Temporary Glue for a Permanent Crown
The saga of the dental crown drags on. On Friday, I called to inquire whether I ought to worry about my wretched gum, which had been bothering me since Wednesday afternoon.
The dentist asked me several questions designed to ascertain that the problem really lay with the gum and not with the tooth itself. She was not about to let any problem with the tooth pulp go uncared for. I had to say, however, that there was no evidence that there was anything at all wrong with the tooth (other than that there is not much of it left by now).
Well, if my gum was bothering me, then this must be due to insufficient flossing and germicidal rinsing! There must be food trapped there! Go forth and floss and rinse some more!
What food? I have been living almost entirely on yogurt. Admittedly, I forgot that kiwi yogurt has seeds, and I had made the mistake of putting sautéed onions in an omelet. But I don’t chew on the affected side…
I felt a little skeptical about doing anything more to irritate the area, as while I realize flossing is good for me in general, it does tend to disturb my gums. I use the germicidal rinse, but it does make my entire mouth feel a little raw, and I think it is killing off my taste buds. Nonetheless, I went forth and flossed and rinsed, and downed some more ibuprofen.
Ah yes, everything was nice and puffy Saturday morning! Perhaps my gums would entirely separate from my teeth!
This sort of thing has made me prefer to stay home to work on my dissertation, although I did venture out Saturday to have tea with Dawn. Since neither of us was feeling terribly well, the only other thing we accomplished while out was to buy groceries. I felt a bit better on Sunday, which was good since it was my last chance to see Věra before she moves to Pittsburgh, but of course our lunch did me no good on the dental front.
I went home and soaked the affected area in Becherovka, which I believe is much better for one than dental disinfectant. By Monday morning, nearly all the swelling had subsided. Yes, Becherovka is a fine product with many uses! One can toast one’s friends with it, use it as a digestive aid, or kill germs with it. Admittedly, the first use is the most pleasant.
I acquired the permanent crown today, but it is not yet permanently adhered. Apparently my gum still produced trace amounts of blood when the temporary crown was removed, so we have to wait for things to settle down further.
I would never have imagined that getting a dental crown would be such a lengthy process. If this were a mere head-of-state crown, I could have held an insurrection and seized one for myself by this time.
Which would you rather have?
A. A carnival crown
B. The Crown of the Holy Roman Emperor
C. Or this? (note: mine is on a molar)
The dentist asked me several questions designed to ascertain that the problem really lay with the gum and not with the tooth itself. She was not about to let any problem with the tooth pulp go uncared for. I had to say, however, that there was no evidence that there was anything at all wrong with the tooth (other than that there is not much of it left by now).
Well, if my gum was bothering me, then this must be due to insufficient flossing and germicidal rinsing! There must be food trapped there! Go forth and floss and rinse some more!
What food? I have been living almost entirely on yogurt. Admittedly, I forgot that kiwi yogurt has seeds, and I had made the mistake of putting sautéed onions in an omelet. But I don’t chew on the affected side…
I felt a little skeptical about doing anything more to irritate the area, as while I realize flossing is good for me in general, it does tend to disturb my gums. I use the germicidal rinse, but it does make my entire mouth feel a little raw, and I think it is killing off my taste buds. Nonetheless, I went forth and flossed and rinsed, and downed some more ibuprofen.
Ah yes, everything was nice and puffy Saturday morning! Perhaps my gums would entirely separate from my teeth!
This sort of thing has made me prefer to stay home to work on my dissertation, although I did venture out Saturday to have tea with Dawn. Since neither of us was feeling terribly well, the only other thing we accomplished while out was to buy groceries. I felt a bit better on Sunday, which was good since it was my last chance to see Věra before she moves to Pittsburgh, but of course our lunch did me no good on the dental front.
I went home and soaked the affected area in Becherovka, which I believe is much better for one than dental disinfectant. By Monday morning, nearly all the swelling had subsided. Yes, Becherovka is a fine product with many uses! One can toast one’s friends with it, use it as a digestive aid, or kill germs with it. Admittedly, the first use is the most pleasant.
I acquired the permanent crown today, but it is not yet permanently adhered. Apparently my gum still produced trace amounts of blood when the temporary crown was removed, so we have to wait for things to settle down further.
I would never have imagined that getting a dental crown would be such a lengthy process. If this were a mere head-of-state crown, I could have held an insurrection and seized one for myself by this time.
Which would you rather have?
A. A carnival crown
B. The Crown of the Holy Roman Emperor
C. Or this? (note: mine is on a molar)
posted by Karla at 6:46 PM
4 Comments:
Poor dear! I'm glad I've never had to have a crown.
Now, as a dentist's daughter, I know about the flossing thing. I learned recently that I was flossing a bit too vigorously, thus causing my gums to bleed almost every time. (I also brush too vigorously, thus further irritating the gums.) The key is slow movement. My gums are much happier now--hopefully yours will be also!
I suppose I do floss too vigorously, but flossing never seems to remove the stuff I can actually feel is there. Then there is the issue of the way the floss breaks off and can't be removed either. Who wants that? (None of this applies to the current situation.)
Well, enough of that. Time to think about slow, languorous, dreamy brushing. That sounds more like something for George or Ms. Spots. Or of course your cats.
Sorry to hear about the trouble with the crown. I have a few of them, but they did not give me that much trouble other than nearly drowning when the impression was made and they stuck that huge wad of rubbery material over a very far back molar! I too brush and floss vigorously, but I find that the glide floss is the easiest to use and does not break between my teeth. If you cannot find it in the czech republic, let me know I could send you some, it is really cheap at costco. You, like me, must have teeth that are really close together which encourages cavities as they are harder to clean.
It sounds like my family is planning to send me some "comfort floss."
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