Jul 05 2012
Coronation
On Monday night, I was engrossed in the second season of the complex and rainswept* Killing, when I noticed a hole in my tooth.
Uh-oh.
Apparently a filling had fallen from its original location. Even more disturbing, I must have swallowed it without realizing. I tried not to think about all the “lead is known to the State of California to cause cancer” signs I have seen, from wine bottles (really!) to lead-based artwork in museums. And what would happen if the tooth blew up on my while en route to my grilling in Detroit.
Of course, this has to happen with the Subpoena of Damocles hanging over my head, along with a national holiday. The jobette was closed for the rest of the week, and I was afraid the dentist would be, too. However, luck was with me, and the dentist who takes care of my siblings and took care of our mother just happened to have an appointment at 4:00 on Tuesday afternoon (aka Independence Day eve). They are closed the rest of the week, so I was lucky to get it.
I was scared about what he would say and what it would cost, not, as it turned out, without reason.
He frowned while looking at the damage, and I said, “Don’t give me that face!” He laughed and said he was concerned that the filling was cracked and there might be decay in the crack. Fortunately, there wasn’t. He removed another chunk of filling and then sealed it up with some clear stuff with antibiotics in it, which should hold me until July 25, when I will be crowned for the first time in my life.
The crown will cost $950.
I wish it was from Tiffany instead of the dental supply store, but adult life is full of such disappointments. At least it’s not a root canal, right?
When I brought Jonathan his Thursday dinner and told him the saga of my tooth, he asked me when I called the dentist’s office. “About ten, ” I said. He laughed and said that the dentist’s receptionist called him around 10 to say that an emergency came up and he couldn’t have the 4:00 appointment.
Small town.
*The show is set in Seattle, but filmed in Vancouver. I hope at least half of the rain is special effects. Otherwise, all Vancouverites would look (and feel) like mushrooms!
5 Responses to “Coronation”
Oh, it’s great that you don’t need a root canal. I have exactly one crown, and the tooth it’s coroning (coronating?) *ahem* covering did need a root canal. Turns out I clench my teeth when I sleep, so for the past five years I’ve worn a bite guard (or night guard, as I’ve also seen it referred to).
Here’s to emergency dentistry! 🙂
That comment of mine is full of incomplete thoughts. Anyway, I praise the bite guard for protecting my teef these past five years: All of my other molars are intact. Full of fillings, but intact. Lord knows my life will never be so low-stress that I actually stop clenching my teeth.
Small town indeed, sounds like one cannot do or hide anything without someone near you finding out, you’ve got to love it, or not…..
Dental work…ugh. I hear you, sister. On a lighter note, I quite enjoyed The Killing. I love the moodiness of the show (must be all that rain).
I’m glad they did a recap of Season 1 – I had forgotten a lot of what happened. I really like that show, too. Definitely moody!
Guy – you are so right! Mostly I do love it, though.
Alison – I know what you mean. Being a grown-up is not low-stress!