Sharp tooth

Regular readers of the blog may remember my attachment to the 'multi-purpose gadget' that I have out here. Used most successfully on fixing electrical problems in the past the gadget (a copy of the famous Leatherman multi-purpose knife) was instrumental in providing an answer to prayer this morning.

On Tuesday I managed to chip the tooth on the bottom left of my jaw, creating a sharp edge which my tongue instantly developed a fascination for. I’m sure many of you will be familiar with the problem. When I woke up this morning my tongue felt like it was on fire every time it went anywhere near the tooth. My only strategy to deal with the problem has been to try wearing the sharp edge down when eating. I’m convinced it would have worked eventually but am equally sure that it would have involved a lot of pain. Having a strong belief in the efficacy of prayer I prayed to be delivered of the tooth problem this morning. I’m not really sure what I was expecting to happen. Sudden miraculous end to pain and remodeled tooth would have been good.

Within minutes of praying I brushed my teeth (again) and was struck by a sudden inspiration. The handle of my toothbrush has lumpy bits on, to improve grip. It occurred to me that if I used the handle of my toothbrush a bit like a file I could wear the sharp edge down. I decided to give it a try. The toothbrush handle was, unfortunately, not really up to the task but it did inspire me to look for a small enough file to do the job. Enter the gadget which has a blade that doubles up as a file and fish hook disgorger. Not being sure how clean this blade was I ‘ sterilized’ it with boiling water then set to filing the tooth.

My first attempt with the gadget was successful enough to be encouraging but didn't fix the problem. I found it difficult to make sure I was filing the right bit of the tooth. Using a torch and mirror helped me to pinpoint the critical bit of tooth. Emboldened by my early success I filed away quite vigorously and managed to round off the sharp edge. The relief from pain was pretty immediate. As the day wore on I became more confident that my amateur dentistry had been successful. As I type (11.00 p.m.) my tongue is still very sensitive but nothing like as painful as it was when I woke up. I’m hoping that a good night’s sleep will give my tongue time to heal. If it’s still sensitive in the morning I'll have another go at developing my skills as a dentist.

I don’t know if it’s the kind of thing that the gadget manufacturer would want to include in future publicity. It’s a peculiar kind of testimony really. Hardly earth shattering news. The timing of my inspiration may seem co-incidental but, as I've said before, when I don’t pray the co-incidences don’t happen. God certainly moves in mysterious ways!