filling the holes

This afternoon, I had two cavities filled by the gentle hands of Dr. Julie, my new dentist. When I finally went to the dentist, after a hiatus of at least seven years (long story for another time), I was quite concerned by what might have gone wrong in the ensuing period since I last had my teeth checked. To my relief, my teeth were mostly in good shape! My gums were fine (yeah!), I had one new cavity (boo!), and I had one filling and two crowns that weren't holding up to the task of grinding food into digestible bits.
Many little X-rays were taken, even pictures. The good doctor even showed all to me, so I could see the damage. Then my teeth were cleaned and I was counseled about the upcoming schedule and cost. Yeah for dental insurance! Not that the cost to me for the work itself is free, but it's about a quarter of the uninsured price.
Today was the first of the needed repairs. Two fillings, one for a new pit, the other to replace a broken bit of silver. The numbing shots were slowly administered, so nicely done that I had none of the pain I had recalled from my last time in a dentist's chair. Alrighty then! The work itself went at a quick pace and, in under an hour, I was done and gone. "No food or drink for at least an hour," were the parting words, "and then try to drink something warm."
Better than two hours later, I'm still partly numb. Perhaps I should have forewarned her that I have a low drug threshold. You better believe that I'll inform her of that very thing when I return the first of December for the initial crown work.
Tonight, I was out for a light-hearted Philippine action flick, featuring the diminutive (shorter than a yardstick) Weng Weng, at the local coffee house. My right jaw was aching slightly, so I had a cup of decaf java to sip. Sip I did, at first, then found the actual warm cup to be of more solace than the liquid it held. Eventually I was even able to relax and enjoy the movie. Nice to have that void filled, too!