no tooth fairy in this story (lyn)

In February of 2006 I went to my dentist for a routine check up.  He told me that the filling in tooth #20 (bottom lower left) was old and should be replaced.  I said okay; I trusted this dentist, as I had gone to him for over twenty years.  But then, while I was enjoying the effects of nitrous oxide, my dentist interrupts with, “The tooth is too small; we need to put a crown on it.”

And thus began a 7-month nightmare.  The crown never fit right.  I later had a root canal.  The pain was still unrelenting.  No doctor (and I saw many in multiple specialties) could figure out the source of the pain.  I lost my appetite, had a horrible sore throat, had a tinny taste in my mouth, and chronic dizziness.  I couldn’t sleep.  I couldn’t function.  I was anxious and tingling and in pain, all the time.  I thought I was going insane. I had MRI’s, things shoved down my throat, and a myriad of tests.  I saw the best doctors:  ENT experts, a neurologist, a psychiatrist, an acupuncturist, an oral surgeon, and probably others I no longer remember.  Still, no cure.  Eventually I was given the anti-depressant Lexapro.  By September, the pain had gone away.

Last October I purchased a $59 Groupon for a cleaning, exam, and full set of x-rays at a dentist I didn’t know but who had a good Upper Eastside address and resume (http://www.drmarclazare.com/meet-dr-lazare/).  Dr. Marc Lazare saw that the bone around tooth #20 had eroded.  The reason?  The originally crown never fit right and food kept getting trapped between that tooth and the one next to it.  This was not good.  After more visits to more dentists (just to be sure) I was told I needed an implant. 

It’s been a year long process and a $5,600 expense.  All over one tooth that probably never needed a new filling.

I had the tooth pulled and bone graft done last December, and the implant done in May.  My dentist, Dr. John Lupovici (http://www.metroperionyc.com/periodontist-new-york/periodontist-dr-lupovici.aspxIn) and his staff were amazing.  Today I begin the two-step process for the crown.  I hope it goes as well.