Tag Archives: teeth

the terminator tooth

20 Monday Apr 2026

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My god this tooth! Just before lockdown I’d had a filling replaced in a back lower molar and then two years later it fell out again. That last visit my (fabulous) dentist told me that if I lost the filling again I would either need to get a crown or an implant. Well, or get it pulled. So when it DID end up falling out again, I think that was maybe two years ago, I decided that as long as it wasn’t painful I would just live with half a molar. And for all that time it was mostly just a bit uncomfortable when food would get trapped in the larger space. Then a few days before I was about to leave for Aracena the tooth, and pretty much that whole side of my jaw, started hurting like a mofo. It was too late to book an appointment with my dentist so I left for my trip hoping for the best. When I got back I was still in pain so on Friday I found myself back in the chair. And somehow my guy managed to reconstruct the tooth yet again, so I just paid the price of a normal filling.

He also put on a mask when he saw me wearing mine, which I appreciated. I’ve been going to this guy for years. Now his son and daughter have joined the practice and I guess it won’t be long before he retires. But I really like and trust him and he is just a short walk from my house. Anyhow, I also made an appointment for a cleaning and a proper check up next month (long overdue) as this had been a last minute “emergency” appointment. Nice to feel taken care of.

broken tooth sequel

14 Tuesday Jun 2022

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So back on March 10th 2020, just three days before LOCKDOWN I got a filling replaced. Actually more like half a tooth (molar) and the next door molar also had to be reconstructed a bit. My dentist told me at the time that if this one didn’t last then I would have to get a crown. And I was thinking things were okay until Sunday night when a big chunk of filling came out while I was having dinner. Ick.

And so I will be seeing my dentist on Wednesday to hear the verdict, but I’m already thinking that if he recommends a 500€ crown I’ll just tell him to yank the thing out and I’ll deal with that. I mean, at this point so many of my fillings are old and fragile, and occupy most of the teeth they are in, so this could be the first of many such episodes. And as this is a back molar that won’t be visually missed, then maybe best to just have it pulled and save any expensive procedures for ones that matter more. We shall see.

UPDATE: my dentist was able to repair the tooth so no crown, no muss no fuss, what a relief!

eep! broken tooth!

10 Tuesday Mar 2020

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The other day I was eating THIS AMAZING SANDWICH when it suddenly became “crunchier” than it should have been. Eep! Not to mentione Ick! Yep, a huge chunk of molar had broken off. Actually, I’d lost a smaller bit of the same molar a couple of weeks ago, off the other side, but as it was small I put off going to the dentist. Maybe a good thing if the other side was also ready to fall out? Or maybe it would have been prevented? Anyhoodle, it was off to the dentist today because the sharp shardy broken edge is ripping the side of my tongue to shreds.

My dentist – AKA the BEST dentist in Sevilla – always chides me for just coming in for emergency service, not for regular checkups. And he’s right. But it’s mostly because, well, dentists are expensive! And really, who wants to go to them anyhow? And frankly, while I’m waiting on results to see if I’m healthy, why spend money on teeth?

Anyhow, back home now with the left side of my face still frozen up to my eyeball. Tongue and lips also still feeling thick and numb. And it cost me 140 euros for two fillings (actually, this is a good price, just bad timing in terms of no work no money). Especially as the fillings were kind of major reconstructions… my guy always tries the cheaper route before saying “YOU NEED A 500€ CROWN”. So now we will see if these fillings stick. Apparently the teeth are pretty much destroyed but we live in hope.

So how’s your Tuesday going?

getting crowned!

11 Thursday Sep 2014

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As I mentioned the other day, I decided to visit my dentist after losing yet another filling (along with large chunk of tooth). I was sure I’d lost five fillings, but it turned out there were only four missing (it’s possible I lost bits of filling from the same tooth twice) and my dentist wasted no time in getting down to work. I have to first explain that I think I have the BEST dentist in Sevilla. He is always about saving teeth, and will fill and re-fill teeth rather than opt for more expensive options like crowns. He has repaired my old fillings many times now, even replacing them for free if they fall out again within a year or so. But the truth is that some of my molars don’t have much tooth left to work with after old crappy fillings fall out.

This morning I got to the office and told the assistent why I haven’t been there for over two years. She remembered the cancer and so I explained my reasoning about not wanting to spend whacks of money on dental work until I (hopefully!) get the five-year all clear after the next PET scan. But my dentist had other ideas. He was going to fill one lower molar and said the other lower one (the one I lost last week) needed a crown. I asked if I could wait until October and he said better not to considering how damaged it is. Apparently the top two teeth can wait but not this one. What can I say? I trust this guy.

So he got work, giving me lots of extra freezing because he remembered that I have very sensitive teeth and tend to get nervous (who me?) in the chair. At one point the assistent commented on the lovely gentle music playing and he said “Yeah, I put it on for her to help her relax”. To me “Is it working? Are you relaxed?” Cracked me up. And so I now have a new filling, actually a semi-reconstructed tooth with two pins to hold the filling. And next week I go for the first step for getting my crown. I was almost too scared to ask the price but it ended up more reasonable than expected, and they even said I can pay it in two instalments. On the way out I was given a few tubes of special toothpaste for extra-sensitive teeth… really glad now that I didn’t put this off.

How’s your dentist? I’ve never had one like this guy.

teeth

07 Thursday Aug 2014

Posted by in cancer, health & happiness, hope

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teeeethYou know that crumbling teeth anxiety dream? Well, it happened again – except I wasn’t asleep. There I was eating something totally innocuous (greek yoghurt) and suddenly half a molar fell out. Well, a filling that had previously been filling half a molar fell out. This makes the fourth one in the past 2-3 years, which is kind of getting ridiculous, as well as harder to ignore. Why ignore them you ask? Well, at the risk of sounding morbid, I just didn’t think that repairing teeth at great expense was a priority if I was going to end up back on chemo and/or dead in the next year or so. But with my (hopefully) final “six-month” PET scan coming up in September/October, I may have to start taking action. The deal is, if I get the all-clear next scan and they move me to annual PET scans – and remove that pesky chemo port – then I will finally feel less like I’m on death row and living between six-month reprieves, and more like, well, I don’t know anymore. But I will definitely get my teeth fixed! Or pulled. Whatever.