If you've seen and heard me give the weather on KSFY Action News lately, you've probably noticed that my speech sounds a little different. You're right, it does!

It's kind of a long story, but here goes: About 6 years ago, I had my front left incisor knocked out by an accidental flying elbow on the basketball court. As a result, I had to have root canal to take every last bit of that tooth out of my head. I then had what's known (I believe) as a "post and core" inserted into that space. It was then covered by a crown and it looked like a normal tooth.

Unfortunately, because of a "root fracture" and resulting infection, I had to have all that taken out on August 3rd when I had oral surgery. I'm going to have a "dental implant" which basically means I've had a screw inserted into my upper jaw. I have to wait 4 to 6 months now for the bone in my jaw to grow around that screw. After that, I'll have a new crown installed.

In the meantime, I have a removable partial denture, or "flipper", in my mouth. It's called a "flipper" because I can take it out at night when I go to bed. It does make it look I have a real tooth in that space, but it also makes me slur from time to time as I attempt to talk.

With practice, I hope to get my speech back to normal. So, when you see my weathercasts for the next few months, please don't think that I've been drinking or doing anything illegal!