Over four months has passed, and I’m back at the oral surgeon’s office. I’m here for attempt number two of my dental implant. Despite having gone through this process once already, this time was more scary knowing that there’s a chance that everything could be unsuccessful and I’d have to go through the pain once again. What I was most curious about though was…will my blood pressure be high again?
I ate half my breakfast before heading over to the oral surgeon’s office. I made sure to allow for enough time to get there, since I didn’t want to feel rushed. Of course when I arrived, there were no more parking spots. I quickly pulled into a parking lot nearby and hoped that my car wouldn’t get towed away. When I walked into the office, the first thing I asked the staff was if I was allowed to park there. I was. Whew! My car won’t get towed.
The staff took me in and brought me to the x-ray machine. Then, I waited in the room for the oral surgeon to come in. I played games and looked through photos on my phone while waiting, hoping it will help keep my blood pressure normal.
*Knock knock* The oral surgeon walked in. “Do you play pickleball???” She must have seen the cute pickleball pin on my bag. “I do! Do you?” She didn’t, but she’s heard a lot about it! She proceeded to explain that she’s going to put in an implant today, then had me sign some papers. The staff then took me to the surgery room and took my blood pressure. It was normal! I was so relieved.
The staff numbed my gums, then the oral surgeon stabbed me a few times. Will there be any challenges this time? I hope not. I seemed to feel the pressure on my gums a lot more this time. I even felt the buzz of the drill hitting my bottom teeth as she tried to put in the implant. I grabbed the edges of my jacket tightly. There was also a high pitched sound this time which I’ve never heard before. I felt the oral surgeon turning something in my mouth, and very soon, the procedure was over. Everything seemed to happen much faster this time – but with more lingering pain.
I had to take another x-ray, then scheduled my follow-up appointment. Hopefully everything heals well and I can move on to the next steps.