Hashtag NO Fun

I should be referring as a king with all the crowns 👑 I have in my mouth, all the work being done on them AND all the stupid money they’ve cost me, alas!

I spent, literally, two hours in the dentist chair yesterday afternoon, I kid you not, to remove the cracked crown pictured below -

I was given so much novocaine or lidocaine, whatever, that the area is still tingly this morning.

They had to give multiple shots throughout the process because I could feel the drilling at times, ouch 🤕 

This was the first of two visits needed for this procedure and an expensive one too, GRR

Once my new crown 👑 is ready, visit two will be to install it and then adjust accordingly, which will also cost me dearly.

What a rack this dental thing is! A necessary evil 😈 I suppose…

Not Over or Easy

Another day, another visit to the dentist, alas!

Nope, that’s not an image of an over easy egg -

Rather, that’s an image of my broken crown, UGH! The yellow is Dentin, the hard core structure of the crown. In my case, the enamel covering the dentin is what has partially cracked and broken off.

The dentist was able to file the rough edges of the enamel down so they’re not jagged and sharp. This will hold me over until I can have a new crown made…

Seems they, the numerous crowns I have, take turns cracking and needing to be replaced.

When It Rains It Pours

Another scheduled visit to the dentist today, well actually the oral surgeon.

Today’s appointment was to expose (yes, slice my gums) the post that was implanted four months ago and to install a small plug in said post, which will eventually be used to mount the fake tooth.

I was a tad worried leading up to today’s appointment, that was made worse as the doctor kept me waiting almost 40 minutes!

Seeing the tools laid out as I sat back in the exam chair surely had an effect, as my blood pressure was 155/95 -

With the anxiety producing procedure over with (multiple novocain shots, and yes into the roof of my mouth too), I relaxed a bit and waited for the numbing to take effect.

When the doctor started, I could hear the slicing of my gums, fortunately I didn’t feel a thing, phew.

The problem came when the doctor said “oh no”!  That’s when the red flag went up, and even though he had his hand knuckles deep in my mouth I got out the word “what”?!

Well, seems the post; the post that was painfully drilled into my jaw back in March, which looked perfect in the xray they took before starting today’s procedure, came out! Yup, the f’n post that was supposed to have grafted to my jaw these past four months didn’t do the graft thing and instead it just “popped out”!

As if that wasn't bad enough; here’s the bad news - the post that popped out cannot be put back in, nope. Instead, the doctor filled and packed the hole with grafting material.

This grafting needs to set for four months, I kid you not! So when I go back in October, yes October, I need to go through the whole process again where he’ll drill a new hole and set a new post AND I’ll need to wait ANOTHER four months for that work to set and bond…

Burst my bubble is an understatement! I was expecting to FINALLY be in the homestretch of this ordeal but instead it’s just beginning, <sniff>, and as I write this post my mouth is aching and sore, and the three sutures installed today are still bleeding some.

I guess one piece of good news is when the doctor said he would not charge me to “fix” and redo the procedure - dam right, the first procedure did NOT work!!

Not sure why I have this black rain cloud overhead…

Exposed

When it rains it pours…

Trying to do the right thing and floss my teeth after I eat has been more problematic than I would have ever thought!

Don’t get me wrong, it’s well worth doing and my hygienist has always said my teeth and gums look great and to keep doing what I’ve been doing. However, and maybe it’s that darn “Murphy”, but I seem to keep running into issues with my teeth.

Today, for example, after eating lunch I grabbed a flosser like I’ve been doing and started flossing and cleaning between my teeth, when lo and behold one of my crowns popped right off -

I mean c’mon man! My mouth and teeth hurt enough as it is without these “other” issues, cut me some slack!

Although, there was no pain or sensitivity with the crown off, I was concerned about needing to go all holiday weekend long with it in that condition. I was worried that doing so just might cause issues or potentially damage the exposed tooth.

It just so happened that I was only several miles from my new dentists office so I popped on over and asked if I could be squeezed in and looked at and they were more than accommodating!

I was very fortunate that the crown simply popped off and was not damaged or broken, and because of that the dentist was able to simply re-glue the crown back in place! I caught a break, phew!

Dr Penland is terrific and I’m very thankful!

Is This Considered A Fake Smile, Hmmm

You're looking at quite an investment of money in that x-ray below, as well as many visits to the ole dentist and a lot time spent in a dental chair!

Or perhaps, just a money pit...

Either way you look at it, it's all been necessary -

Seven crowns, of which most have already been replaced at least once, UGH, and two root canals which you cannot see but trust me I've had them! 

