A Toothy Matter

[diello]

I never mentioned this before, but on Thursday, I had an appointment with the dentist and a financial consultant at Eastman (for non-local mates, that is the Eastman School of Dentistry). I had an excruciatingly painful set of X-rays taken, and a very messy set of molds taken of my teeth.

Next Tuesday, I go in for a surgery consultation. I am finally getting the gap fixed. It will take a lot of money, and no, I do not have the funds or the financial backing / credit to cover it, so I'll be using my federal return (I was going to get a sleep-number bed with that, damn it!).

What the surgery entails is, first, a possible bone graft, where they build up the bone matter (because it is 1) a front tooth and therefore the bone is thin enough as it is, and 2) has had 6 years to diminish further since removing the tooth). If I don't actually need a bone graft (doubtful), that will save me $900.

Then, after a 3-month healing process, I get a screw put in ($700).

3 more months to heal THAT til the actual implant goes in ($800).

(+ a 15% discount)

And I'm really scared. I was hoping I might just get a flipper tooth and that's it, but the dentist told me that's pretty uncomfortable, annoying, and the flipper can pop out sometimes. I knew I was getting an implant. I WANT an implant. I just wish it wasn't going to set me back almost 3 grand.

They told me the bone graft doesn't hurt; their patients say they're surprised by how little it hurt. I imagine differently. I imagine the freezer-shot hadn't worn off yet when the patients reported this pain-free experience. I imagine they went home, the numbness went away, and they were like, Fuck, Where's The Vicodin?

So yeah.

I am scared. This is really going to happen.

Comments

[armeleia.livejournal.com]

(I don't know you and followed a comment on Ross's blog, sorry if commenting seems creepy).

Dental work scares the crap out of me... but a bone graft isn't really that bad. :) I had a weird tumor thing removed from my jaw about two years ago, which was followed by a bone graft. Painkillers don't work on me at all (Vicodin has absolutely no effect, even double-dosed), so I'm not going to say it was a fabulous experience... but it wasn't as bad or scary as it sounded. The part that hurt was the healing incision, not the bone graft itself. There wasn't any residual discomfort or deep aching or anything.

If you're looking for a really great oral surgeon, I really recommend Dr. Amborski in Pittsford. For extracting a tooth, removing the weird thing in my jaw and sending it off for cancer screening, and doing the bone graft (all while I was happily unconscious), the whole thing was only around $800 before insurance. I'm not sure if he does the implants and everything, but it might be worth looking into.

Anyway, don't be scared; it won't be that bad. :)

[diello.livejournal.com]

Thanks, mate! Hee, off-bloggery commenting isn't weird. That's how people meet people :) Also, you're no stranger- I totally recognized your icon from Ross's blog.

I will definitely check out Dr. Amborski. And that certainly does put my mind more at ease (but I'm still not looking forward to the incision healing process). I've had teeth pulled all over the board (6 is my grand total, I think) and the big painkillers don't make the pain go away so much as they just make me not care about the pain- just a few ibuprofen usually do the trick for me (though of course I'm sure that won't even be the case this time- it'll be my first oral incision).
Take care :)

[diello.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Ross! I stopped being scared for about half a week and am scheduled to totally lose sleep tomorrow night and then maybe run and hide. Hopefully I'll remember it's only a consultation and save the majority of my freakouts for the actual surgeries.