Every morning, I try to spend a few minutes meditating. I use an app, which is helpful and instructive. My mind wanders as minds do, but I am, over time, getting more adept at slowing down and focusing on my breath.
This came in very handy on Monday, when I found myself back in my dentist’s chair, because my new crown for my fifth implant came loose last week. No so loose that it popped out, but loose enough that it needed immediate attention. Of course, this all happened on New Year’s Eve, when no one could see me for several days. (Why do these kinds of issues always happen on a Friday evening or right before a long holiday weekend?)
In any case, it took two hours of poking and prodding by my long-time dentist, Dr. K, plus several tries to remove the crown and adjust its size so it would fit properly by his partner, Dr. F (she of the smaller fingers and more delicate touch). Ultimately, that did not work. I had been concerned from the get-go a few weeks ago that the crown was too big, and apparently my instinct was correct, because it never seated properly, which is why it loosened up.
So, now I have to return in a few weeks to redo the dental impressions, and then they will order me a new crown. Why didn’t this one fit—a problem I’ve never encountered before, thankfully? It was very hard to take the digital scans, because of my tight mouth, so that might have been the culprit. (For the repeat, we’ll do it the old fashioned way.) Or, as Dr. K surmised, the manufacturer that he’s worked with for years has changed personnel, and his trusted contact who always did things perfectly is no longer there.
In any case, at least there is a solution that I don’t have to pay more for, and the implant itself (what the crown is screwed into) is still solidly in place (my biggest concern). Everyone thanked me for my patience. I was grateful that I could breathe my way through it.
Evelyn Herwitz blogs weekly about living fully with chronic disease, the inside of baseballs, turtles and frogs, J.S. Bach, the meaning of life and whatever else she happens to be thinking about at livingwithscleroderma.com. Please view Privacy Policy here.
Image: Filip Mishevski
So sorry to hear of these ongoing problems, but on the other hand, glad that this one has a relatively easy fix, at least not costing you any more money. But those long hours in the dentist’s chair are surely unpleasant! And we all know how these things seem to happen at maximally inconvenient times. Hope this problem gets resolved smoothly.
Thanks, Pat.