Smack dab in the center of that x-ray is my newest investment, the "post" that was drilled into my jaw bone back on March 3rd, that will eventually hold my new tooth\crown, which is another pending expense.

Here's a closer view of said post -

Hoping to have my new front tooth in place before East Tennessee corn on the cob comes ripe!

Gotta set goals.

More Dental Fun, Not

As Toby Keith sang, "Shoulda been a cowboy"...

Interesting exam chair in the Tusculum dental office I had the utmost pleasure of visiting this past Monday morning -

This is the seat I saddled up to, alas -

I was kinda surprised and relieved, not gonna lie, to find a dental office in Greeneville, TN of all places using new start of the art technologies!  A hand held vatech EzRay Air P!

The EzRay Air P is a lightweight portable x-ray device that is designed for easy handling and stable positioning. It delivers optimal image quality for your intraoral x-ray images and the world’s first portable carbon nanotube X-Ray Technology -

Here is one of the x-rays taken of the post that was installed in my mouth back in early March, using the above ExRay Air P device -

This visit was more of a first introduction with my new general dentist, the one who'll take the images necessary to have the fake tooth\crown created and that will eventually mount to the post shown!

Good times 😭

Drill Baby Drill, UGH!

My view this morning, from the oral surgeon's chair -

Tools of the trade and ready to be used on me, GULP - 

I didn't notice the gross ceiling stain until looking at this picture.  This is the work area and table behind where I was sitting -

Step 2 has been completed as of 10:45ish this morning.  The novocaine is now wearing off and I'm starting to feel the throbbing and some pain, which thankfully I did NOT have during the procedure.  Hoping the bleeding stops soon.

They did prescribe antibiotics, a strong ibuprofen and a strong pain-killer, an opioid I believe, which I have no plans to take but have at the ready if needed.

Now we wait; (4) more months of waiting for this post and graft to set properly before proceeding to step 3 - good times! 

When It Rains, It Pours

So this happened about a couple months ago, UGH!

See the crack circled in red below?!  Well that is my right front tooth and that is a crack, under the gum line, where I snapped the tooth, ALAS -

Frustratingly, it happen smack dab in the middle of BLT eating season and when local farm fresh corn on the cob was becoming available. Unable to bite into anything for fear of snapping the tooth completely off, I had to refrain from the above delicious items and SO much more too, SNIFF!

This is the culprit!  A word to the wise, PLEASE do NOT chew on these flossers -

Frick'n Murphy!  

Sadly, there is NO fixing this break and saving the tooth.

Rather the fix is a long one and a VERY expensive one!  It requires an oral surgeon to remove the tooth, and do some bone grafting. Wait 4-months. Return to oral surgeon and if all looks good and on track, a post will be installed. Wait another 2-months. Return to oral surgeon one more time and if all looks good, I then need to go to my regular dentist, who'll take an image of the area to have a fake tooth made, that will then be mounted to the post.

Here is the mouth piece, with a temporary tooth, that was made specifically for me.  This is only for aesthetics and needs to be removed when eating - 

Well, yesterday was the DAY!

As reluctant and nervous as I was, AND with a blood pressure reading of 164\94 (sitting in the surgeon's chair), I had the damaged tooth pulled, OUCH -

All stitched up and with a now unsightly, sore hole in my smile I was sent on my way.  Took about 1/2 hour from the time I pulled into the parking lot, to the time I pulled out AND will a much lighter wallet!

The bleeding finally stopped late last night, after sucking on gauze all day. Good thing I ate breakfast before I had the procedure, as I wasn't able to eat anything afterwards.

Feeling fine this morning but need to be very careful for the next week or so.  I'm relegated to soft foods, e.g. scrambled eggs, mac & cheese, soups and broths, etc.

And NO, having a front tooth removed is NOT a prerequisite to moving to Tennessee, HEHEHE!

Let the games begin... 

The Law of Murphy...

Well, I've blogged about him in the past and yes, they were NOT words of praise, so no surprise here I go again...

That POS "Murphy" showed up again while I was in Chicago, of course he did!

Stephanie and Audrey took me out to a great Irish restaurant, The Harp & Fiddle, for my birthday.  There I was enjoying the Dubliner Burger when "CRUNCH CRUNCH" happens!  I knew immediately what it was, YES, one of my crowns!

Although, I was really unable to chew on the right side of my mouth, thankfully there was no pain; no issues with hot or cold.

All I can say is I hope that "Murphy" character gets the clap...

Open W I D E!

BIG day yesterday; root canal day 😱!

The procedure took about 1.5 hours, and it's quite the procedure for sure.

