Gatlinburg TN
Repairing a cracked tooth is like trying to stop a crack in concrete. When my molar cracked, back on May 13, a long series of tooth-saving activities began. The dentist tried repeatedly to drill out around the crack and fill it. Initially, he thought an on-lay would be enough to stop the crack’s progress, but it failed. The crack grew until it went all the way to the root. Today was a last-ditch effort to save the tooth - a root canal.
The dentist warned me that he might not be able to prevent all the pain involved, but that he would do the best he could. Well, he did a pretty good job. He stopped numerous times during the procedure to shoot in more pain killers. The whole procedure took four hours. It was rough on both of us. I got cramps in my neck, and he was just plain exhausted. Near the end, he zigged and I zagged and he caught his drill on the underside of my tongue. Two stitches later, and we continued. After finishing the root canal, he placed a temporary crown across and around the whole tooth.
He felt terrible about nicking my tongue, but it really wasn’t his fault. He checked on me in the evening and I tried to joke about it. We’re crossing our fingers that the temporary crown keeps the crack under control. If this doesn’t work, he’ll pull the tooth and we’ll go down the road of bone grafts and implants.
Repairing a cracked tooth is like trying to stop a crack in concrete. When my molar cracked, back on May 13, a long series of tooth-saving activities began. The dentist tried repeatedly to drill out around the crack and fill it. Initially, he thought an on-lay would be enough to stop the crack’s progress, but it failed. The crack grew until it went all the way to the root. Today was a last-ditch effort to save the tooth - a root canal.
The dentist warned me that he might not be able to prevent all the pain involved, but that he would do the best he could. Well, he did a pretty good job. He stopped numerous times during the procedure to shoot in more pain killers. The whole procedure took four hours. It was rough on both of us. I got cramps in my neck, and he was just plain exhausted. Near the end, he zigged and I zagged and he caught his drill on the underside of my tongue. Two stitches later, and we continued. After finishing the root canal, he placed a temporary crown across and around the whole tooth.
He felt terrible about nicking my tongue, but it really wasn’t his fault. He checked on me in the evening and I tried to joke about it. We’re crossing our fingers that the temporary crown keeps the crack under control. If this doesn’t work, he’ll pull the tooth and we’ll go down the road of bone grafts and implants.
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