Tooth 19 and Atlantic City

PM's Perspective

The fully developed human has a total of 32 teeth with 16 teeth on the upper jaw, 16 on the lower jaw.  The dental community cleverly numbered each tooth starting with Tooth #1 as the wisdom tooth on the right upper jaw continuing to Tooth #16 as the wisdom tooth on the left upper jaw.  Tooth #17 is the wisdom tooth on the left lower jaw concluding with Tooth #32 identifying the wisdom tooth on the right lower jaw.  With this labeling system the sum of the number of the tooth on the upper jaw plus the corresponding number of the tooth on the lower jaw always adds up to 33.  This labeling system allows for quick referencing.  Every person in the dental field knows that Teeth #8 and #9 refers to someone's front teeth, etc.

I had my wisdom teeth removed as a young adult as they were growing in at an angle crowding out my other teeth, so my mouth contains no Tooth #1, #16, #17 or #32.  I am fortunate in that I have very strong teeth.  I attribute this to genetics on my mother's side and probably diet.  My teeth are also fairly straight so I never needed braces.  The only time braces were recommended to me was the time Bob and I took our daughter Phoebe who was 10 at the time in to the orthodontist.  As we sat down in his office, the orthodontist took my chin in his hand, moved my head gently back and forth and said, "I could make you a beautiful woman."  I replied, "I'm already a beautiful woman.  Let's take about my daughter."  As a friend said after I told him this story, "That orthodontist would put braces on a dog."

I never had a dental issue other than minor cavities until my mid 40s.  Tooth #19 developed a hair line crack and started to ache.  After several years of just dealing with this and at the recommendation of my dentist, I decided to get a crown.  Everything worked really well for just over 15 years.  Then, while eating pistachio nuts, my crown popped off for no apparent reason.  Of course I was far from my dentist and used drug store dental cement almost on a daily basis to keep the crown in place until I was able to get to my dentist a few months later.  He fashioned a temporary crown until a more permanent one could be made.  That temporary crown also popped off a few times but this was understandable because, after all, it was temporary.  The first attempt at the permanent crown was a misfit and had to be remade.  The second attempt worked quite well.  In fact, I liked the fit better than the original crown.  Then less than a year later, while flossing my teeth, the crown popped off again.  Again, I was away from my usual dentist but was able to find another dentist to re-cement the crown.  This is probably more information than you need, but you have the background story.

After our two days in Jersey City at Liberty Landing Marina, we headed down the Jersey coast toward our destination of Chesapeake Bay, the body of water we thought for sure we would be cruising in by now.  The distance along the Jersey shore from Jersey City to Cape May is roughly 140 miles.  This leg of our

adventure would be mostly open ocean so we needed to watch the weather rather carefully, particularly wind speed and wave height and period. We decided to make the trip in three segments with our first stop in Manasquan Bay, the second in Atlantic City, and the third at Cape May.  We departed Jersey City on Tuesday, August 26, at 6:30 AM just as the sun was rising over New York City.  Lady Liberty bade us farewell as we headed south toward the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.  Seas were calm, the swells long and gently -- a perfect cruising day.  The Jersey shore is mile after mile of lovely sandy beaches.  The damage from Hurricane Sandy (aka Superstorm Sandy), a category 3 hurricane that occurred in October 2012, was not as evident off shore although we did see several still boarded up buildings through the binoculars.

Our trip seemed to be taking longer than we anticipated when we realized we had traveled 12 nm beyond our turnoff.  How embarrassing!  How did this happen with GPS, the chart plotter, and all our charts?  Once we realized our error, we made an about face and headed toward Manasquan Bay.  Our total distance that day was 63.5 nm, 24 nm more than necessary.  Upon review that evening we realized our error was an accumulation of multiple events.  First, Bob charted the course the night before after three glasses of wine.  Mistake #1.  Second, we didn't pay close attention to the paper charts comparing the paper charts with the chart plotter.  Mistake #2.  Third, we didn't check the chart plotter and paper charts with the GPS on our phones.  Mistake #3.  Lesson learned.  We have changed standard operating procedure so that the same mistakes don't happen again.  I'm sure others will be made, but not these!

