Made in Montana

Don't go to the dentist before piping.

Yesterday I had to get a crown (thank you very much. "Your Majesty" will be fine.) The whole staff was very excited for me to arrive, because they have been getting crowns made in California and Nevada, and 2 out of 3 were faulty. This one they had gotten made in Montana where the dentist and I both used to live, although independent and ignorant of each other, and they had high hopes that it would be perfect.

The assistant first tried to get the temporary crown off by applying pliers and yanking, but it felt like my tooth was going to break right off, so they came at me with a needle, dripping some toxic substance, which the dentist proceeded to inject into my upper left gum. While he was waiting for the toxin to go in, he was explaining something complicated to the assistant, not paying attention to how much toxin was being injected, or what arm and hand motions he was making while holding this needle, with the result that the whole needleful went into a rather large hole in my gum (due to the gesticulations).

The good news was the crown (made in Montana!) was apparently perfect and attached itself without problem to the stump of tooth left in my mouth.

The bad news was that the whole left side of my face slid down 2" and refused to follow instructions from my brain as to any further movement (i.e. smiling, chewing, blowing on a chanter, etc). I looked like a stroke victim.

I thought the numbness would wear off in 2 and a half hours, or by the time it was my turn for Group Lesson.

However.

By 1900, I still could not form my lips around the chanter. I stayed long enough at the lesson to get the new tune, The Piper's Wedding, which will be the last tune to the Grade 3 Medley, and pretend to run over it a few times, and get permission to play at the Living Traditions festival in May (with Grade 3!) and then I took Small Son home.

This morning I can pucker with power, but my tooth feels . . . odd. Hopefully, it is just something I have to get used to. After all, how could a crown from Montana be flawed?