I was flossing one night last week when I felt the crown (on one of my lower left molars) shift.
Dammit!
I have always tried to be extra careful when flossing around the crown, because my dentist warned me against putting any upward pressure on it. The old version of Glide floss was so forgiving–hardly ever catching on my teeth–that my occasional carelessness never caused any trouble. But the new Glide sucks, and every other floss I’ve tried as a replacement has equally sucked. And on this particular evening, using a sucky floss, the string caught on the crown and loosened it.
When I went to the dentist a few days later, he said that the post had snapped off and I’d need a whole new crown. As a temporary fix, he glued the old one down, but warned that it might not stay in place. Sadly, he was right. Just a couple of nights later, as I was having a little snack, suddenly I felt as if I had a marble in my mouth. Bye-bye crown.
The dentist won’t be able to fix it until mid-August, meaning I’ll have to live with this big, ugly, rough gap in my teeth for over a month. Two visits to the dentist will be required for fixing it, and it’s certain to cost a pretty penny.
I didn’t need this extra nuisance (or expense) in my life. I am not happy. But there are a few positives. For one thing, I got 25 years, give or take, out of the old crown. Not bad. When it came loose, I didn’t swallow it (I’d been a little worried about that possibility). The gap may be hideous, but at least it’s in the back, where other people aren’t very likely to notice it. My daughter insisted that I show it to her, and when I did, she said, “That makes me want to brush and floss more.” Yes!