Dental follies
So, I haven't written much lately for lots of reasons but I did end up having some dental work done yesterday, which included a new crown, the novelty of which is that it was done in one visit.
I'm not frightened by dentists and I've gotten used to the one I see now. The procedure, per se, doesn't bother me. It's the needle. Fortunately, this dentist is pretty good with a minimum pain injection. That leaves random vibration and shots of cold sensitivity. (When that compressed air hits the stub of my tooth--YOWZA!) The one problem I have with my new dentist is that I've decided she's not comfortable with nervous patients. The most annoying thing is that she keeps telling me to "calm down" (well, I am trying) and saying "almost done" when she's nowhere near almost done. Whatever--she's reasonably compentent and she's got all new toys.
Getting the several crowns I've had to date--think, think, think, um, five, I believe, not counting my bridge--has been a two visit process. My current dentist has a CEREC crown milling machine that she can work with in the office so this time it was one visit. (And that wasn't bothering me, either.)
Note to self: bring a book next time.
The beginning part was pretty much the same--and the most tense--with the shot, time spent getting numb and then lots of drilling. Fortunately, not much pain but lots of cold shocks from the BLAST! from the air gun.
Already it was a little different because there was no initial impression. Another impression would have followed and then both get sent off to some lab that takes 10 days or so to make the crown and I get a temporary put in.
This time, the dentist inserted a core at my gumline, which the crown would attach to. This was really uncomfortable but not painful. Then, the dental assistant spent lots of time drying off the stub. (Complicated by bleeding, so it took a while.) Once that was done, there was another BLAST! from the air gun and then the new stuff really started. (The cold sensitivity was starting to really get me and I kept jumping but trying to keep my cool.)
My dentist and her assistant then spent time coating the stub of my tooth with some kind of reflective powder. This was so that the camera on the CEREC machine could take photographs from every angle. The camera was about the size of my thumb knuckle and my dentist took lots of pictures and kept applying more powder because apparently one surface wasn't coming in well.
After that, her assistant spent time cleaning my tooth off (BLAST! BLAST!) while she spent time with a 3-D modeling program with which she designed the crown. Running over it with my tongue, it seems a little wide. Given that she was designing it from just pictures of the stub, I can see a flaw, or perhaps just inexperience.
While looking over her shoulder at the cool graphics, I realized that this was the boring part. I should have brought my reading glasses and a magazine because it was about a total of thiry minutes of just sitting in the chair at this point.
When she was done with the design work, the machine went beep and then the milling machine started up. I could see, what I now realized was it, on the other side of the wall from the exam room via a mirror. It was about four feet long and a foot and a half high.
It also made the best noises. Having heard milling machines, I wasn't surprised, but someone with a problem with drilling noises would probably have gone nuts. Whirrr... wheeeeeee!... whirrrr... WHIRRRRR... WHEEEE!... whirr... for about ten minutes.
Then the machine went *beep* and the dentist went to pick up the crown. She trimmed and polished it a bit with what looked like a Dremel while her assistant stuck adhesive on my stub. After that, things were about what I expected. She stuck it in, then spent time testing the bite, taking it out, grinding off a bit, repeat, repeat, repeat. This took a while--like I said, I think it was a little inexperience--and we were going beyond my two-hour slot. (Which I think also annoyed her.)
She started scraping off the excess adhesive--again, uncomfortable--and her assistant stuck the magic light inside my mouth to help the adhesive stick. After that, my dentist spent checking the ability to floss. This was a bit of a challenge--my teeth have always been tight--and she ended up using a dental saw to scrape a channel between my new crown and its neighboring teeth. That was a little painful as she seemed both annoyed and she was running late. She scraped my gum at least twice.
Oh, then they took an X-ray and I got to see the before and after on a 15" monitor. (That's another new toy--for years, I've given up on squinting at the tiny X-rays and just nodded. Now I can look and ask intelligent questions about what I'm seeing.)
So, then it was all done. A day or so later and there's this funny thing in my mouth and some dull pain but nothing really unexpected.
Anyway, the good news is that one is done. The bad news is that I need at least one more crowd. Probably two. But this one really couldn't wait.
