It’s bad enough that I had a cracked tooth that was causing me some mild sensitivity…
It’s bad enough that I still don’t know why my tooth was cracked…
It’s bad enough that I apparently needed a crown to protect the tooth and eliminate the sensitivity…
It’s bad enough that, even with my dental insurance, the procedure cost me a little over $300…
It’s bad enough that they called this morning to say they undercharged by about $100, and could I write them a new check for the balance…
But what’s really bad? That the crown doesn’t appear to be working.
The sensitivity all but vanished while I was wearing the temporary crown, but now it’s back. Not in full force, and not all around the tooth like before — in fact, it’s only on the top of the tooth, a right molar, and even then not all of the time. But, when it’s there, I think the feeling may be sharper and more unpleasant than before. It’s not unbearable, by any means, but it does make chewing anything directly on the tooth difficult.
It may be possible that there’s just a bad fit around the gums and the remains of my tooth, and that the crown will continue to settle, and that whatever limited pain I feel when biting down on it will go away. But I’m worried that I may need to go back to the dentist, and not just to drop off that extra check. I may need root canal. And that may cost me another three or four hundred dollars (or more) and be a not entirely pleasant experience.
Whatever I do, I have to keep the crown. They grind down the tooth before they replace the top of it, so it’s not like there’s anything there to go back to. I’m going to give it a few days, see if it gets better on its own, then make a decision about what to do next. There’s nothing like having your teeth fall apart to make you suddenly feel very much thirty.