Leap of Faith (50+ life stuff)

[cranky old dude]

I've been researching this for several years in anticipation for this opportunity. The girls are all through college (mostly) and the wife is healthy (well...stable anyway), so now it's dads turn.

I've been suffering/putting up with terrible teeth for years now. My unreasonable but very real terror of dentists combined with a string of unsatifactory dental visits that included Conscious Sedation and did nothing but reinforce my fears had left me in a sad, sad mess. A few years ago I started researching Hybridge dental implants and decided that this was the route for me.

After a couple of postponements due to family member health issues, I finally got my opportunity. My wife is healthy enough and now has the confidence to drive me accross the city , so I made an appointment.

Yesterday I had all my upper teeth removed (well, what was left of them anyway) while under conscious sedation. That was the easy part, and it included repairing a punctured sinus cavity!! My molar had rooted right into the sinus. Now I'm trying to learn how to live with my temperary denture. That's the hard part. I'll be using the temporary for four months or so until the bone grafts that were also put in during yesterday's surgery are strong enough for the implants and then for the dental hybridge.

So rather than preparing for my "Birthday Century" I'm trying to learn how to talk without gagging, trying to learn how to eat, and somehow I need to go back to work. Many people have taken these steps before me and I know it isn't life-threatening and I'll get through it.

On the plus side...Once I've gotten through this I'm finally going to like myself a bit more.

On the negative side...I suspect I'll be taking a couple weeks off the bikes. I don't know if that means I'll gravitate more to the computer and cyber-friends or if I'll just busy myself doing odd jobs around the house. For now I'm just hanging out on the couch a lot and waiting for the post operative swelling to go away.

On the lighter side, at my 24hr. post surgical check-up today I asked the dental assistant if she had seen the inside of my sinus. She did. So I just had to ask her "Was it dark in there?"

It was.

[JanMM]

I guess this means you will be postponing the purchase of a titanium recumbent bike for a while.
I'll continue to not complain about the multiple crowns (including one with a root canal) I've gradually acquired over the last few years. All done.

You may be a candidate for temporary use of liquid nourishment. I recommend chocolate malts! Or stout!

[Shimagnolo]

Interesting. I hadn't heard of these before.

A couple years ago I lost a tooth to a rare condition called "external resorption". After examining the options, I went with a titanium implant. The worst part was having to go 6 months from extraction until the implant was put in, then another 3 months until the crown could be fitted. All the waiting was for the bone to grow in. Thank goodness it was not a front tooth!

[Mort Canard]

Cranky,
Here's hoping you can at least enjoy some pie from time to time. Keep the pedals spinning when you can.

[Digital Gee]

Best of luck! While you're off the bike, you could be polishing up some lectures for students at Fred University, to keep yourself busy.

[teachme]

Good luck Cranky! Hope your up and atom soon!

[missjean]

When your dental work is all done, you'll look like this -->

[Dan Burkhart]

In the not too distant past, everyone expected to keep their teeth in a glass overnight by the time they reached our age. Nowadays, we are expected to die with them in our mouths.
Hope your procedures go well, and you get your nice shiny set of choppers.

[BluesDawg]

Recover well.

[DnvrFox]

I have three implants and they work well.

Fortunately, I have kept my dental insurance upon retirement, and we wipe out the benefit each year. We are a real money loser(s) for the dental insurance company.

Good luck with your grafts, implants and bridges.

Ouch!!

[jmccain]

You may be a candidate for temporary use of liquid nourishment. I recommend...Or stout!

I know you're kidding, but the use of alcohol will delay the healing and may compromise the surgical site.

[JanMM]

I know you're kidding, but the use of alcohol will delay the healing and may compromise the surgical site.

Well, then, perhaps a modest bit of Kahlua diluted in a tall glass of nourishing milk? Followed by a swish of saline mouth rinse.

[stapfam]

I know you're kidding, but the use of alcohol will delay the healing and may compromise the surgical site.

Easy way out--Don't let it touch the sides as you swig it.

[qcpmsame]

Hope the pain is subsided by now Lenny. Congrats on the big life quality decision, you will appreciate this one.

Bill

[cranky old dude]

Progress report: 72 hrs. post surgery.

I can mostly tolerate the denture at rest but my mouth still feels full. If I start to get a reflex gag reaction, I concentrate on breathing deeply through my nose and it calms down. As long as I keep my mouth well lubricated I can talk a fair bit. I use Gatorade or water. Yesterday I was able to eat applesauce. This morning it was soft cereal (Puffed Rice) in milk. This morning I actually removed and replaced the denture, which is ground breaking for a guy with a touchy gag reflex such as mine....though it sure wasn't very graceful.

Yesterday the wife and I enjoyed a walk in a local park and today we're going to do a bit of grocery shopping so I'm getting out and about a bit.

Oh yeah, I've also lost five pounds since Tuesday morning. At this rate by the time I get my Hybridge installed I'll be as skinny as I was when we got married!!

[leob1]

Just like going up a big hill, keep turning the cranks over, slow and steady.
Can you get on a trainer for a bit? Not the same as riding in the open air, but it keeps you moving.

Ask you dentist if you can have your new teeth made of carbon fiber. Tell them you want to save weight so you can talk faster.

