I Have Been Crowned - Such a Kewl Machine!

Yesterday was a busy "day off", with my dental appointment solidly in the middle of the day. I got everything possible finished first thing in the morning so that I would have minimal effort left after I returned from my dental appointment.As I had feared, the tooth needed a crown. 

So they have this CEREC AC machine which 
has a mouth scanner to get exact dimensions. 
The dentist does a thorough scan, then tweaks 
the visual image to specs and by hand. The 
end result goal is a solid crown that fits 
well, has a top that will mesh with the 
opposing jaw, and will still allow for flossing. 

Fortunately my dental office uses nitrus oxide, and they put me on that quickly so that I could relax enough for the Novocaine shots. Once I get the shots finished, I'm usually fine with whatever they want, but the shot is a fear and bad memories trigger for me. I don't tolerate them well. But Dr Phan did really well. She had me on the nitrus, gave me a squeeze ball. (I almost squeezed it to death while the Novocaine was being administered.) 

The screen shows one of a LOT of different 
images she worked with to create the perfect 
crown. I stayed in my room, playing solitaire 
on my phone and texting back and forth 
with DH. I kept the massage and heat on 
for the chair. It was a comfortable spa - LOL. 

We had a small discussion about gold v porcelain crowns, and after she said they could make the porcelain crown in-house and I could go home within two hours with the job completely done, I was sold. Bring on the porcelain. 

I'm pretty happy with my new crown, and hope it will 
last for decades. I might enjoy the company of my 
dentist or his partner, but I'd rather just run into them 
at a street fair instead of professionally. Everybody did 
comment positively on my tattoo, though. So that was 
a win too - LOL. 

So, there's this totally awesome machine that's on wheels and is available when needed. After numerous 3-D scans of the area and the tooth that would be biting down on top of the new crown, Dr Phan sat herself down and started "sculpting" my crown on-screen. Once she thought she had the right look and color, she hit "send" and the machine started making my new crown. After it was completed, there was still some fitting to be done, but I was out of the dental office by 3:15 pm with plenty of time to get home in time to talk with Aearwen. 

In another room, the 3-D printer downloads the 
image created by the dentist and begins milling 
and manufacturing the new crown. This is 
one part of dentistry that I'm fully in favor of. 
Dentistry has come a long way since I was a 
frightened child. 

All in all, I call yesterday's dental appointment a success. They were really good with my fears, gave me a stress ball to clutch (which was amazingly helpful), and their chairs have massage and heat settings, so I was comfy-cozy. I'm still going to hope I don't have any more dental work in the future, but as I asked her ... "Can I have you and Leonard assigned as my dental people when I'm old and grey, and senile and fighting Alzheimer's in the nursing home?" They promised me they would, and we all chuckled a little. So, it was good. 

I'm running really late, so ending this here. Have an excellent day, be kind and stay safe. I'll be back tomorrow.