Not all it's cracked up to be

I mentioned yesterday I had cracked a tooth just before heading off to the airport last week. I called my dentist yesterday and he fit me in this morning. The technician looked it over, she took an x-ray, and the dentist came for a look.

Then he said he needed to talk to the office administrator. Huh?

I soon figured out the reason for her inclusion – she's the one who talks to insurance companies. I hadn't cracked a tooth, I had cracked the porcelain part of a previously installed crown. And because it was less than five years insurance wouldn't pay for it again. And these things aren't cheap.

I, of course, suggested the original crown was faulty to last only 3 years. The dentist said the crown was fine. But my teeth are slightly misaligned (as is true in many people) and a lower tooth continuously struck this crown in a place it wasn't designed to be struck. Whatever the cause the work has to be done. So he drilled away the old crown, too a variety of impressions, installed a temporary, and set a date for a month from now to have the new crown installed. There went the morning.

So a pain in the wallet in addition to a pain in the mouth.