I’ve written a zillion articles. Well, maybe a half zillion. It’s one thing to write based on research, theory, observation, or interview. It’s a whole different animal to write on personal experience.
This article is about my personal experience in having the same-day crown service from my dentist Carson and Acasio. Same-day crowns are made in-house.
Context. I’ve had an annoying crown which has been causing me pain for ages. It wasn’t made properly eons ago (bad fit). When I chew food, morsels would find their way into the gums between two teeth. It’s painful and eating is not a pleasant experience, as it should be.
I finally gave in and asked my dentist, Dr. Michael Acasio, if he could make me a crown last Friday. He was booked, but asked if I would allow his new dentist, Dr. Darian Avin, to take care of my tooth.
Dr. Mike knows I am particular (fussy), but I have total trust that if Carson & Acasio brought Dr. Avin aboard, he must be a top-notch dentist. So I agreed without hesitation.
The process begins ...
The first step is for the dental assistant to x-ray the tooth.
Next I am prepared for a painless experience. A topical anesthetic is applied to the gum and then comes the lidocaine. I also choose to have nitrous oxide (laughing gas) which causes me to smile and crack a joke or two.
Dr. Avin removed the offensive crown and prepared the root to receive the replacement.
Then the dental assistant used a Cerec scanner (wand) to record an image of the top and bottom rows of my teeth. Dr. Avin did not rush the process and, after looking at the preview images, touched up the root a bit.
The next step was simply awesome. Dr. Avin literally used the images to create a visual representation of my teeth, along with a new crown. He was able to look at all angles and with micromillimeters tweak the proposed crown for a perfect fit.
The crown template is sent to a milling machine which creates the crown. Once created, a technician removes the rough edges.
The crown is then heated and cured at near 3,000 degrees for around 30 minutes, and allowed to cool for a short time.
A technician polishes the crown as a final step before my shiny new crown makes its way to my mouth.
Dr. Avin tests the fit, reminds me not to swallow it,
checks the bite, makes some final adjustments,
applies the cement and installs the crown.
The whole process took about 2.5 hours … most of the time was the process of waiting for the machine to do its thing … grind, heat and cool the crown. I could have left the clinic and returned, or simply relaxed in the waiting room with a book, laptop, cell phone or watch whatever was on the big screen.
Wow! I am impressed .. both with the process and Dr. Avin. He was as good as I hoped he would be. It’s not easy to compare him with the Carson's and Dr. Acasio. They are certainly extra-ordinary dentists. But he is definitely in their class and earned a 10 from me.
In only 24 hours, the gums are healed, the tooth is perfect, and minutes later I can enjoy eating for the first time in weeks (caramels are not suggested).
The morals to the story:
Don’t be afraid of the dentist … at least the Carson & Acasio Dentistry. Patient comfort is of paramount importance to the dentists and staff.
Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can, and should do, today. This is a common theme of mine.
What a difference a day, and the folks at Carson & Acasio, make. Now I want a new crown on another pesky tooth.
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