Tuesday, February 16, 2010

If it happens....

You know how you have those moments in your life where you think, "I've heard of this happening but I never thought it would happen to me.".... Well I had one of those moments last week..... TWICE.

So as a hygienist, I tell people all the time that if a crown/restoration comes off while I'm cleaning, it was going to come off the next time you floss or eat a peanut. You can see where this is going. I was cleaning a gentleman's teeth last week and his crown right on a front tooth just slid right off!!! In all fairness it had been about 10 years since he'd been in to see us but I kind of panicked. I had Dr. C come over and take a look and cool as can be he said, "Oh that's easy, let's just cement it back on." I immediately calmed down and the guy was SO nice and understandable and lucky for us he was scheduled on the Dr's side after for some restoration work. He got it taken care of right after the cleaning.

My story does not end there, this is where the TWICE thing comes in .... only a few short days later a patient we've never seen before, and it's been about 2 years since his last exam, comes in. I do the whole initial exam, x-rays, and then... the cleaning. Sure enough crown right on the front tooth came right off, I barely touched it. This time I kept my cool, explained to the guy what had happened and reassured him that we'd be able to put it back on today. He was very nice about it too. Both of them said, "At least I'm here and can have it fixed rather than being at home."

I've had fillings come out while cleaning before. But there's something about a missing tooth with a tiny little peg underneath it that makes your heart race a little.

What a week that was. At least now I can say, "Yeah, I've had that happen to me. It's no big deal." ..... I just got really lucky with the two patients that were very nice about the situation. So the lesson learned? GO TO THE DENTIST REGULARLY Cause if your crown's going to come off, at least he can fix it while you're there ;) And be nice to the hygienist, it wasn't her fault.

2 comments:

The Martin Family said...

The picture is so gross! Sorry that happened to you. I hate to admit but I laughed just a bit. I like your advice at the end. Again....lol!

GoatesGirl said...

AMEN! Attend the dentist regularly and SO much can be avoided. =) We need you in our office. I bet you're the BEST!!