Magic Like…Not!

I am fully aware that this post flies in the face of serious global geopolitical tensions ravaging our existence at the moment. Consider this a problem with a solution, a rarity worth writing about.

January 23rd marks the glorious end of my toothless journey.

Decades ago, my first born slammed into my face while roughhousing and damaged the root of tooth number 9, which is center left on the top. Two root canals and years of taking diligent care still led to a fracture of Nine last year. Add to that a stubborn bone infection that took months of treatment, some not-so-stellar decisions on my part brings me to this forewarning.

I had three choices before me. Do nothing. Get a bridge. Do an implant.

Doing nothing garnered an instant and collective gasp from the family followed by a resounding, “Next!”

The thought of getting a bridge lasted a while longer. Two teeth on both sides of Nine had to be ground to nubs and crowned in order to cantilever the replacement. Losing perfectly healthy teeth gave me pause. Plus a past bridge caused bone loss. Being toothless is one thing, having a collapsed gum on top was altogether too much for my fragile ego.

So, implant it was.

Here are the lessons learned.

First lesson is to choose an oral surgeon very carefully. Many dental insurance plans won’t cover or only partially cover the cost of an implant. Many surgeons don’t take any insurance. In the US, implants cost a small fortune which means shopping around is a must. I did my due diligence and with the move to New England, I decided it was best to do it in Boston.

How could I go wrong?

Little did I know.

My surgeon gave me a retainer with a fake Nine after extracting the broken one. I had to pull out the retainer every time I ate or drank anything other than water. This is where I stumbled. Badly.

The oral surgeon cannot leave you toothless. Despite the embarrassment, I got very good at discreetly taking off the retainer and putting it back on but being toothless left everyone around me with PTSD. This is lesson number two: find an oral surgeon who will do a temporary crown. Say a hard no to a retainer! Epic failure on my part that I didn’t research this properly.

After the implant, I called several dentists for an estimate on the crown. The quotes from dentists in Boston were outrageous. I went back to my kind, responsible and reasonable dentist in Virginia.

I thought that getting the crown would be the easy part.

Wrong again.

In Virginia the oral surgeon provides the part to which the crown will attach. Not so in Boston. My dentist in Virginia had to turn into a pretzel figuring out what part she needed for my specific implant. Weeks later the crown was ordered and I flew to Virginia to get it fitted. By now I was sufficiently anxious and thinking what are the chances all will go well?!

Well, the crown went on the implant crooked and the dentist floated the possibility of redoing the crown! Either the implant was crooked or the crown was made badly. I really couldn’t come back another time and couldn’t continue being toothless. Long story short she did a good job of making the crown look decent with a bit of work. I walked out acknowledging the third lesson: make sure that the dentist who restores the tooth works very closely with the surgeon who does the implant. They should be joined at the hip and then to the lab that makes the crown.

I really tested our healthcare system by going interstate and the universe reminded me how fragile the ecosystem is.

Nine months after the fracture was discovered and three months after I was ready for the crown, I finally have Nine back. Yes it’s slightly crooked and my smile is different but, hallelujah, I am no longer toothless.

My advice is take really good care of your pearly whites and don’t lose any of them. If you do, learn from my mistakes and do better.

While I am rejoicing at never having to wear the retainer ever again, Mina is sad!  She loved seeing me make Nine appear and disappear. Magic like.

Sorry pal, there’s only so much entertainment Mimi is willing to provide and for so long! Let’s find another way to entertain you, ya?