1. The bone and soft tissue around one of the temp crowns is very swollen and upset. Because of this, the perm crown can't be put on. I thought they had taken care of this issue already when I was put under but now they will have to go in and cut away the gum and grind the bone down to make room for the final crown. Sounds lovely.
2. After the Endodontics adjusted the bite on this last tooth they worked on, it felt much better but now the tooth that had the first root canal (which is directly next door) is flaring up again because it is now making more contact. So that bite was re-adjusted again today and we'll see if this causes the other one to get upset again.
3. The tooth that got the last root canal is ok in terms of pain but it is unprotected and needs to have a temp crown installed and then eventually a perm crown. That's another 1100. I would love to wait until January so I have more insurance but my doctor says that given my oral history, she thinks I am in a lot of danger of losing that tooth entirely after it splits so she'd love to do it tomorrow. There was seriously talk about putting gauze in between the teeth throughout the day. I did find some dog bone crumbs in the couch but not 1100 dollars.
4. I think, together, my doctor and I may have determined why all of this happened to such a nice, good looking guy like me. I clench my teeth like nobodies business. Even after wearing a mouth guard, my teeth still feel like they've had serious pressure on them all night. Then it dawned on me. Cycling. I constantly grit my teeth while doing hard efforts like last night. I do it when I climb. I do it on flats. It doesn't matter what the road or trail is like...if I'm doing a hard effort I am absolutely mashing my teeth. Weightlifters do this a lot and sometimes have similar issues. I've been doing it for 20 years and I bet that's why I'm in this situation. My doctor thinks that even if I ate bananas, I'd crack that tooth in half just from riding. Not really sure where to go from here. It's such a habit that I don't think I can ride hard while staying relaxed. She's going to make me a custom mouth piece for riding (it's kinda like the free toy in the box of cereal after all the loot I've dropped there this summer). I know there's times at work when I'm talking to someone who's pissin' me off and I clench my teeth so it's not all with riding. Maybe more of a lifestyle issue?
I think I'm gonna quit riding and just tie flies and cast and get back to doing more photography and car stuff. Maybe I'll take up ballet? That's pretty damn graceful right? I bet I could even make that competitive.
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