Dr. Reisberg had told me in advance that this was going to be the hardest part of the process. He put some cherry tasting like novacaine jelly on my gums. Then waited a bit before he gave me the injections. Front gums and roof of mouth. Several injections and they were painful. I wish I had taken something before the procedure to help alleviate my fear. Anytime any dentist or dental hygienist would work on the front part of my upper teeth I always broke out in a sweat and would stiffen up like a mummy. This was no exception. My cleft palate runs from my front left gum to my roof of my mouth. Like a passageway.
This appointment involved cutting into the gums to uncover the dental screws. Dr. Reisberg used a 'puncher' to expose the screws. But, before he did this, I had one or two stitches remaining in my lip from the lip revision I had in October 2015. He used tweezers and scissors to cut the imbedded knot. This whole process took about 10 minutes of pulling and tugging my upper lip. Finally he said he got 1 7/8 's out. Yikes, that hurt but I was glad that blue stitch finally came out because I could not only see it but also feel it.
Back to the procedure. Dr. Reisberg continued to unveil the screws. At the very end he put silver caps on the end of the screws. I'm not sure what happened at the very end but all I know is that I almost jumped off the table in pain. He was pushing on the left implant with a lot of force and the pain shot through my body as I screamed in pain. He apologized and said he was sorry that portion was painful.
I thought to myself, "oh dear God, I hope the bone did not crack." In fact, when I go back on March 4th I'm going t ask that he take an X-ray to make sure everything is okay.
The whole procedure lasted a little over an hour. After the procedure, he gave me a mirror so I could see the two silver screw ends. When I looked at myself and saw the silver all I could do was think back to high school. I had to have braces and in order for that to happen I had to have a "silver" left front tooth. I guess a needed a 'cap' that was strong enough for the braces. My God. Here I was in high school walking around with a silver front tooth. This was before Madonna or 50 cent who made 'grills' popular. I stuck out like a sore thumb. I mean come on. I'm in high school having a shining silver front tooth. I had that silver tooth for at least 3 years. No wonder I never dated in high school! I looked like a freak. So, when I looked at myself in the mirror with the two small screws I just smiled to myself. Almost 55 years of age and still got the bling!
You have to have a sense of humor or you will not survive in this world. You have to walk around with a skin tone bullet proof vest because you are gonna need it. Just when you think things can't get worse-they do. So, you just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and move forward.
I can certainly walk around with these little silver screws for the next two months. Geez, that is nothing. I have 4 more appointments set up every 2 weeks so I should have my new teeth by then. I guess they have to make dental impressions and make the screws longer during the next several appointments.
I will go back and try and find pictures of me wearing my silver bling in high school. I know my yearbook picture has me flashing my bling-I smiled with my mouth closed but you can still see some of the silver shining through.
Here is a picture of me after my procedure. Those little screws are not gonna stop me from smiling!
Pat you're one of the bravest people I know. No one noticed your silver tooth in high school. Your kind spirit and fun nature is what people were drawn to and remember.
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