And the whirring sound is heard once more

8am

Last week I went into the dentist's office to get a crown. When the dentist prep'd my tooth 2 weeks prior, he let me know that the amount of tooth that he had to remove was quite significant. He said there was a small percentage that I'd still need to get a root canal. The molar had a large silver filling in it. And that molar ended up with vertical cracks in it. And if those cracks developed more? That section of my tooth would fall off. ARGH! If you look at a clock? The portion of tooth that would fall off would be a quarter -- the area from 12 to 3 -- a pretty large amount. AND the amount of filling and tooth that he have to remove was really close to being a root canal situation.

We crossed our fingers and toes that during the time I had my temporary that I wouldn't become sensitive to heat or cold. And I didn't. I was just fine. Then I got my crown in last week, like I mentioned earlier. I didn't eat on that side of my mouth for a few days. I started tentatively eating on that side over on Sunday. And yesterday I KNEW I would have to get a root canal. When I drank my normal ice cold water? I got a shooting pain through my skull. YUP! That's one symptom you CANNOT ignore.

After I dropped the Princess off at 7:30am this morning, I called over to the dentist to leave a voicemail. To my surprise, the receptionist answered the phone! I let her know about my newest symptom and she scheduled me in. For 9am this morning! WOOHOO! So it's a good thing that I'm getting in to see the dentist. But it sucks that I'm even having to come back in to see the dentist. Right?

9:40am

I'm back! My dentist called me back and checked things out. He checked the gum area around the tooth. Then, he tapped on the crown from soft to more hard taps.

Dentist: Are you okay? How you doing?
Me: I'm okay. No pain.

He pushed on the crown.

Dentist: Are you okay?
Me: No pain.

Then he put the little silver paper into my mouth.

Dentist: Bite down. Okay. Tap, tap, tap. Now grind.

He removed the silver paper. Then he looked at the marks on my molar.

It turns out that my new crown has a "high" spot on it. The dentist's evaluation is that the "high" spot is putting uneven strain on the tooth, thus irritating the nerve. The pain I was feeling from the ice water? It's because the nerve has been irritated. Apparently, I don't need a root canal. The dentist said that if I had pain when he tapped on the crown OR when the pushed on the crown then I would definitely need a root canal. So, he refined the crown by polishing down that "high" spot. Now that the crown is more flush then that will cause more even pressure on the tooth/nerve. Thus, the nerve will no longer be irritated.

So now I'm supposed to only chew on the right for the next few days. This will allow the irritated nerve to have a break and heal up. Then after those few days, I should try to eat on the left. And hopefully no pain will result. No root canal....so far! YEAH!