I had my temporary crown put in yesterday. It was only going to be a partial crown, or “onlay”, but when Dr. Jill saw the extent of the crack I’ve been living with for the past two weeks, she decided that it needed the full crown treatment.
First step was to take an impression to build the crown from, and “prep” the tooth. Prepping means using a drill and grinding down the tooth into a smooth nub, onto which the crown will be placed.
While the crown is being made, a process that takes 3 weeks and consists of fabricating a gold-and-porcelain replica of my old tooth, I wear a temporary crown made of acrylic.
Or plastic, if you will.
Since leaving the dentist yesterday, as the massive amount of anaesthetic slowly wore off, I’ve been feeling the replacement. You know that feeling, that there’s something new in your mouth, and it’s odd and out of place? That’s what I feel. I keep biting down on it, then remembering that I’m supposed to baby it, because it’s only plastic.
This morning it felt “smaller”, meaning I’m noticing it less. But it’s still there. And it occurred to me: it’s just like the classic “plastic tooth” spy story cliche!
I hope Dr. Jill didn’t include cyanide. That’d be awkward