When Mum used to tell me to take care of my teeth, I would scoff and tell her not to treat me like one of her pupils in school at a Dental Hygiene lesson.
And so as I lay on my dentist's chair just 3 hours ago, with a severely fractured Molar requiring surgical extraction and immediate implant placement, I was thankful Mum wasn't here to see my petrified face.
It helped that it was an old classmate who was doing my teeth. So I could be totally candid with him. Like telling the good doctor that if he touched a raw nerve I would punch him! In jest of course. I have never had more needles poked into my gums, more evil looking blades, forceps and mean drills wandering the inner recesses of my mouth and more suction tubes trailing from under my tongue, in any trip to a Dentist ever. Not that I visit one very often. Which probably explains why I was in Dr Sng's office, scared shitless, in the first place.
Anyway the deed is done. Stage 1 actually. And I'm really happy to have survived the experience without so much as a yelp. Lets see what the internet can throw up with regards to Dental Implants, which cost an arm and a leg by the way.
Stage 1
A small portion of the gum around the area of operation is raised from the underlying bone. The implants are then screwed into the holes which are gradually enlarged by a series of drills. Once the implants are in place, the gums are stitched back over the implanted fixtures. With the implants safely buried under the gums, a temporary denture can be worn over the area.
Stage 2
About 3 months later, the titanium in the implants would have integrated with the surrounding bone, This is when the buried implant is exposed. The dentist does this by cutting into the gum and removing the portion covering the implant. Once the implant is exposed, the dentist can attach a healing cap to it. This will prevent the gums from growing back to cover up the implant.
Crowning
A few weeks later, when the gums surrounding the healing cap has healed, the dentist will take an impression of the area to be restored. A few more weeks later, the crowns will be ready. The dentist will first tighten an abutment into the screw well of the implant. The crown is then cemented over the abutment. The restoration is complete.
After today's episode, I feel I can take on Everest. Evil Chuckle. Who am I kidding? Its just one step closer to being an Unker with false teeth!
Labels: Musings