Today I went to get my one dental implant removed. When I walked into the Clinic, Alma, one of the R.N.'s said hello to me. She proceeded to tell me that the kids just love the teddy bears that I donate. She told me she handed one out earlier to an adult cleft lip/palate patient and was so thrilled to hug it. I told Alma, that she made my day.
I then went to dental Clinic for my appointment with Dr. Reisberg. He is not only a great Dentist but a great man. He is very caring and it's like watching an artist at work.
He put cherry numbing gel on my front gum. While he waited for the numbing agent to take effect, he showed me two dental markups. Two dental students and a newly hired Dentist came into the room. He asked me to smile. He did careful measurements of my scar and where my midline was. They discussed options amongst themselves and he looked at me so closely, as if he was going to do a painting. He'd line things up, then ask me to smile again and this went on for about ten minutes.
It was then time for the injection. Well, it was really unbearable. They had to use a larger needle because there was so much scar tissue. 54 years worth of scar tissue. As he did the injections I begged for him to stop. Pleaded with him to just give me a moment to compose myself. But, he told me that he had just a little more to do. Maria, the assistant, handed me Kleenex. She told me she wanted to hold my hand but she didn't know if I would swat her away. Ok, so the injection part was over. I no longer was laying stiff in the chair with my feet hyperextended.
He took the little silver cap off of the tooth. He tapped it and asked if I had any pain. I told him no pain, just a little pressure. He then tested the implant again. He asked me again if I had pain. I told him again no pain, just pressure. I opened my eyes and looked into Dr. Reisberg's eyes. He said to me that he never saw anything like this before. He told me that he thought the implant may be good. He thought for sure that he was going to remove it at this appointment. The past two appointments, he would tap on the implant and I almost jumped off the table. He thought that perhaps the screw was too tight and when he went to loosen it in prior visits that maybe there was tissue that had adhered around the implant and that's what caused the pain.
And so, there is still hope. I told him it must be due to the Holy Water! I bless myself with Holy Water and say a prayer each morning.
The implant was not taken out. Not at this appointment. Maybe, just maybe, the implant will turn out to be good. I have faith that all will turn out the way it's suppose to be. I'm ok with that. If it turns out that the implant is indeed not good, then I know Dr. Reisberg has a plan to attach two crowns to the other implant. I'm in good hands.
Just when you prepare yourself for the worst, sometimes you are given some hope. And, the frown turns into a smile.
I have never heard of a dental implant before. I personally have not gone to the dentist very much because I eat healthy and try to take good care of my teeth. Getting those injections sound really painful, but you made it through! Hopefully everything worked out for you. I hate going to the dentist.
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