Tooth or consequences

A few months ago, I noted that some of my teeth were beginning to chip. I couldn’t think of any recent injuries I’d sustained to my mouth, and so after some investigation it was determined that I was likely grinding my teeth in my sleep. The two most damaged teeth were capped, but a few months later they needed to be capped again. A third damaged tooth was capped at the same time, leaving two others – the least damaged – to be capped at a later date when my dentist and I both had more time. 
As the saying goes, “no plan ever survives contact with the enemy”. 
It started on a Sunday morning. When I woke up, every last tooth in my head was hurting. I had only a few seconds to try and figure out what was happening before I realized that I’d over-slept and was now going to be late for church. I rushed through getting ready (something not helped by the animals needing attention) and went straight down there; I was so late I would likely miss Sunday school, but at least I’d be there for sacrament meeting (re: communion). 
After church and a quick run for a newspaper, I finally managed to make my way back home. I once more had to take care of the animals, then changed into something more comfortable before finally having breakfast… at nearly 3 PM. It was then that I finally decided to go check my teeth in the mirror. A minor thing, really, as by this point most of the pain had gone. So what could have been the matter?
Sure enough, about 1/4th of my upper left canine was missing. You could actually see the material at the center of the tooth. Somehow, I’d broken my tooth in the middle of the night, and the pain I felt when I woke up was my mouth reacting. 
A few frantic phone calls later, and I got ahold of my dentist. In a nutshell, Monday and Tuesday were solidly booked up with other patients, but they’d try to get me in on Wednesday. All I had to do was make it two more days – Monday and Tuesday – with my tooth. Just small amounts of solid food, room temperature beverages, and a bit of patience. 
Then I had the delivery route Monday night into Tuesday morning. Again, “no plan ever survives contact with the enemy.” You see, a cold front moved through that night, shooting temperatures down as low as 55 degrees Fahrenheit. This meant that every time I took a breath, I ended up inhaling large amounts of cold air… right past that tooth. Yeah. Fortunately I had a few spicy beef sticks with me, and the spice had a numbing effect that helped get me through. 
Wednesday morning. The last scheduled patient is supposed to be finished by 1 PM unless other issues arise, and so that’s when they’ll be calling me to let me know if they can get me in. So that means I’ve got about two hours to help my mom prepare for a bit at church that night. Mom and I are at church 10 minutes when I get a text: the patient who was to be seen before me cancelled, so they can take me right away. 2 hours and $200 later, the tooth is completely fixed. 
So no more dealing with a broken tooth. 
Now I’m just dealing with my teeth being sensitive to the cold weather. 
Oy.