Dental Work

I just got back from the small dental office in the SCU downstairs after having my teeth cleaned for the first time in over nine years (since before my arrest in 2005).

The hygienist who cleaned my teeth and examined them was very nice, and had kind friendly eyes. She was also very experienced and professional about her work. I was able to ask all the questions I had about taking care at my teeth in prison (e.g. how and when to request an appointment if I have a problem with my teeth - no easy task considering how intricate policies and strained resources determine if and when a given request is responded to - many of my requests have been ignored in the past due to a simple lack of correct wording it seems).

The exam and cleaning went well. She found only one problem area where an old filling appeared to be giving out and needs replacement. Other than that my teeth are in good shape. The filling I got two years ago, to fix what the jail dentist in Riverside, California said needed a root canal (so he wouldn't have to fix it with a filling) is holding up well (surprize, surprize). So now, with this cleaning, my teeth are in good shape, all 28 of them (sans the wisdom teeth), with a lot of fillings in the molars but no caps, root canals, or anything else wrong with them. Not bad, methinks, for a fifty year old man who's spent more than half his life imprisoned.

(Originally written by Joseph E. Duncan III on June 7, 2013)

P.S. A week after the above dental visit I got called out for another dental appointment to actually have my one ailing tooth repaired. The dentist fixed it quickly with a few taps of his drill and a dot of amalgam, without even numbing me up first (per my request - the shot to kill the pain would have been more painful, by far, then the entire procedure!). So, now my teeth are in tip top shape, oh happy me! (It's seems my teeth have caused me more worry and concern these last several years - because I could not get routine dental care - than all the death penalty cases against me, and I'm not even exaggerating!)