58 days

I went to my longtime dentist with a broken tooth in early April. He did a quick fix, referred me to an endodontist, and retired in mid-April.

The endodontist did a terrific job on the root canal but I needed a dentist to order and affix the crown. I went to a local dentist recommended by my friend Nancy's husband, Paul. I shall forgive Paul. 

His dentist did a good job. Prepped the tooth and ordered the crown. It was supposed to be in on June 7. He'd just snap it on and we'd be done. He told me that appointment would about 30 minutes. I was happy.

Here we are 58 days after June 7, and I'm still making dental appointments. 

•  On June 6, they called and said my crown wasn't in yet. They'd let me know when it arrived. Any day.

•  On June 15, I sent an email. No response. 

•  On June 16, I called and was told the crown was indeed in and they'd squeeze me in. I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't called. Would they have let the crown just sit there forever without contacting me?

•  On June 18, I went in and the dental assistant removed the wrong crown. I am not kidding. This really happened.

•  There was decay under the crown of that tooth. But the crown was holding steady and I was in no discomfort. The tooth has been damaged by all the disruption and I am going to need a "Nesbit partial" until next year, when insurance will pay for an implant. They are giving me the Nesbit for free. We act as though I will return to them for the implant, but that is sooooo not going to happen.

•  On Tuesday I went in to have the Nesbit appliance installed. While the dentist was working on it, it cracked. It fucking broke.

•  A new one will be in within two weeks.

It's now been 58 days since June 7, when my 2021 dental adventure was supposed to be done.

I want to scream.

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