so embarrassing

[g.laiya]

Too embarrassing to share the whole truth with anybody but you guys….

I’ve had a loose crown for a while, been procrastinating going to the dentist for various reasons.have been having to take it out while eating and brushing my teeth, and put it back in using a dab of gel to help keep it secure.

Well today I had just brushed my teeth, grabbed my crown, and was looking for the gel.since I didn’t see it in the bathroom I went to look in the bedroom on my dresser.I noticed a few things that needed to be thrown out so I did….then…hmmm…why did I come in here?I glanced at the night stand and saw the chocolate almond milk…oh I must have come in to get something to drink to swallow the “pill” that’s in my hand….oops….

It wasn’t until after I swallowed my crown that I realized what I had done…..and now I have to go to work tomorrow with a tooth that’s just a nub of Dentin, in a very visible place.

I’m going to try not to smile, but know I’ll forget……I’m so upset about this,I mean this is just mortifying!…….and hilarious….

REPORT ABUSE

[kc5jck]

This too will pass.

REPORT ABUSE

[Scattybird]

What a lovely story! That’s brightened up my morning.

KC – as usual you have just the right response!

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

People swallow fillings and crowns all the time, although they don’t usually think they’re taking a pill when they do it. No reason to be embarrassed, call the dentist and tell them you think you swallowed it, see what they recommend. Know how much they cost, hope you have insurance if you need a new one. I’d guess that the dentist will recommend new, as opposed to reusing the “recovered” crown.

REPORT ABUSE

[quizzical]

Guessing you’re not feeling much like smiling, but you made all of us smile by sharing that story! The perfect blend of an all-too-familiar scenario – what’s in my hand? – but with an interesting new twist!

Hope you get your smile fixed up soon!

REPORT ABUSE

[Patte Rosebank]

Dentists generally don’t re-use crowns that have fallen out, because a bit of tooth usually breaks off inside the crown, so it no longer fits the stump of tooth that’s left.

A crown that doesn’t fit also leaves you open to decay and breakage, because the nub of tooth inside it no longer has the enamel to protect it, and what’s left is way more fragile.

Trust me, you DON’T want to have the stump break off—or worse, split vertically, exposing the nerve and pinching the gum, causing inflammation & a hell of a toothache, and making it impossible to freeze the area so the dentist can remove the tooth (in pieces). Been there, done that TWICE, and it’s excruciatingly painful.

REPORT ABUSE

[Fabulous]

G, thank you for sharing — this is so relatable. Kc, you kill me! lol

Scared though: I am procrastinating putting a crown on a molar that had root canal years ago because I am a chicken and because I don’t want to pay the thousand dollars. Larynxa, you might have just persuaded me. Yikes.

REPORT ABUSE

[Patte Rosebank]

Fabulous, get thee to the dentist, and don’t be a chicken!

A tooth that has been root-canalled has no nerve and no blood supply. That makes it much more brittle than a complete tooth. The bonus is, with no nerve, you won’t feel a thing when the dentist works on it.

As for the cost, find out if your dentist will let you pay for it in installments. They might make you pay for the actual lab cost of making the crown up-front, but you might be able to pay for the rest over several months.

REPORT ABUSE

[Fabulous]

Ugh!!! But he wants to slice the gum open and “peel it back” and I don’t wanna!

REPORT ABUSE

[Patte Rosebank]

It sounds as if your dentist wants to do an “apicoectomy” (crown-lengthening), to expose more of the tooth as a base for the crown.

I’ve been on the receiving end of one of them, and it sounds a lot worse than it actually is.

Your gum will be completely frozen, so the only thing you’ll feel is the momentary unpleasantness of the freezing needle.  Once the freezing kicks in, it’s easy!

The dentist won’t actually “peel back” the gum.  He’ll just very gently cut off about a millimetre of gum tissue around the tooth.  That’s an extremely tiny amount.  About 1/25 of an inch, to be precise.

Then, he’ll put in a couple of tiny stitches, to make sure it heals properly.  The stitches will dissolve after a week or so.

The gum will be sensitive for a few days.  You can take Advil (ibuprofen, which is the best painkiller for dental pain), if necessary, but you probably won’t need to.

With dental stuff, it’s the anticipation that’s the worst.  But if you know what to expect, it makes you a lot braver!

REPORT ABUSE

[Rick Green – Founder of TotallyADD]

A suggestion about teeth–find the best dentist you can. And the best orthodontist.

Haircuts come and go, and then regrow. Teeth go. And then they’re gone.

In fact, dentistry is a craft, a hand-skill. It is a real art. It’s medical, yes, but it’s actually closer to jewelry making than to many other branches of medicine.

Fine yourself a gifted craftsman, or woman. Some who, as my amazing dentist says, “Has got the touch. They have to have the hands.”

REPORT ABUSE

[Fabulous]

But how do you know if your dentist is a true artist? I chose my dentist because he has a wicked sense of humour and he makes me feel so much better about being there. Needless to say, I’m one of those people who has issues about going to the dentist. I’ve been lucky so far — blessed with pretty good teeth-genes.

REPORT ABUSE

[Fabulous]

Larynxa thank you for the in-depth description and the first-person experience of it. I think I’m edging closer to it. I still might barf.

REPORT ABUSE

[Patte Rosebank]

Don’t you dare barf!

If you REALLY want to freak out your dentist, use your hair-trigger gag reflex when he’s using the hot-wax method of taking an impression.  I was only the second person in my now-retired dentist’s entire 40-year career, to do that.  I gagged and clawed at the roof of my mouth to get the hot wax out of it—exactly what a cat does when you try to force a pill down its throat!

My new dentist, who took over his practice, doesn’t use the hot-wax method.  She uses different kinds of alginate goo (pretty aqua, and muddy purple) instead.

Seriously, don’t worry about the procedure.  It’s just a bit of unpleasantness, and when it’s all over, you’ll wonder why you were so worried.

Humans are the only species that gets all worked up, worrying about what *might* happen, so our bodies are constantly awash with “fight-or-flight” hormones.  But if you know what to expect, and you use little tricks (like bringing along an MP3 player & noise-isolating headphones, so you can listen to comedy or music during the procedure), it’s much, much easier!

 

REPORT ABUSE

[Fabulous]

You really are making me feel much better about this! Thank you!
Okay, I am going to do it.

REPORT ABUSE

[Author]

Posts