I finally went to the dentist here again to positively sort out the issue with my molars and not being able to chew anything hard on the left side of my mouth without often getting a sharp pain that lasts for a couple of hours.
I had a gold overlay put on the now troublesome tooth back in 2005 before moving to Kuwait as a long term dental strategy. The theory was, at least how it was sold, that gold is the best because it has similar thermal and mechanical properties to the tooth and the edges can be burnished into the tooth making a good seal. And if I kept with the large old amalgam it was getting close to due for replacement and also the amalgam was supposed to stress the tooth more mechanically potentially leading to a seriously cracked tooth. I don’t care about the dangers of the mercury in the amalgam, that is for someone else to worry about.
It was OK until around early 2007 this tooth was bothering me when chewing and later sensitivity to cold.
I have seen three dentists here in Kuwait who did x-rays and not very thorough physical examinations, e.g. biting on a stick, poking, cooling, prodding etc. Very nice guys, an Indian, a Jordanian and a Lebanese. The problem here in Kuwait is the standard of dental care is not what we expect from the west particularly in terms of preventative care. We took the children for a checkup to a reputed clinic and they didn’t do much at all as their teeth were fine.
So, back to my tooth. One of the three dentists did replace the composite on the top tooth last year and at that time he said there is some calcification of the pulp which means the root is a bit traumatized and may eventually need removal (root canal).
Recently on 12 April I went to another dentist who did better exam and discussion of the treatment options. They said that the x-ray didn’t show any specific problems.
As the pain is not severe and lasting a long time a conservative treatment path was recommended. Sometimes a pain from a tooth in the bottom can be felt on the top and vice versa. But pressure from chewing anything but mush and cold on the bottom definitely aggravates so time to go for it. This first appointment for consultation and x-rays cost me 25 Kuwait Dinars which my dental insurance should partially cover.
So I returned to the dentist the next day to have the gold inlay removed. I took the freezing option. as I figured if the pain builds to the level or more of what I’ve felt from chewing, no way. And why suffer when you don’t have to. The second needle jab of the freezing was interesting as it must of hit a nerve and gave me quite half a numb and tingly chin for couple of seconds.
It took some time to drill, pound and pry off the overlay as it was well adhered and the dentist was not able to preserve it in one piece. Though that doesn’t matter much, mostly gold is very expensive so why should I not keep it. So the dentist was even without asking prepared to give me the removed gold inlay which I finally got in two pieces. It was very well bonded to the tooth and there were no signs of decay under it or cracks in the tooth.
Then zinc oxide eugenol was applied over and around the tooth. It is a traditional treatment with healing and analgesic properties and can help the nerve heal even if there might be a crack in the tooth.
Now I’m not supposed to chew on that side for three days and come in one week for an evaluation.
The stuff had a smell while being applied and now afterwards I am feeling of taste in my mouth. Well, with further research it turns out that eugenol is typically derived from clove oil which has analgesic properties!
That second appointment cost me 40 Kuwait Dinars which my dental insurance should partially cover.
By the way the first two photos are my wife’s teeth! The little gold inlay of hers is much smaller than mine. This photo is of my temporary zinc oxide filling. The top right is the part of my cheek where I’ve been biting it now and again with my chewing issues due to the tooth problem.
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