As of today, I have a new appointment set for April 27th for a new set of dental impressions. After that, wax try ins and after that, my permanents! It’s been a mighty long journey and I can’t wait for it to be over!
By the end of March, it will have been one whole year since full extractions. I had expected everything to be done by now but there was a minor setback.
Am I nervous? Yes
But I know God is in control and He made this happen just for me and I trust Him!
So, the time has come for my minor setback to be rectified with surgery. Tomorrow, I will go under to have extra bone shaved on both sides of my mouth. To be honest, I’m a little stressed. I know that everything will be fine, but I just hate that we have to take a few steps back from where we were. The pictures are casts of what my mouth looked like when I first came in. Yikes!!
So, after I heal from this surgery, I will have to submit more impressions. At that point, hopefully everything looks good and we can move forward! March will be a year without teeth and to be honest, I’m sick of it. I just want my smile back…it’s not even about eating for me. I just want to look in the mirror and see someone I recognize.
Hubby took off work, so we can be at the hospital tomorrow morning by 6 am, so I’m just going to try to take it easy today…I feel a bit agitated and anxious, but it is what it is…
January should have been the month that I would get my finals but there has been a setback. After taking the impressions my dentist realized that I need more bone shaved done in the back for the snap ins to fit! I’m not even gonna go into why this wasn’t done during the first surgery!
So, I’m scheduled for a 2nd surgery on January 26th to shave down more bone. They offered to do it in clinic with needles for numbing but after the uncapping, I refused. 20 needles all over your mouth is not something I ever want to do again! So, I will be put to sleep, thank God.
After the surgery, I’m expected to heal within 1 to 2 months and at that point I can finally get my finals. March will be one year without teeth and I am so ready for this journey to be over. I want to be able to look in the mirror and feel like myself.
This has been a long, tough road…
I had the first of my five FINAL appointments for my dental implants! They changed out the abutments (caps), and then took upper and lower impressions for my final set. I go back next week to do a different kind of impression; I don’t know anything more than that and then I have one more appointment a week later.
After those three appointments, I’ll be waiting for my final set to be made! Yay! I can’t believe it’s been 9 months! OMG! This has been a long and tedious process, but I see from the online support group that some people have had it harder than me.
I’m thankful that I’ve had my husband and son’s support through the entire process. They have really stood by me. Alot of people in the support group have said, they were disappointed because their new smile isn’t like their old one, so I’m trying to prepare myself in the case that I look different. It’s ok if it’s different. It’s still gonna be beautiful!
Recovery? (sigh)
I’m still recovering from my abutment procedure. I’ve only had one of the stitches come out so far. Still a few to go. I’m not as sore as I was so things are going well. I’ve been taking 500mg Tylenol every 4 hours just to keep the pain under control.
It’s funny how the less you do, the more tired you are. I get tired easily right now and I’m sure it’s due to this healing process. Not much to bring to the table today, but I’m grateful to be alive!
If you happen to be dealing with something heavy right now just know that it’s ok to rest. It’s ok to take a break and just BE. Every day doesn’t have to be a marathon…and a lot of times mental rest is just as important as physical rest.
I went to get my dental implants uncovered and abutments put on. First let me say I’m getting my work done at the VA hospital and I am incredibly grateful.
Now…I have four on top and four on the bottom.
First, they had to numb me. I normally don’t have any issues with the needle, but they had to numb my entire mouth. That meant at least twenty sticks in my gums! In the roof of my mouth (that was the worst!) and under my tongue. Everywhere! The numbing was by far the worst part. Cutting through the gums and adding the caps was ok. But the whole time they are doing it, I’m tensed up and expecting more pain at any second!
For anyone who must get this done on your entire mouth, get sedated if you can!
When they were done, they took X-rays to make sure the abutments were seated properly and then they had to stitch me up! I have never been so glad for a procedure to be over!
Now I just have to wait for the stitches to fall out and the swelling to go down. Then I get to go in for impressions! I keep hearing that all of this is worth it in the end…I’m sure it will be, but this has been a long and grueling process. Like I said in an earlier post:
Dental Implants are not for the faint of heart!
I was given Hydrocodone for pain and boy have I needed it! Bear with me if you don’t see me for a few days…I’m just healing…