I hate going to the dentist.
I'm not frightened by dentists and I've gotten used to the one I see now. The procedure, per se, doesn't bother me. It's the needle. Fortunately, this dentist is pretty good with a minimum pain injection. That leaves random vibration and shots of cold sensitivity. (When that compressed air hits the stub of my tooth--YOWZA!) The one problem I have with my new dentist is that I've decided she's not comfortable with nervous patients. The most annoying thing is that she keeps telling me to "calm down" (well, I am trying) and saying "almost done" when she's nowhere near almost done. Whatever--she's reasonably compentent and she's got all new toys.
Getting the several crowns I've had to date--think, think, think, um, five, I believe, not counting my bridge--has been a two visit process. My current dentist has a CEREC crown milling machine that she can work with in the office so this time it was one visit. (And that wasn't bothering me, either.)
Note to self: bring a book next time.
The beginning part was pretty much the same--and the most tense--with the shot, time spent getting numb and then lots of drilling. Fortunately, not much pain but lots of cold shocks from the BLAST! from the air gun.
Already it was a little different because there was no initial impression. Another impression would have followed and then both get sent off to some lab that takes 10 days or so to make the crown and I get a temporary put in.
This time, the dentist inserted a core at my gumline, which the crown would attach to. This was really uncomfortable but not painful. Then, the dental assistant spent lots of time drying off the stub. (Complicated by bleeding, so it took a while.) Once that was done, there was another BLAST! from the air gun and then the new stuff really started. (The cold sensitivity was starting to really get me and I kept jumping but trying to keep my cool.)
My dentist and her assistant then spent time coating the stub of my tooth with some kind of reflective powder. This was so that the camera on the CEREC machine could take photographs from every angle. The camera was about the size of my thumb knuckle and my dentist took lots of pictures and kept applying more powder because apparently one surface wasn't coming in well.
After that, her assistant spent time cleaning my tooth off (BLAST! BLAST!) while she spent time with a 3-D modeling program with which she designed the crown. Running over it with my tongue, it seems a little wide. Given that she was designing it from just pictures of the stub, I can see a flaw, or perhaps just inexperience.
While looking over her shoulder at the cool graphics, I realized that this was the boring part. I should have brought my reading glasses and a magazine because it was about a total of thiry minutes of just sitting in the chair at this point.
When she was done with the design work, the machine went beep and then the milling machine started up. I could see, what I now realized was it, on the other side of the wall from the exam room via a mirror. It was about four feet long and a foot and a half high.
It also made the best noises. Having heard milling machines, I wasn't surprised, but someone with a problem with drilling noises would probably have gone nuts. Whirrr... wheeeeeee!... whirrrr... WHIRRRRR... WHEEEE!... whirr... for about ten minutes.
Then the machine went *beep* and the dentist went to pick up the crown. She trimmed and polished it a bit with what looked like a Dremel while her assistant stuck adhesive on my stub. After that, things were about what I expected. She stuck it in, then spent time testing the bite, taking it out, grinding off a bit, repeat, repeat, repeat. This took a while--like I said, I think it was a little inexperience--and we were going beyond my two-hour slot. (Which I think also annoyed her.)
She started scraping off the excess adhesive--again, uncomfortable--and her assistant stuck the magic light inside my mouth to help the adhesive stick. After that, my dentist spent checking the ability to floss. This was a bit of a challenge--my teeth have always been tight--and she ended up using a dental saw to scrape a channel between my new crown and its neighboring teeth. That was a little painful as she seemed both annoyed and she was running late. She scraped my gum at least twice.
Oh, then they took an X-ray and I got to see the before and after on a 15" monitor. (That's another new toy--for years, I've given up on squinting at the tiny X-rays and just nodded. Now I can look and ask intelligent questions about what I'm seeing.)
So, then it was all done. A day or so later and there's this funny thing in my mouth and some dull pain but nothing really unexpected.
Anyway, the good news is that one is done. The bad news is that I need at least one more crowd. Probably two. But this one really couldn't wait.
I hate going to the dentist.