Doctor and Dentist Appointments

(Avon Park, FL) Hi 82 Lo 73 -- We've been playing cards and our regular everyday routines this week. along with lots of TV and internet, I'm crocheting and Jim is doing a daily long walks. We're relaxing and enjoying the Florida warmth.

The one thing we always do during while here in Florida for the winter is doctor appointments. You don't just go to one, there's always follow ups, and follow ups to the follow ups. We now have several between now and January. It's great making appointments before the snowbirds come down, you get in quickly for everything you need. I now have a standing monthly massage set up. Tuesday was my eye appointment, which was a follow up to my cataract surgery last March. I had one eye done for close up and the other for distance, and I've had trouble from the start getting my brain to adjust my eyesight. I found out that I have a film behind the new lenses, which is very common with cataract surgery. I'll have that taken care of first, then I'll have lasik surgery done on the close up eye to match it to my other eye for distance. That will all be done in December, and won't cost me any additional money (thank goodness).

I've had a tooth ache off and on for some time. It was waking me up at night and hurting on and off during the day. Thursday I went to our dentist to have it checked out. Turns out I had two cavities, and one was under a crown. It was bad enough to interfere with the root nerve. Technology has come a long way since my last crown several years ago. They now can make a crown right in the office, in less than an hour. It takes 14 minutes to make the custom-fitted crown, then they put it in a kiln for 15 minutes to harden. It needs to cool for another 15 to 20 minutes or so, then it's placed over the tooth and bonded. That's handy for the RV'ers that don't stay in one place long enough to wait for a crown to be made and sent back to the main office.

This is the machine that makes the crown. The little square porcelain it's made from is in the middle circle. (Click on the pictures to enlarge them.)

Two tiny diamond drills chip away the unwanted areas while water sprays to keep it cool.

When the drill bits get dull the whole thing turns red and they stop it to replace the bits. Then it continues and finishes the job.

I wish I could have gotten better pictures but it was difficult to photograph through the water spray. The whole thing is like a big 3D printer. I was there for a total of five hours. (This included a cleaning.) I came home and took some Motrin and relaxed the rest of the night.

I've added a website to see all the critters I've made. Click here.

That's all for now. See you in about a week.