moved to Nogglestead.
I remember telling him that the plan was to keep the crooked teeth I have until we can grow new ones. “Not in our lifetime,” he said.
But I see this story on Instapundit: Humans May Be Able to Grow New Teeth Within Just 4 Years:
If all goes well, Kitano Hospital will administer the treatment to patients between the ages of 2 to 7 who are missing at least four teeth, with the end goal of having a tooth-regrowing medicine available by the year 2030. While these treatments are currently focused on patients with congenital tooth deficiency, Takahashi hopes the treatment will be available for anyone who’s lost a tooth.
Did Dr. Dean predict I would die before 2030?
Come to think of it, I would have, too. But with the help of Dr. Dean, the recently retired Dr. D., and “the big guy,” my oral surgeon, I’ve kept these teeth relatively healthy and clean for a quarter century now. I hope that counts for something.
