Today was the day. My permanent gold crown was installed.
That’s the one on molar number 19, for those of you not familiar with the “Crown Affair” saga, as I was calling it.
This will be my third molar encased in shiny yellow metal. At the risk of sounding sacrilegious, the old hymn “Crown Him with Many Crowns” keeps coming to mind.
It certainly would NOT hurt my feelings any if this one were to be the last. But as the “tyranny of time” takes its toll (GREAT alliteration there! And I LOVE that phrase, “tyranny of time”) there will be more dental work in my future, I fear.
OK, for those of you who just can’t resist reading about someone else’s pain, here’s how it went.
The cheery dentist started with a discussion concerning whether or not I wanted to be numbed. I tried to get a laugh with Karyn’s “numb and number” quip, but I guess he’d heard it before.
Since he knows I’m a wimp, and since this tooth required the crown because it had become very sensitive, he suggested the Novocain. Since I also know I’m a wimp, and I didn’t want to be flinching while he blew drying air across this sensitive tooth before applying the adhesive, I agreed.
“You’ll feel a little pinch,” he told me again, grinning behind his mask.
“Jackass,” I thought, not grinning. “It doesn’t pinch, it sticks!”
Yeah, I know. That wasn’t very nice. Sometimes my private thoughts are pretty sarcastic. Not to mention caustic. Not to mention profane.
Fifteen minutes later he’s back. “Can you feel your lip?” he asks.
“What lip,” I mumble back, feeling like it must be swollen and sticking out in a huge pout.
“Oh-Kay,” he says, “Let’s get this crown on.”
The rest was pretty much a non-event. He popped off the temporary crown I’ve been wearing for the last 4 weeks, prepped the tooth with some sealant followed by the adhesive, and on went the gold. I never felt the first hint of pain after the “pinch.”
Now, at home in front of the computer, I’m just beginning to feel the side of my face again. It’ll be a real pleasure to be able to chew on the left side for a change.
I can now forget Jodi’s recent post, “Please Pass the Jello.”
5 comments:
The dentist couldn't get my tooth number 19 crown on so he had to TRY and put it on about 20 times, drilling at it each time for fit. It hurt way worse than any shot or drilling. I had no idea there was a novacaine option or I would have taken it...because THEN when the crown was ready to apply came the long blast of cold air on my extremely sensitive tooth which was now about ready to fall out from trying on the crown 20 times. Believe me, it's a pain you'll be glad you missed.
OW! OW! OW! OW!
That makes my jaw hurt just THINKING about a blast of cold air on a sensitive tooth!
Uh... does your dentist show any other Sadistic/Masochistic tendencies?
(Shudder).
I'm laughing WITH you, not at you. Reading your post was like nostalgia. Thanks for describing what I forgot - the dry air torturing my teeth and the image of your lips looking like your worst allegic reaction come true.
Glad for you that it's over. And hope that you won't have to avoid food that must be chewed for much longer.
Been there done that. I was behind the door when they passed out teeth, thus I've gone steady with my dentist (more then one)for many years. I can sooo relate to the torture of crowns and root canals. And yes, the stream of frigid air on a sensitive tooth.
Eek! I hope it'll be a long, long time before you have to go through that again!
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