A Most Unpleasant Day - Tooth Implant Surgery

The day started out pleasant enough, because I went for a mountain bike ride up South Table Mountain. The day was humid which resulted in me having more asthma issues than usual (I did not use my inhaler)

Fast forward to sitting in the dentist chair at 1 pm. I get a Q-tip that has a cherry flavored numbing agent that makes my mouth salivate. After a few minutes the endodontist (I'll just call him endo) came in and started to give me shots in my gums. It hurts when the numbing agent is spreading into my body. I get a whole bunch of shots near the #9 tooth (left front incisor) and a bunch near my top, left rear molars. As I squeeze my hands together, I wonder when I will stop feeling the pain from the injections. My body is so stiff, that my arm starts to shake. I concentrate on relaxing my muscles and trying not to arch my back. My lips feel huge and my left eye-lid feels funny. The endo tells me it is just my muscles relaxing. My nose is stuffy (actually, just my left nostril) and the tip is numb. I wish the rest of my muscles would relax like my face.

After I sit and "cook" for a while, and go through another round of shots (I still feel them). The endo and 2 assistants come in dressed for surgery. There is a lot of suction going on and commands "top", "bottom", "in", "out", and commands for me - "left", "right", "tilt back", "don't move". Sometimes I get tapped on the face when I don't respond. I squeeze my hands or the arm rests tightly. I still try to calm myself and tell myself that I don't feel the pain. However, I feel all of the pressure and vibrations. I feel and hear the scraping of my bone. I feel and hear the drill going into my bone (and the counter sink drill which gets used a lot).

When the endo mutters non-encouraging words and sighs loudly, I open my eyes. All work has stopped and everyone is just looking at me. The endo likes to talk to himself, so I get continually updates when things aren't going well. When I hear "what do I do?" and "why did they do that", I realize that things are not going to be easy. The prosthodontist (crown guy) works in the same office and comes in 5 times for consultations since my implant is proving difficult. There is a lot of "lingual" and "distal" talk in addition to the discussions of the angle and ridges.

I notice that the endo's right hand is shaking. At one point, he gets up and says "hand". I'm starting to open my eyes a lot and notice that shaking hand that is covered in my blood. I think that I should be part of an implant documentary with my view being the view of the camera. I get a good look at the hair that creeps up the neck of the endo.

There is a lot of discussion (mostly the endo talking to himself) over what type of graft material to use. He speaks in code to his assistants, so I'm not always sure what is going on. Later, I find out that I had a large hole and needed an extensive bone graft. The entire front of the implant is a graft, and the surrounding bone is soft. In short, my implant is precarious. The endo compared it to a compound leg fracture that is only supported by an Ace bandage.

I'm being worked on for over nearly 4 hours. The top of my head keeps going numb. Each chance I get to "relax", I lift my head and stretch my legs. I start to feel the drill in my bone a bit too much. I have to wait for him to finish drilling, since I don't want to move and hit his hand. I indicate to the technician that I am starting to feel things. The endo tells me he is in the middle of something and doesn't want to impeded my blood flow. So, I continue to feel but the pain isn't too bad. Eventually, I get more shots.

While I was being stitched up, I can feel the needles. Once again, I am told that he didn't want my blood flow impeded. The pain wasn't too bad, so I just felt the needles going in and out.

Finally, it was done but I had to fit for the retainer. By this point, the pain is starting but I still haven't picked up my pain pills. I am told to be really careful and keep my blood pressure down. This means no walking. I have to be a couch potato for at least a week. I was given the clear retainer that contains the fake tooth, but told to wear it as little as possible. So, I will not wear it at all until it is "safe". At this point, I don't care if I go around with a missing tooth. I paid $3,200 and was sent out of the office.

I went directly to the pharmacy in the building and filled my prescriptions. It seemed like a long wait. As soon as I got to my car, I popped a pain pill and drove straight home. Once home, I took another pain pill. It was a very long hour while I waiting for the pills to kick in.