Crowns (Arrrgh!!!)

I have TMJ. If I remember correctly, thats Temporal Mandibular Joint disease. It means I grit my teeth unintentionally. Unfortunately, it also means that I am breaking some of my teeth, so I have been undergoing one tooth renovation a year.

My dentist has brought me to the final stages for a new crown. Next week it should be cemented in place, hopefully for years to come. In the process, we did a root canal, a crown lengthening, repair of a molar next to it, and then creation of a post to hold the new crown. To protect the post, and to keep the tooth from shifting, I've been wearing a temporary crown for the past few weeks.

The night of the wedding rehearsal, it popped off. The dentist and I couldn't meet up, so I did without until Monday morning, when she glued it back in place. Last night.....

Well, last night we had dinner about 6:30 or so, and I was sitting at the computer after dinner reading blogs, when I realized my temporary was missing.

I carefully checked my mouth with my tongue, but you can't miss a temporary crown. If it's not in the right place, it feels HUGE! It wasn't there.

Of course, you know what happened. I had to have swallowed it.

I called the dentist this morning and she had me come in for 30 minutes. She made a new temporary crown and glued it in. When she found it was my birthday, she didn't charge me a cent. What a gift! I can hear myself at 86 saying "Then there was the year I got a temporary crown as a birthday gift....."

Of course I asked her if the temporary was going to cause any problems as it traveled through me. She was confident I'd be just fine.

I may have soup for the next few days, just to be on the safe side!