Cracked tooth, broken dream

Okay, no broken dreams here. I made that title up just for effect. And, I thought it was a pretty good segue from my last post. Unfortunately, the bit about the cracked tooth is true.

I have strange teeth. Aside from the fact that they are a little small for my head, I mean. Not a single cavity to date in my adult set of teeth, but they chip and break and do annoying things like that. (And yes, before anyone starts theorizing about the reason for this, I do grind my teeth a little and my dentist at home takes good care of me.)

A few years ago I actually managed to crack a tooth. It was a molar on the lower, left side, one from the back. A quick trip to the dentist and I was patched up as good as almost new and on my way again.

Fast forward to Japan, January 2008.

Ouch!

I’m eating and I have a quick, sharp pain on the left side. Strangely reminiscent of something, but what? It happens when I bite down on things with little grainy bits, like sugar crystals, or salt and pepper, or even curry powder. I find myself peering, with gapping jaw, into mirrors and worrying.

Around the same time my friend Bahia loses a crown and is talking lots about finding a dentist here in Japan. I can’t put this tooth thing out of my mind. I decide to get it checked out.

“I have a problem,” I tell my supervisor one Thursday. I tell him I have a toothache and I need help finding a dentist. I arrange for my friend Reina to join me as my interpreter and my supervisor books me in for an appointment after work on Monday.

My attempts to get lost on the way to the dental clinic are futile and Reina and I arrive five minutes early. We fill out the requisite paperwork and wait. Once in the chair, the dentist checks things out, does a quick x-ray and tells me I have a filling in the tooth I am complaining about. That, and a little redness around the gums, but he figures a quick touchup of the filling and I should be in good shape. A little polishing; a touch of drilling so light, it was more like sanding; and a tiny dab of filing stuff, and I am sent on my way. Thanks to a great insurance policy, it only costs me about $16 out of pocket. To thank Reina, and test out the repair, I treat to sushi.

Later that night I start on my regular bedtime routine. PJs, check; e-mail, check; bathroom, check; brushing, check; drink of water, check; flossing… Flossing doesn’t go so well. See, where the little dental touchup was done, I can’t get the floss in between the teeth.

Just… a… little… pushing… and… THERE!

I get the floss in and struggle to get it back out. And, when it finally does come out, it brings white stuff out with it. Meh, it could just be some residue that got packed in there. No worries. The next day I inform my supervisor that everything is great in the tooth department.

Ouch!

Oh god, the pain is back. I am embarrassed. I don’t want to go back to my supervisor for help, or bother Reina again because she’s very busy. Maybe it’s all in my head.

Ouch!

Nope, it’s real. I tell my parents about the problem and ask them to check with my dentist at home to confirm about the location of this old, cracked tooth. My memory is fuzzy and I want to be sure I’m not imagining things. Sure enough, it’s the cracked molar from years ago. This isn’t good. And, I manage to worry my parents sufficiently enough that they decide to mail me a small tube of toothpaste from home that arrives at school in an envelope filled with bubble wrap and oozy, gooey toothpaste. My desk smells minty fresh now.

Tomorrow will be attempt number two. I’ve decided to try Bahia’s English speaking dentist in Takasaki. I am going armed with better knowledge of what the problem actually is this time, and some treatment recommendations from my favourite dentist back home. I am hopping on the train and devoting an entire Saturday to looking after this annoying tooth.

Oh, and did I mention I am slightly afraid of visiting dentists, particularly new ones? That’s why I am still up at 2:00 writing about this rather than sleeping. And, I’m pondering… Is the “Fluoriguard” in my made-for-Japan Colgate anything like real fluoride?