Implants ahoy!

A month since my last post, shows how little has been happening I guess. My dry mouth in the mornings thing, has not really gone away, and the physio has been on her hols so I've not been subjected to any sadistic face massages for while.

But I did have a procedure yesterday to put an implant in my upper right side to replace a tooth I lost a few years ago due to a dentist mistake, once in place this will aid chewing on my good side.

Implant procedure was strange...a small surgical procedure carried out under a local, but I was all covered up, and had my eyes shieleded under surgical wraps so I could not really see what was going on. No pain at all in the area, though there was a definite thump from something at the back of my throat, I suspect something slipped and fell into my mouth which caused a shock reaction but no one explained what had happened.

Rather a rough tough process too, more like being in a mechanics workship than a dental surgery, lots of cranking of small mouth pinned tools some banging, lots of shoving and worst of all drilling.

Now when I say drilling I don't mean whimpy little bzzzzz bzzz dentist drills, nope, nosirreebob, I mean really bone boring BRRRR BRRRR heavy drills that go up through the jaw area. Several times until the correct size of hole was made.

I was then asked to blow down my nose while it was pinched by the surgeon and amazingly I was breathing through the hole...so I assume the hole goes up into my sinus area...I have no idea if its supposed to or not, but it was a very odd sensation blowing air out of my tooth gap.
Then the rod goes in, more cranking and twisting and shoving, after which a couple of stiches to close up the gum.

Totally painless, aside from the unexplained impact in my throat.
I now have a small metal rod in my jaw which will poke out a little once the swelling goes down. Then in 6 weeks I get a crown fitted to that and I have a new toth.

Once the local wore off it was a little painful, fortunately I was having drinks with my mate Martin then Bina joined me for a meal in town and I happily stayed tipsy the rest of the day, with help from some mild painkillers, I felt nothing.
I had some morphine left from the RT and was ready to use that if needed but it was fine.

Today, the day after my mouth is a bit tender and I need to be careful eating but its not too bad...more alcohol :D

I also had to go see the hospital dentist to book appoinments for the crown, and got a very stern telling off, in Dutch from the receptionist...quite bizzare really, last week I got a phone call from the hospital telling me I had missed an appoinment, and gave me another time (today actually) to come in. But it turned out due to language issues, they were telling me to come in right away and then ....something, something. My dutch is still quite poor.

With help from someone who could translate it seems I had a series of appoinments lined up to sort out the plate on my bad side...trouble is I never actually received notice of these appointments so of course missed the 1st and possibly second one, hence the irate call, and the even more irate receptionist.

I tried to explain that I had not been given notice of these appointments, much buck passing then took place about it and it became apparent they were not willing to accept I had not recieved the appointments.
I gave up...until the dentist himself came out and tried to give me a telling off for missing appointments and wasting his time...That was the last straw, I forcefully...well with numb lips, as forcefully as I could, told him I never got the appointments, so can't be held responsible for missing them...only to again hear the receptionist get annoyed because they had called me to remind me....cross puposes again..

The basic issue is that I never got the appoinment card, so ......everything after was basic miscommunication, and indeed I have no appointment today after all so I have no idea what the hell was going on.

Anyway, I now have 6 fresh new appoinments, on a card...which I will happily keep.
Lets just hope thats the end of that particularl hassle and the dentist does not take it out on me by forgetting to give me a full dose of local when he's messing about with my teeth.