I am in a state of euphoria today.

There are different ways to narrate euphoria. The manner of doing so depends first upon the nature of the ecstasy itself; then upon the candidate making the proclamation. For example, there is a difference between the elevation of a new car and the joyousness of a new born child. My rhapsody is a mixture of those palpable extremes. It is partly a new substantive thing and partly an organic addition; that is, a dental implant. What however I find to be more persuasive than the implant is the settlement of the frustration surrounding its arrival. I like getting things organized, my affairs in apple pie order.

To be clear, this morning I had a new fake tooth installed into my jaw. Specifically a new front tooth replacing the one I lost as a result of having tumbled from my bicycle on the beach in Florida. The circumstances of the injury are now irrelevant.  It happened 2018 but it was only last October, 2025 that – upon the encouragement of my family dentist to inquire – the endodontist (Dr. Alison McGuire DMD, Cert. Perio.) discovered a hairline crack in the tooth.  The crack was proven – after corporate examination and debate – to be causing minor infection of the gum, an annoying and lingering misery.  So out came the tooth!  It may have been a violent extraction but at the time I was so happily doped that I hadn’t anything but intoxication from the associated drugs.

The inebriation eventually vanished – and the tiny abscess in the gum disappeared. But I have spent the last 6 months wrestling with a retainer to cover the rather large hole in the front of my mouth, whilst awaiting the ossification of the plug put into the cavity in the gum. Even after the ossification was calculated by the endodontist to be successful I was obliged to await the manufacture of the replacement implant. Today – upon a scheduled visit to my family dental practitioner – I had the implant skilfully attached to the plug in my gum.  The installation was an immediate success. The implant obviously speaks to the former shape and familiarity of the missing tooth. The notable alteration is the absence of a hole (which, aside from causing a lisp, promoted a distinct and recurring feeling of mediocrity). A curious repercussion is the sense that my other teeth (on the upper jaw) now fit more securely. I have no idea why that is so other than to repeat the popular adage, “It all connects!”

The undeniable utility of the implant is recognizably due to the artistic success of the agent employed to manufacture the implant. Upon the recommendation of Dr. Naji Louis DDS, my family dental practitioner whose opinion in these matters I value greatly, the agent is highly skilled. Tackling creations of such minute detail is evidently no simple matter. Dr. Louis adeptly completed the installation of the implant.

So now I have nothing about which to get in a fluster. Gone are my reasons for prolonged anxiety. In what feels to have been an instant, my life has suddenly changed from ambition and pursuit to one of uncomplicated simplicity and celebration. Coincidentally Dr. Louis (with whom I have been associated professionally since he came to Almonte years ago as a young man and assumed the long-standing practice of Dr. James G. Coupland DDS) is now in the throes of retirement from the practice.  Accordingly this event may constitute the final professional alliance of mine with Dr. Louis. What a perfect way to round out years of association! I have made it clear from the beginning of this particular episode – that is, over six months ago – that I prefer to have Dr. Louis manage this final address.  He is renowned for his expert care and attention, both of which he once again exemplified during this morning’s consult.