Good Luck.

[Stealthammer]

Progress report: 72 hrs. post surgery.....

Thanks for sharing! I know that most of the people on both sides of my family have ended up getting dentures or major dental work beginning sometime in their thirties, so I have religiously brushed two to three times a day and use a waterpick daily since I was 25 years old. At 55 however, genetics and an overly active lifestyle have left me with more broken and damaged teeth than unbroken ones, so this is something that I have been putting off myself. I think I will have to look into this within the next few months as well. Thanks again for your take on the process.

[Yumadons]

Glad you're feeling better. DH had all his teeth yanked in his 20's - they were terrible and he says it's the best thing he ever did. One thing you might not have thought of is be sure to keep those dentures out of reach of any dogs if you have them - with all the food and *you* smells on them, dentures are a popular chew toy :-0

[cyclinfool]

Lenny,

So glad to hear you are making progress. You will get through this and you quality of life will improve. Dental pain is the worse.

[Road Fan]

I've been researching this for several years in anticipation for this opportunity. The girls are all through college (mostly) and the wife is healthy (well...stable anyway), so now it's dads turn.

I've been suffering/putting up with terrible teeth for years now. My unreasonable but very real terror of dentists combined with a string of unsatifactory dental visits that included Conscious Sedation and did nothing but reinforce my fears had left me in a sad, sad mess. A few years ago I started researching Hybridge dental implants and decided that this was the route for me.

After a couple of postponements due to family member health issues, I finally got my opportunity. My wife is healthy enough and now has the confidence to drive me accross the city , so I made an appointment.

Yesterday I had all my upper teeth removed (well, what was left of them anyway) while under conscious sedation. That was the easy part, and it included repairing a punctured sinus cavity!! My molar had rooted right into the sinus. Now I'm trying to learn how to live with my temperary denture. That's the hard part. I'll be using the temporary for four months or so until the bone grafts that were also put in during yesterday's surgery are strong enough for the implants and then for the dental hybridge.

So rather than preparing for my "Birthday Century" I'm trying to learn how to talk without gagging, trying to learn how to eat, and somehow I need to go back to work. Many people have taken these steps before me and I know it isn't life-threatening and I'll get through it.

On the plus side...Once I've gotten through this I'm finally going to like myself a bit more.

On the negative side...I suspect I'll be taking a couple weeks off the bikes. I don't know if that means I'll gravitate more to the computer and cyber-friends or if I'll just busy myself doing odd jobs around the house. For now I'm just hanging out on the couch a lot and waiting for the post operative swelling to go away.

On the lighter side, at my 24hr. post surgical check-up today I asked the dental assistant if she had seen the inside of my sinus. She did. So I just had to ask her "Was it dark in there?"

It was.

What a step! Keep going!

[cyclinfool]

Lenny,
How you feeling - are you getting used to the new choppers?

[cranky old dude]

Lenny,
How you feeling - are you getting used to the new choppers?

Hey old friend, thanks for asking.

I'm going through a bit of a rough patch. By Sunday evening I had actually began eating grown-up food and even had brownies for desert! However, when I awoke on Monday morning I had developed a fistula into my right maxillary sinus and it's making things somewhat difficult.

The good news...It's not an infection or tear. It's a sewn together fold of tissue that started leaking by once the swelling subsided. I can actually hear the air rushing in when the denture is not in my mouth. It's small and the dentist believes it will heal on its own though if it doesn't, he'll close it during the implant surgery nine weeks from now.

The bad news...Every time I lower my jaw air gets drawn in through the opening. The fistula is located under the denture. After opening and closing the jaw about three times, enough air gets collected to pop that sucker right off the roof of my mouth. Yep, eating is pretty much a memory until either the fistula heals or my gums heal enough to crush food with.

I have lost over twelve pounds. Not a lot of fun but a very effective weight loss method. I'm basking in the sweet glow of success on that count.

I'm considering a Mashed Potatoes and Ice Cream diet, my two favorite foods!!

[Plum_Crazy]

I love my dentures! I had crooked over lapped, buck teeth all my life. Constant trips to the dentists, 4 cleanings a year, flossing and brushing religiously, and still the gum infections were devouring my jaw bones. I finally said "Yank those _______ out and give me choppers" One of the best decisions I ever made and I actually save money by going to the dentist ONLY twice a year to clean the 6 remaining teeth on the bottom. (Full bottom dentures are a pain to keep in)
I can eat POPCORN! No more infections, foul mouth odor, and especially NO pain. As an added bonus, I have nice white teeth, and a movie star smile. No more covering my face when I laugh.
I wish you a pleasant experience. Salt water rinses for now should make those sore spots feel better. Sometimes just taking the denture out for a few minutes during the day will give your mouth a "rest" from having a hunk of plastic in it all day.
I could not use implants...not enough bone to support the pins, and I have allergic reactions to metal.
You'll like the result after this hurdle is over.

[Daspydyr]

Looking forward to the pictures and your new smiling face. Sounds like cream and pudding pies are in order!

[Phil85207]

My wife has the implants that hold the dentures and is very happy with them. She has had them for about 6 or so years now and no problems yet. However she had plenty of issues with the dentures before getting the implants. Good luck