The Ill-fated Escape Attempt of my Metal Dental Cap

This thing started wiggling right before we went on vacation. Since we were almost out of town, I thought it would wait till we got back from our little trip. It wasn't even a week.

Then I got sick on the trip and since my dentist would be closed for New Years when we got back, I set the idea to the side until I got better.

That took a couple of weeks.

Sunday, I was talking to my mom and told her that I would be contacting my dentist the very next day. Then I felt something stuck between this tooth and the one behind it. So I went to try to remove it with my fingernail. Apparently nothing was stuck between the teeth and what I was feeling was more of the exposed original tooth, weakened by how much I grind my teeth at night without my tooth guard (during the trip) and the constant sugary lozenges I was using once we got back. 

The next thing I knew...

According to the internet, a crown like this falling off/out of place is to be expected after 10-15 years, which fits the timeline for when I got it in Japan from an old man with whom I had serious communication issues.

We managed to get an appointment for today so in a few hours I get to find out how expensive fixing this is going to be. Until then, I'm praying that it's less than what I have left until payday but rejoice in that Japan's healthcare costs are so much lower than that of the states.

If you're ever in this position, save the cap. If chunks of tooth have come with it, just try to keep the area clean instead of jamming it back in. If it was already wiggling, that's when you should have gone to the doctor. The second best time is ASAP, preferably within a couple of days at the latest.