I’ve been involved in animal agriculture for most of my life, which is rapidly approaching the half century mark. I’m well aware of all that cattle, especially, provide for us in our daily lives. While I’m incredibly thankful for cattle’s contributions to the food chain, the cosmetics industry, and the cleaning industry, I didn’t realize the part they played in the dental industry until recently.
I had a problem tooth that ran along the lines of Baxter Black’s poem “Tex and His Toe.” This tooth had me driving myself to the emergency room one morning because it hurt so bad. It had had several major procedures done to it. It still wasn’t right.
A dental implant was the only way I was going to rid myself of this dang tooth but first the dentist had to build my jawbone back up the level of my other teeth. This was to be done by implanting a bone graft.
Some of us are familiar with skin grafts where they take skin from another part of the body to repair the skin in another area. When I mentioned I needed a bone graft, the most common question was “Where are they getting the extra bone from.” I really didn’t know until I sat down in the chair.
My dentist held up a little package containing my bone graft. Then he mentioned it was made from cattle bones. I was amazed. Then I asked if I could take a picture. Of course, I had to tell everyone thus opening myself up to comments of “So do you prefer hay or cubes now?” Frankly, I would have been disappointed if my friends hadn’t come up with it.
Not only am I thankful for my friend’s sense of humor, my dentist’s willingness to educate me and fix this dang tooth but I’m incredibly thankful for the cattle and the humans that work to get the most use out of each animal.
Jennifer Theurer can be reached at 620-227-1805 or [email protected].