Dental whinging (you have been warned)
May. 22nd, 2020 03:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
carbonelShortly after the governor of Minnesota issued the original stay-at-home order, my dentist announced that the office would be closed except for emergencies. The day after that, a chip came off of one of my crowns. I figured I could live with it until things opened up again. A few weeks later, a much larger chip came off, creating a much larger problem. The dentist and I arranged what felt very much like a clandestine rendezvous, and he did a temporary repair.
A week or so ago, with things are loosening up a bit, the dental office called me to reschedule the crown prep that had been canceled during the shutdown (a different one from the one above that cracked).
Today, I went to the dentist for that crown prep. Except that after he looked at the one that had cracked, he said that one was a higher priority than the one initially planned. Because it was a previous prep, it was supposed to be a simpler procedure than normal -- just take off what didn't look like a prepped tooth instead of having to reshape the whole thing.
It didn't work out that way. I didn't get a play-by-play report, but I do know it took about an hour longer than expected -- and more anesthetic was injected without my being asked first. I think the original crown prep had some major issues. But at the end, the dentist said it went well, and I had a temporary crown that was supposed to last me the two weeks until the new crown was manufactured.
I went home and had some lunch. About halfway through, I felt an edge where there shouldn't be one, like a fingernail. Part of the temporary crown had chipped off. A few minutes later, the entire thing came off.
I called the emergency number for the dentist, and called back a while later. I now have an appointment for tomorrow morning for him to make me a new temporary crown. But in the meantime, my jaw is decidedly achy, and I'm scared to eat anything other than very soft lukewarm food. And I feel bad for the dentist, because I'm screwing up his holiday weekend.
The only good thing is that that tooth already had a root canal. Because if it hadn't, it probably would now.
(Edit to test LJ crossposting.)
A week or so ago, with things are loosening up a bit, the dental office called me to reschedule the crown prep that had been canceled during the shutdown (a different one from the one above that cracked).
Today, I went to the dentist for that crown prep. Except that after he looked at the one that had cracked, he said that one was a higher priority than the one initially planned. Because it was a previous prep, it was supposed to be a simpler procedure than normal -- just take off what didn't look like a prepped tooth instead of having to reshape the whole thing.
It didn't work out that way. I didn't get a play-by-play report, but I do know it took about an hour longer than expected -- and more anesthetic was injected without my being asked first. I think the original crown prep had some major issues. But at the end, the dentist said it went well, and I had a temporary crown that was supposed to last me the two weeks until the new crown was manufactured.
I went home and had some lunch. About halfway through, I felt an edge where there shouldn't be one, like a fingernail. Part of the temporary crown had chipped off. A few minutes later, the entire thing came off.
I called the emergency number for the dentist, and called back a while later. I now have an appointment for tomorrow morning for him to make me a new temporary crown. But in the meantime, my jaw is decidedly achy, and I'm scared to eat anything other than very soft lukewarm food. And I feel bad for the dentist, because I'm screwing up his holiday weekend.
The only good thing is that that tooth already had a root canal. Because if it hadn't, it probably would now.
(Edit to test LJ crossposting.)
