2 hour surgery with only a local anesthetic. You guessed it – dentistry!
I’m getting one of those fancy screw-in dental implants to replace a two-tooth gap in the side of my smile.
It’s a rather fascinating process really. (and would be far more interesting without the accompanying pain and agony. I’m so glad opiate-based painkillers were invented)
Six months ago I had some extra bone inserted into my upper jaw so the screw part of the implant would have something to screw into, then, last week I had the hole drilled in my upper jaw (hence the hole-in-the-skull, ‘cos technically the upper jaw is part of the skull) and the screw screwed in. The whole thing is sewn up and covered with a membrane made from my own blood! (I kid you not – I watched them make it) I wait for another six months for that to heal, then we’ll go for round three. Wait six more months and then the crown goes on.
Even through copious quantities of anesthetic, I still felt the vibration of the drill through every bone in my body as it chewed its way into my jaw.
I understand the concept of suffering for one’s art, but this is taking research a bit far.
I have one implant, and I’m about to get bone grafting done to do another implant (after I finish saving some more of course). I didn’t have any pain issues except for when the big screw aka was screwed in. I HATED the sound and the way if felt.
Dig all up in my skull and place bone? That’s cool.
Stick a metal rod in my face? Sounds like a plan Stan.
Screw in the little screw that touches no part of my actual mouth? OMG! Aaaaaaahhhh! You’re killing me! I’m gonna freaking die!
My periodontist said that I complained about the one thing nobody every complained about. Ha! I love my implant. It’s the only way to go.
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I reckon the healing time between surgeries is precisely to enable the saving of more money for the next step.
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There would be no other way I could afford it. It did take longer than I expected to heal completely after my bone graft. Apparently I’m stubborn right down to my bones… literally.
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Heh, heh. 🙂
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I think I just died a little reading that lol…. I am absolutely terrified of dentists ( really bad experience with one when I was a kid ) , yep all my Butchness leaves and I turn into a … well we won’t say, it ain’t pretty lol , so now Kass takes me because an hour before my appointment she slips me a valium ( love those little blue pills !! ) lol
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I thought about the little blue pills, but I had to be coherent and mobile for x-rays and stuff. 🙂 Had lots of tylenol 3’s afterwards though. 🙂
I had horrendous experiences as a kid too. The only time I went to a dentist for decades was if I was in agony. Then about eight years ago I had to bite the bullet and get a LOT of work done. Thankfully I had an excellent dentist then too.
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you are a lot braver than me lol
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OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! The dentist would have to knock me out completely if I had that procedure done. Or, give me lots of loopy-doopy stuff. Tissue grown out of your own blood is amazing. Too bad there’s no magic for growing teeth.
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Yeah, why can’t we be like horses? 🙂 … It was tough. I think there are still fingermarks on the dentists chair armrests.
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hahahahha
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I guess the phrase “I need that like I need another hole in my head” doesn’t quite work the same for you now, does it? ;-). Hope you’re feeling fine and healthy soon.
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ROFL … nope!!! 😀
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Gotta let those psychic vapors out some how!
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** smacks forehead** … that’s what I was doing. Of course!!!
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I’m shivering in my boots – cap off to you for being so brave.
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Thanks … I did keep on asking Mrs Widds why I was doing this to myself though. 😀
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Erg. I have some dentistry coming up soon too.
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I can highly recommend opiate-based painkillers, if necessary.
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🙂
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OUCH!!!
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Yep. I used similar words myself to describe it! 😀
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Definitely a step too far or a hole too far or something way too far! I’m glad I didn’t read this before going to the dentist this morning. Take care!
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Oooooh yeah … would not have left you in a good place. 🙂 … hope it was an easy visit for you.
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Luckily, it was ok. In general not as my auto-immune condition means the gums are receding in leaps and bounds and I’m very gap-toothed!
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Ugh. The drill for a root canal leaves my jaw sore for at least a week afterward. I can only imagine what this does.
On the other paw, thank you for the procedure notes! Always useful.
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I still get ear aches from my jaw being extended for so long … even though I was able to flex it a reasonable amount during the procedure. The first three days were hell though, and since then, lesser degrees of hades. 😀
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oh, I shivered but had to read on. I lost one of my front teeth, due to be a silly ass as a child, climbing up a garage roof and falling off. i want an implant so will wait to see rests of post.
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I think it’ll be worth it. I was OK with a one-tooth gap, but a two-tooth one was starting to cause problems with the rest of my teeth. It is painful, no doubt about that, and it takes a very long time, probably 18 months by the time the final cap goes on, and then a few more months to heal completely after that.
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Thats what is happening to my teeth too. You are brave and I will follow your progress with interest, with my horrible false, plastic tooth in. lol
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Gosh, poor you. I hope it will be worth the suffering in the end. I hate dentist. I know they’re necessary, but… urgh.
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I hope so too. My dentist is one of the good ones, both with teeth and people. 🙂
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My dad put in a lot of dental implants during his career. I once made the mistake of sitting in on one of his continuing education videos. Having seen what’s involved I can only hope you’re healing up without too much pain!
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It’s not so bad now. 🙂
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Interesting – but am glad it wasn’t me. Hope process goes quick for you.
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Hiya Dal 🙂 … unfortunately it’s not the sort of process that’s over quickly, but it heals more each day.
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[…] know it was aired on Tuesday, but what with my toof and trying to get back into that dastardly rewrite, I didn’t get to watch the double header […]
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Ugh. That makes me cringe just to read it. My one fear – dentists. I must have been a victim of torture in the middle ages because that’s right where my body goes. Good for you for getting it done – your smile will be happy!
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Maybe because it’s right in our faces (as it were!) and we can’t see whats going on, so it’s as much the anticipation of the act as much as the act itself. And lets face it (yet another pun) dentistry when I was a kid, 1960’s, was brutal anyway.
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[…] my tooth implant adventure which I posted about in May with the ‘oh-so-very-understated-title of ‘I had a hole drilled in my skull the other day’. This time it was only a small, relatively speaking, procedure, to screw in the pin that will […]
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