Dental science marches on!

[mmcirvin]

On Wednesday, I finally lost the last remnant of my rear right lower bicuspid. In a few months, if all goes well, a fake tooth will replace it.

Comments

[cdk]

Are you taking a probiotic to help with the gut upset? L. acidophilus, two hours before or after the antibiotic dose, can help calm things down, depending on what exactly is going on in there.

[agent_mimi]

That is so cool.

It also worries me a little, because when I had a crown put on, the anesthesia made half my face numb, which I thought was normal because it's always been that way. If those days are long gone, then I apparently need a new dentist, one who is up on current procedures.

[mmcirvin]

It may actually have been that less anesthesia was necessary since the bad tooth had already had a root canal in the first place.

[schulman]

I have two molar implants. They are completely awesome -- very sturdy, and they look and feel like real teeth. The best part is when the dentist is ratcheting the metal abutment into the socket -- it's painless, but I imagine it's exactly how Ikea furniture feels when you tighten the screws down with an Allen wrench.

(The crown sits on top of the abutment. If the crown ever decays, they can just crack it off and put on a new one.)

Good luck with the whole messy process; it is totally worth it.

[mmcirvin]

Thanks. The oral surgeon says that the part I already went through was the hardest and most involved bit.

[erikagillian]

Last time I had dental work (I'm on emergency medicaid dental stuff, so they won't fill a cavity but they will pull your teeth!) I was surprised at how well the ibuprofen worked on that pain. The opiate I was already taking wasn't touching it at all but half hour after taking the ibuprofen I was able to move again :)

[muffyjo]

I find this fascinating. The Dentist I went to for a similar procedure would have done exactly what you had done but immediately put the post in, so that the bone grafted the post in as well, so you don't have to go through that part twice.

If it is any consolation, I have a post implant in my upper jaw and consider it a godsend. I cannot imagine a bridge.

As for the durability, yes, in fact, he is right. At least as far as I have experienced.

[mmcirvin]

Apparently, whether they can do it in one go or not depends on the geometry of the situation. In my case, the hole was big enough that a separate bone graft stage was necessary.