I have a cavity. A little one. In a wisdom tooth that already has an old silver filling in it, likely done in my early 20s during a flurry of I-FINALLY-HAVE-INSURANCE dental and medical appointments.

The quote from my dentist: “No matter how hard you try, it’s impossible to brush these perfectly every time. It’s minor and you don’t have to do anything until it hurts — I can fill it or yank it…because it will probably happen again. Your call. Either is fine. Filling is more lucrative for me, but if you were my sister I’d say just pull it out.”

If I pull it instead of fill it again, it’s unlikely that I’ll deal with the traditional wisdom teeth extraction — I have all four wizzies, and none are impacted or problematic. Dr. Wonderful recommends picking a Thursday or Friday in the winter, getting numbed to the gills, adding a little laughing gas, and yanking the sucker out. He predicts recovery will take a couple of hours.

My front tooth has a tiny chip in it…not noticeable unless you’re looking for it or you’re my tongue. Considering where it is, there’s almost no chance it’ll be a problem. Dr. Wonderful can put a little filling stuff in it and smooth it out if I want, but it’s unnecessary.

My bottom teeth have bucked their brace-training and reverted to a pattern almost identical to my dad’s bottom teeth. (It’s uncanny, I tell you.) This may have caused the chip — I might be occasionally grinding my teeth in my sleep. I can have them re-straightened…if I feel like it. I can also get a night guard…if I feel like it.

Back in the day, there were no options for my dental care — only imperatives. I don’t know if I can handle all this pressure.