Incipient Coronation

Incipient Coronation

No, I didn’t suddenly discover that I have royal blood. I’m in the process of getting a crown for one of my upper front teeth.

It’s been a long and difficult haul, not only for myself but also for my excellent and long-suffering dentist. I must confess that it’s my own darn fault. I waited a very long time, far too long, to get this crown. But better late than never. The process is under way, and soon I’ll have a nice new crown in there to replace the dead, discolored tooth that was there before.

The process has been very interesting. Mostly it involves long minutes, and sometimes hours, in the dentist’s chair, enduring the motion of the drill with its bits of various sizes, textures and accompanying sounds. And don’t even ask me about the anesthetic injections. All right, they do their job, but man, does that needle ever hurt!

The most interesting part of this journey took place several days ago, when my dentist sent me to the dental lab that he works with. There, the technicians literally construct new teeth. I watched, fascinated, as Oved, the technician I went to see, took out his color-matching charts to find the appropriate color for my crown. He graciously allowed me to take a picture of the charts and of his work station, and here they are.

The charts:

The work stations:

When I left, I walked around the building, which is contructed on a hill in a northern Jerusalem neighborhood, and enjoyed the following views:

My dentist’s office is sixteen floors up in downtown Jerusalem, with a breathtaking view. Maybe I’ll get a picture from there soon.