Where's The Tooth?

Ken is in the midst of experiencing an African Nightmare! One thing that we hoped for when we came to Africa was that we wouldn't need to go to the Dr. or the Dentist. We have taken several elders to the Dr., and Ken was having a problem with a tooth so decided that he needed to go see the dentist. It was not a bad experience for him. The tooth was fixed, and we were only out about $60 bucks, so all was well. But..... it was only a few weeks later that we were having dinner at a fancy restaurant with two missionary couples, and I looked over at Ken and he looked like our 7 year old grandson with a big hole in the normal row of top front teeth. I asked what happened and was told that when he bit a roll the tooth broke off. YIKES!!!!

He has been lucky because he hasn't had any pain. He stewed for about a week, wondering what he should do. He called himself Snaggle Tooth, I told him he looked like a hillbilly, and I would have called him Petie if that wasn't my name. He decided to go back to the Swedish Dentist in the city. He had a root canal, which the dentist called a root filling and they took impressions. Finally after two weeks, the tooth arrived from Nairobi. It fit great at the top end, but the bottom end was way too long. The dentist couldn't figure out what had gone wrong, but he decided to see if he could shorten it so Ken could close his mouth so his back teeth would touch. He drilled until he hit the metal inside the tooth and finally decided that it wasn't going to work. He took new impressions again, and told Ken not to change his bite. Ken tried to explain to him that he only has one bite and that is the one that he used last time, this time and that he will also use it the next time it is needed. Well, we are again waiting for a new tooth from Nairobi! It doesn't bother Ken a bit, but it sure bothers me and I try to remind him to smile with his mouth shut!