One of our favorite songs at Dallas Theological Seminary was Crown Him with Many Crowns.

Recently that song has taken on a different meaning for me.

Two weeks ago, I found out I had a huge cavity under a crown, and the tooth was pulled the next day. The periodontist warned me to get to my regular dentist because this huge cavity emerged in just three months. He said I might I have lots of cavities.

My dentist took X-rays of all my teeth and found out I needed: 6 crowns and 2 fillings. What? Six crowns. And two fillings.

He only had time to do one crown last week. But he said it was urgent I get them all done ASAP. He set me up to have five crowns and two fillings this week.

Tuesday was my light day: just one crown.

Yesterday I had two crowns and one filling.

Today I finished with two more crowns and one more filling.

I wore my 26.2 shirt. This was my dental marathon.

My dental insurance ran out last week. So, this week is on us.

My dentists are not sure why this happened. I don’t eat sweets or use sugar. (Nor do I drink soft drinks.) Well, I formerly used 2 teaspoons of brown sugar each day in tea. Aside from that, I used stevia and sometimes Splenda. I did use ketchup and honey mustard too. So that was a bit more. But both dentists think that the electrolyte drink I was drinking all day long was the major culprit. Even though it was sugar free, it created an acidic environment, and then any little sugar I ate went to work. Plus, I was only brushing and flossing once or twice a day.

Here are the lessons I’ve learned through this:

1. It costs more to live when you get older. That’s why it is good to save when you are young and middle aged.
2. I’m done with sugar.
3. No more electrolyte drinks unless I drink it all and then brush right away.
4. I can handle major disruptions to my schedule. I used to think that a one-hour dental cleaning appointment was a major hassle. This week I was in the dentist’s office for eight hours.
5. While I don’t like spending a large amount of money on something which was evidently avoidable, I’m surprised to see that I’m not that bugged by it now that it is over. The initial cost estimates really bothered me. But the price came down some when I did not need build ups, and I have hope that this will be the last of mega dental work.
6. I made my dentist happy. All his children thanked me for contributing to their college funds.