I was a bit nervous going in, as I am with most dental visits, even cleaning - my problems.

Turns out it was no big deal at all; there was literally no pain during and only a bit achy afterwards when the novocaine wore off.

Before procedure x-ray -

After procedure x-ray -

The white lines in the one tooth below, those are the now packed canals of where the roots of that tooth used to be.  The endodontist packed the canals with a product called gutta-percha, which is a rubber-like material that was compressed, so it fit snuggly against the walls, and then an adhesive cement was used to further seal the canals.

Easy-peasy!

The next and last step is to go back to my regular dentist to have the new crown installed atop of the now rootless tooth.

I have SO much money invested in my mouth with all the dental work I've had these past ten years!

I Am Not A Fan of the Dentist

This is a x-ray of my teeth, top left. As you can see they're crowned, actually I have a fortune in crowns and crown work in my mouth!  The item circled in red is a cavity that is starting, which has been causing me pain and discomfort for a while now when chewing on that side of my mouth.

As everything in my life these days, this isn't going to be an easy fix and on top of that it's going to be a costly one too!

Visit #1 today, my dentist remove the crown on the tooth in question.  She did this by cutting it off, FUN!  Once the crown was removed, she was able to get a better look and assess the situation.

Frick'n Murphy am I right?!

The age of the tooth and the location of the cavity being too close to the nerve, of course I need a root canal on this tooth.  She also thinks it best to have this procedure done now before installing the new crown and having to drill through it.

Couldn't get an appointment with the specialist until a week after Thanksgiving.  So with the temporary crown I'm now sporting it doesn't look like I'll be doing too much chewing and enjoying of a Thanksgiving meal.

Looking like I might have to consider more of a "liquid" 🍻 <wink, wink> Thanksgiving day meal...

Say AHHHH!

Ms. Emilie had her (4) impacted wisdom teeth removed on Tuesday.

I'm happy to report that all went well, and except for some swelling and soreness, she's doing fine.

#blessed

Happy Happy Happy!

It's been a long process but today was my last visit to the dentist to address my 2015 dental issues!

One cracked back tooth (lower left side) that required a root canal, my first, UGH!  One cracked and broken back tooth/crown (upper right side).

The root canal typically requires two visits, however mine took three.  Appointment one, nervous, I reluctantly arrived ready to go.  The dentist, Dr. Wang (not my regular dentist but a root canal specialist that works with and in the same office as my dentist but only on Wednesdays.) began.  First order of business was nova-cane and a lot of it.  After a brief wait for the numbness to set it the drilling began.  No worries couldn't feel a thing.  However, once he was through the tooth and at the nerve OUCH!  More nova-cane.  Wait.  Start drilling again.  OUCH!  Done.  Turns out there was inflammation in tooth which prevents the nova-cane from being able to penetrate fully.  So, reschedule for the following week after taking a weeks work of antibiotics.

Appointment two, (the following week, Wednesday) nova-cane again.  Wait.  Drill... No pain.  20 minutes later done.

Appointment three, (the following week, Wednesday) same process, however, 40 minutes later done! 

Thank you Dr. Wang!  Onto Dr. Magier

Appointment four (first with my regular dentist). Take impressions for two new crowns.  Install two temporary crowns.  The temp crowns are really to protect the tooth underneath and not intended for chewing.

Appointment five (second with regular dentist), install new crowns!

Done!

Celebrate at the British Beer Company tonight for BOGO (buy one get one) pizza!

Although I have dental insurance experience tells me that most of the above work will not be covered, ALAS.  Just like having another root canal but without nova-cane...

Tough Getting Old, So Says My Teeth!

Oh do I have teeth problem, UGH!!!

And I don't want to talk about it now.

Maybe after the root canals and post drilling and stuff...

Cleaning Time!

Cleaning time at the ole dentist for Emilie.

The good news, no cavities!

However, what a process.  Back in the day, when I was Emilie's age, a dentist visit was no fun.  It was such a sterile and unfriendly environment.  However, today's kids have it made when they visit the dentist.  Emilie had a choice of flavors for the toothpaste used to buff her teeth, which were all presented to her on a laminated sheet of paper.  Choice of flavored floss and choice of toothpaste to go home with.  Also, she was asked if she wanted a pair of sunglasses to wear while having her teeth cleaned.  You know because the lighting is so bright!

Also, interesting to note is the protection worn by the hygienist. She donned a pair of protective glasses, a mask and gloves.

Not when I was a kid, nope.  When I wasn't blinded by the light, I had stare up into the nostrils of the dentist.  In some ways today, it's good to be a kid...