Thursday, March 25, 2021, 10:00 a.m.
Today began fairly well. I woke up early enough to make coffee for Linda, but I only took my a.m. pills and then brushed my teeth.
I made sure I had on my mask before entering. There were no other patients in the waiting room, which contained only 6 chairs, all 6 ft. apart from each other. The receptionist asked the obligatory questions about feeling sick, etc., then handed me the paperwork to initial. There is no longer any need to “sign in” like we did before the pandemic since apparently the appointments are far enough apart so that they know who is coming in.
While I was waiting, however, another patient did come in. She stood 6 ft. away from the receptionist so I didn’t know how she was going to reach anything that she had to sign. However, I just happened to take the picture (of her back) while she was standing there.
After a few minutes, I was called in and taken to a room. Only then did I remove my mask and held it on my lap. The dental assistant/technician did the measurements of my gums and then said Dr. Munjpara would be in to examine me. Which she did. It was then that she told me that the hairline cracks on my upper central incisors had gotten bigger and that I would need to have crowns on them. Well, I knew this day would come eventually, even though the cracks had been there for more than 10 years.
The next person to come in had the paperwork, which showed the $183 for today’s cleaning (which I had expected) and the amount for the two crowns (which I did not expect—$2,305!). It was a good thing I checked the balance on my Visa card this morning, because I knew I would not have enough to pay the entire amount. When I told her that, she said I could pay half of the crowns cost today and the remainder when I come back in three weeks for the permanent crowns. Heavy sigh!
The first words out of my mouth were, “It’s a good thing I just got the stimulus payment! I had planned to get a new phone, but my teeth are more important.”
“Aw, sorry.” She sounded genuinely sympathetic. But I had to sign and initial the paperwork. Then she left.
The next person to come in was a young man named Francisco who told me I needed to be moved to another room for the crowns. “Will they do the cleaning in that same room?” I asked. I don’t know why I needed to know that, but I did. So I grabbed my bag and jacket and got settled into another treatment room. He gave me a pair of dark glasses, “to protect your eyes from the light,” he said. That’s the first time that ever happened, so I wondered if brighter lights would be used for the crown procedure. He also turned on an air purifier in the corner of the room. Can’t be too careful, you know!
Francisco left for a few minutes then came back in with Dr. Munjpara, and he assisted her throughout the crown procedure. She first told me that she was going to put “numbing gel” on my gums and then would give me two “numbing” injections. I began serious mindful breathing during this process. She told me to raise my left hand if I experienced any pain during the procedure and she would add more “numbing” (so I had a choice between putting up with pain or getting more injections!). I kept breathing. After giving me the injections, she left the room; and I was alone for several minutes.
Then Francisco came back in, asked me if my gums felt numb. I nodded. Then he began taking impressions (I lost count of how many) by putting a bunch of soft pink goo into my mouth and instructing me to bite down and not move for 5 minutes. I definitely continued my mindful breathing and tried very hard to stay still while still remaining relaxed.
Dr. Munjpara began the grinding process, reminding me again to raise my left hand if I experienced any pain during the procedure and she would add more “numbing.” I nodded but kept breathing. Francisco assisted by periodically “vacuuming” my mouth, rinsing with water, and then more sucking out of the water in my mouth. Dr. Munjpara commented that there was a lot of bleeding and that she was giving me medication to help stop the bleeding.
When Dr. Munjpara was finished grinding, I couldn’t help but put my tongue up inside the back of my front teeth and was horror-stricken at what I felt—or, more accurately, what I didn’t feel, which was my teeth! There was nothing left except thin nubs sticking down from my gums. Then Francisco took more impressions with the pink goo.
When Dr. Munjpara came back in, she looked at some teeth samples to match the color of my existing teeth, and she chose the three that she though were the closest. She then handed me a mirror and held up each sample next to a lateral incisor and asked me which one I thought was the best for color. I told her I would trust her judgment. It was then that I could see the nubs of my central incisors that were left after all the grinding! There are just some things you can’t un-see!
Well, they then worked to put in the temporary crowns. Now when I put my tongue under my upper front teeth, I no longer feel the cracks that I have felt there for over a decade!
After that, the first dental assistant came back in to do the cleaning. Poking with the metal instruments, scraping the plaque off my teeth, then applying the cleaning paste with an rotating pad, feeling something like brushing with my electric toothbrush. And then the yukky-tasting fluoride treatment. “No eating or drinking for 30 minutes, okay?” Well, I can see I will have to have iced coffee today so I can drink it with a straw!
The most painful part of this whole procedure was giving the receptionist my credit card, knowing how little would be left when I got it back. My hopes that I wouldn’t have to pay $600 today for fillings was fulfilled—but little did I know how empty my account would be after the crowns!