This blog is about my life in Key West. Generally, a reiteration of the previous day’s events. Sometimes interesting. Sometimnes boring. I call it mundane. But whatever the day before was, you get it!

Yesterday was big time dental surgery. Four and a half hours long. Worthy of sharing with you. Especially the economic end.

The last time I had a tooth extracted was 1960. Fifty one years ago. I was 26 years old. I had bone disease on top. Lost all 14 teeth on top at one sitting. Sad!

The cost for the extractions was $250 with novocaine. $350 with gas.

I had neither money nor insurance. I had just graduated from law school and taken the bar exam. I had not commenced working yet. I was married with one child and another in the hopper.

I went for the $250 deal!

It was gruesome. Barbaric.

Over the years, I had a bridge of caps constructed for my lowers. The bridge was cemented onto 9 teeth. I was told the bridge would be impossible to remove. Little did they know that 50 years later anything was possible.

Yesterday was the big day for the bottoms! The cemented bridge was removed. The 9 teeth holding the bridge pulled.

With novocaine again. I could afford the gas this time. But my Key West dentist did not do gas. I would have had to go to Miami to be knocked out. So I opted to have the work done in Key West. My dentist is Dr. George Lindner. I was impressed with him from previous work and comfortable with him.

The game plan is ultimately to end up with 4 implants which would hold the new lower bridge in place. The implant process takes 4-5 months.

As to cost, what a difference 50 years makes! The bill this time is approximately $20,000.

Whereas 50 years ago I had neither cash nor insurance, today I am still without dental insurance . However I do have cash!

The good Dr. Lindner shot me up with novocaine. The only pain I felt through out the entire procedure was the novocaine needle.

Within a half hour, he had the bridge and 9 teeth out. I was impressed! In fact, I asked him when he was going to do the removals. He said they were already done.

The next 4 hours were spent cleaning up the bone and gums. Major work! The bone was diseased and infected big time. Dr. Lindner had to remove parts of it. I sat there as he was chipping and grinding away!

The jaw bone was more infected and diseased than he had anticipated. He had to replace bone with bone. No problem. He inserted new bone on both sides of my jaw. Bones from cadavers. You got it! Dead people!

The reason this whole process will take 4-5 months is so the cadaver bone will fuse to my jaw bone.

After we were done, Dr. Lindner gave me a prescription for a pain killer. He said…..use it right away! You are going to have big pain!

An understatement!

I had to wait 1 1/2 hours for Walgreens to fill the prescription. I stayed home. Had someone pick it up for me. By the time the pain killer pills arrived, I was ready to bang my head against the wall! Pain!!!!!!!!Fortuantely it only took 20 minutes for the pain pill to kick in.

Lisa and the grandkids came over to sit with me last night. Ally made me 2 get well cards and a small ceramic bowel. Robert a book mark. They both sat on the bed with me rubbing my head, holding my hand.

I had a rough night. Took more pain killers to help. I am a bit wobbly this morning when I walk. The pain pills. I am a druggie today!

I looked in the miror this morning. WOW! My jaw is huge. Mussolini style. My bottom lip gigantic. The jaw bruised. Big time!

I am back to the dentist at 11 this morning. I will survive.

I have already shared with you the economics for my dentistry in 1960 as compared to today. Let me share the cost of some other items back then.

Gasoline was $ .17 a gallon. A quart of milk $ .18. A loaf of bread $ .08. I bought a big new Cadillac 8 years later in 1968. A Sedan de Ville. Black leather top. Gray bottom. Cost me $8,000. and I paid cash for it!

Oh, am I sick! Nauseous right now! Big time! The pain killer!

So dear friends, this is the end of today’ blog!