How quickly do you go to the dentist?

If you had a filling fall out, what is the longest amount of time you would wait before going to a dentist?

A month ago I thought a large filling had fallen out. I was well over halfway back to Musoma from Nairobi and so decided to wait three weeks to see a dentist. I knew I could get a lift back from Nairobi and wouldn't have to take the bus both ways. Not having to take the bus both ways? I'll wait three weeks.

What if you found out it wasn't a filling that fell out? Rather, it was a chunk of the tooth and you actually need a crown (but thankfully no root canal !). How long would you wait to get that crown in place?

I was informed it would take a week to get the crown. So, either I'll spend a week in Nairobi in July, or I'll find a good dentist in Dar es Salaam and have it done in May. Those are the two options I'm considering.

Why not just get it done in Musoma?

Because I don't know of a dentist in town that could do this work.

This is one of the things I love about living here. In the past I would have thought that something like this was an emergency warranting immediate action. In fact, it is not. My tooth will be repaired at some point and I'll just keep working and doing life until then.

(I'm not in any pain, by the way, so don't get any ideas that I'm just gritting my teeth and suffering)