Up with the sun the next day and on our way to Atlantic City to Farley State Marina in front of the Golden Nugget Casino.  We got underway by 7:00 AM and silently slipped out onto the open ocean from the inlet.  The journey from Manasquan Bay to Atlantic City was one of the most memorable for us in terms of sea life viewing.  Bob noticed a water spout about a quarter mile off the port.  "Did you see that?"  We both looked in that direction in time to witness two humpback whales breaching.  This event was followed by spotting several pods of porpoise.  Throughout the day, we could see schools of fish just below the surface of the water, water roiling with jumping fish, moon jellies, and to my delight, skates flying through the water.  Much of this activity is not obvious to the casual observer.  You have to be willing to carefully watch the water looking for signs such as the water moving in a slightly different manner and to patiently look into the water for ghostly shapes moving below the surface but oh so rewarding!

Trump's Taj Mahal seen from the board walk

Atlantic City loomed in the distance.  In our conversations with other boaters, no one has had glowing reports of the city.  The outline of the Revel Casino and Hotel could be seen from many miles away.  I wasn't sure of what to expect from Atlantic City.  The only thing I knew for sure was the board walk and the Donald Trump edifice complex monuments.  I went to Las Vegas about ten years ago for an Appraisal Institute conference and actually enjoyed it but have no intention of returning.  Glitz and gambling just aren't my thing.  Entering into Atlantic City was a bit tricky.  Bob once again showed his muster as he guided Velomer through the surf and into the marina slip.  We checked in, walked around the Golden Nugget and weren't impressed.  I just don't get the attraction of gambling.  As I found out, Atlantic City is a seedy and garish version of Las Vegas without any of the class.

Due to weather conditions, we would be staying two nights in Atlantic City.  I wondered what we would do the one full day we had in town.  That night provided the answer.  Remember Tooth #19?  That night while flossing, the crown of Tooth #19 popped right out again!  Note to self:  when flossing around a crown, gently pull the floss down to the gum line then pull it through the teeth, don't pull it up!  Fortunately, I rescued the crown before it danced down the drain.  The next morning Bob got on his I-phone and was able to get an appointment for me at the dental clinic of Southern Jersey Medical Center on Atlantic Avenue.  The clinic was in easy biking distance from the marina.  The actual procedure took no more than 15 minutes if that long.

The appointment took more than two hours, most of which was waiting and filling out forms.  Step 1, sign in with the receptionist.  Step 2, wait to be called.  Step 3, when called go to the registration station, give lots of medical history, financial information and sign a minimum of four permission/privacy statements.  Step 4, go back to the waiting room and wait.  Step 5, get called in and ushered to the dental exam room and fill out even more forms.  Step 6, wait some more.  Step 7, meet and greet the dentist and hand him the crown.  I tell the good doctor that we are traveling on our boat starting out in Maine.  He gets to talking about his visit to Maine while he was in dental school back in the 1950s.  Step 8, wait some more while the dentist sees another patient. During this time I realize that this guy was in dental school about the time I was born and I'm no spring chicken.  How old is this guy?  Should I just walk out now?  Step 9, too late to walk out.

The dentist comes back in and starts rambling about dental cement and that this clinic doesn't carry the cement that he prefers.  He puts the crown back on the stub of Tooth #19 without any cement and can't get it off.  He asks his assistant for some dental tool that looks like a bent needle nose pliers.  I'm not liking this one bit.  He gets the crown off, gives it back to his assistant who then leaves the room with the crown to apply the cement.  The dentist rambles some more about his Maine adventures and a '54 Chevy.  The assistant returns with the crown, the dentist installs it and asks me to gently bite down.  It doesn't feel right.  Cement oozes out from around the crown.  The dentist looks a bit concerned.  My already low confidence level sinks even lower.  He scales off the excess cement and has me bite down on a dark blue colored dental paper that indicates the high spots on the crown.  He takes this tool that looks like a mini sander and says he is going to "polish" my crown.  I hear this grinding sound.  The roots of Tooth #19 are letting me know that they are not happy about this situation.  I bite down on that blue paper again.  The dentist then starts to grind on Tooth #14 directly above the crown.  My bite feels better, not perfect, but I am done.  I am out of there.

Surf at the Atlantic City beach from the boardwalk

Even with my dental appointment we still had some time to explore Atlantic City.  We walked a portion of the boardwalk, visited the Atlantic City Aquarium (a real gem in an otherwise awful place) and viewed the beach.  Ironically as I write this, a news item came to my newsfeed that the Revel Casino and Hotel that open just over two years ago closed its doors last night.  This facility that cost $2.4 billion to construct was originally billed as the project that was to inject new life into a declining Atlantic City.  Showboat, the mardi gras themed casino and hotel that opened 27 years ago has also closed its doors.  Trump Plaza is due to close September 16.  These closings are certainly a blow to the employees and the area's economy.  With so many casinos coming on line in the last decade in so many locations, I think we have reached our saturation point of gambling establishments.