My dental story, while not as bad as some that I hear, is bad enough! When we were still in MO, I needed a crown on tooth #2 .. which is the tooth way back on the top right, unless you have a wisdom tooth, which would be tooth #1. In my mouth, #2 is WAY back there and, believe it or not, it’s hard for me to open my mouth enough for the dentist to work on it.
Crown#1 – So, in Nevada, I got a crown but the dentist couldn’t get a good fit so he had the crown remade. That meant taking off the first crown, getting another impression, putting on a temporary, and waiting for the new crown.
Crown #2 – It came in, the dentist took off the old crown, put on the new crown but in the process of trying to get it to fit, trying to get the bite correct, he made a hole in the new crown. He left it on while he conferred with another dentist about our options. There’s just not enough space back there.
Crown #3 – The dentist, who was one of my favorite dentists, decided a metal crown would be best because it’s much thinner than the porcelain (or whatever the white ones are) and he’d have a better chance of getting everything to work together way back there. So using the same impression from Crown #2, he ordered the metal crown and it was fine.
Crown #4 – Barely five years later, the x-rays were showing something that caused the dentist here to want to replace this crown. Seriously, at this point, today, I wish I had pulled that tooth before ever putting the first crown on but . . who knows if that would have been a better decision. I’m pretty much in favor of saving all my teeth.
In March, 2016, the dentist replaced the crowns on both #2 and #3. I could never chew on them. I went back 2 or 3 times and saw the hygienist or the dental assistant but I never got any resolution. As time went on, #3 got more and more cold sensitive, so much so that sometimes even being in a cool room, my tooth ached. I went to a dentist in Abilene and she said I needed a root canal on #3 but because it was through a crown, she wouldn’t do it. There was a dentist here in town I was trying to get in to see and it’s right next to impossible to get an appointment with him but finally, in November, I was able to see him and he confirmed that a root canal on #3 was necessary and referred me to an endodontist in San Angelo. I waited til January because I had already used all my dental benefits for 2016 . . getting the two crowns that were causing issues.
On January 10, when I went to the endo, he did more x-rays and he was more concerned about #2 and #3 but I told him . . #3 is killing me. Fix it first. So, he did and then I went back on January 24 for a root canal on #2.
On January 27, part of the filling in #2 fell out. It felt like a gaping hole but the dentist here assured me it was just a small hole and the root canal was ok but something back there was really hurting. The local dentist gave me antibiotics, which helped but I still had a lot of pain. Both the endo and the regular dentist told me it could take up to 4 weeks for the pain to go away because the tissue was injured and bruised and having had 2 root canals in the same area within 2 weeks, was traumatic.
Yesterday I went back to the local dentist to get the filling replaced. He checked to make sure there were no high spots where my teeth could be hitting together and causing more pain and he found a couple of places, and he fixed those.
This morning, I have no pain. I have not tried chewing on that side but I haven’t been able to chew on that side for almost a year so . . what’s another few days. I figure it’s going to be sore anyway from the work he did yesterday so I’ll give it a few more days but it feels SO good to be able to close my mouth (I do that sometimes), and have my top and bottom teeth touch without a sharp pain!
Even if I can never chew on that side, I can live with it the way it is now.
This whole dental experience has made me realize how lucky I am to have such good health and not feel dependent on doctors and the medical profession to make me better. I cannot imagine what it must be like to be facing life threatening issues and be dealing with insurance limitations, scheduling doctors’ appointments, trying to see several different specialists at the same time . . I know there are many people going through it and I am so thankful for my health and I am so thankful for the local dentist who seems to have solved my ongoing dental issues!
Deb P. says
So glad you are getting some resolution on this dental stuff! I think tooth pain is the worst pain there is, aggravating and annoying along with the actual pain. And on the plus side, not so many trips to town!
Paula says
Yay! Glad your teeth are doing better.
Dianne K. says
Going through something similar here week after next. I’m just trying to be glad that this area that’s been giving me trouble for 15 years hopefully will be resolved. And that I am lucky enough to be able to have the procedures done.
Diane in CA says
I feel your pain, I have a mouth full of crowns and a couple of implants. I recommend acupuncture for the leftover pain, it worked for me.. I like to think we got charm instead of good teeth..
dezertsuz says
What a tale in frustration! My dentist and I are best buds. LOL He’s the best dentist every and gives me great advice all the time. Everything he’s done has worked well, and he doesn’t quit until things are optimal. I really like him, and feel lucky to have both him, and most of my teeth still. A good dentist is priceless, and I’m glad I don’t have health issues on top of the dental! Even if I had to get false teeth, that’s better than needing a new heart or kidney.