Cashews and Crowns

The cashew I was eating one evening last week cracked a filling and broke a piece off of one of my crowns. Sixteen hours later, I was sitting in a chair at Gainesville Dental Associates with the filling repaired and a temporary crown in place. I don’t think people say it very often, but I love my dentist. 

It was about 8:30 or 9:00PM and I was watching some bad TV. I decided to have a snack and went in the kitchen and served myself a half a cup of cashews. 

As I sat back on the couch, I popped one in my mouth. It crunched and somehow became totally lodged between two teeth, or so I thought at the time. I tried removing it with a toothpick, and then with floss, but when the floss cut in half three times in a row, I knew something was wrong. I eventually removed the nut, but there was a half gap where a tooth used to be. Strangely, I felt no pain. 

I called my dentist’s office, Gainesville Dental Associates, and asked if they could call me back in the morning so we could schedule an appointment to have the tooth looked at. I figured, with luck, they could get me in within the next few days.

Early the next morning as I returned from the barn, my phone rang. The dentist’s office was returning my call. I again explained what happened and was hoping for an appointment as soon as possible. “Just a moment.” the person said, and after a few seconds, “Could you be here at 2:50 this afternoon?” “Of course!”, I answered and thanked her profusely. 

That afternoon, when I arrived at the dentist’s they escorted me to the exam room. As I spoke with the tech who was taking X-rays and would be assisting the dentist, I expressed my surprise at receiving an appointment so quickly. It turns out the office runs between 7AM and 8PM (they run two shifts) and they always keep a couple of slots free during the day for emergencies. All I can say is what a brilliant idea – I certainly benefited from it. 

The X-rays showed one of my fillings had cracked, AND part of a crown had cracked and separated from the tooth (and disappeared). There was no pain because the crown covered a root canal from years before and hence, there was no feeling in the tooth. The sharp edge of the remaining part of the crown is what cut my floss the night before. That must have been one hard nut.

The dentist came in and we spoke a bit and went over options. Ultimately, we decided to repair the cracked filling and replace the crown. He started immediately. 

For the next 1 1/2 hours, the dentist, the tech, and I became buds of sorts. Rock music played in the background and there were bits of conversation.  As they were starting to work on the crown they put a small “shield” in my mouth between the tooth and my cheek to help protect the cheek. Of course as time progressed, I kept playing with it with my tongue trying to figure it out, and then trying to decide what it was made of.  Finally, I said to the dentist during a break, “What’s the shield made of, plastic or cardboard?”  He looked at me and said, “Are you an engineer?”  I answered, “what?!”. He said again, “Are you an engineer?”, and I answered, “Well as a matter of fact I am.  Why?”  He then laughed and said, “My brother’s an engineer and that’s exactly the kind of question he asks!”  We both chuckled and talked a bit about engineers and their ways.  I told him my favorite engineer joke which he laughed at out loud and planned to tell his brother the next time he saw him.  (For the record, the shield is made out of plastic AND cardboard.)

The work continued.  They took a mold for my permanent crown and measured for a temporary crown until the permanent crown is ready. 

My dentist left and the tech finished putting the temporary crown in place. She then talked about things to do and not do until the permanent crown is in. Chief among the advice – “Do not eat any nuts!”

I’ve been with Gainesville Dental Associates for over 25 years. They’ve been great the whole time.  Whether routine cleaning, exams, handling a couple of issues I had, or responding to my plea for help this past week, they’ve always risen to the occasion and done an excellent job. If you live in the Warrenton/Manassas/Gainesville/Haymarket area, you should definitely consider using them. You won’t regret it.

As for me, I’ll be back on August 6th, when they’ll put my permanent crown in. 

Addendum:

• You can find more about Gainesville Dental Associates here: https://gainesvilledentalassociates.com/?utm_source=gmb&utm_medium=referral
• Strangely, I wrote another blog about a visit to the dentist seven years ago. You can read it here: The incessant high pitch of the drill is whining in my ear….Sort of like 100 mosquitos on steroids. Then the burning bone smell hits my nose. The drill is working its way into my tooth, and for the next hour or so, I’ll be sitting there, getting a root canal […] Continue here:  https://mnhallblog.wordpress.com/2017/08/22/is-it-safe%EF%BB%BF/
• For privacy reasons, I haven’t named the dentist or technician.