Just when I thought everything was going to be over, it was all reset.
After getting my dental implant a few months ago, it was time for the oral surgeon to take out the nub and send me to my dentist for my crown. I was so excited for everything to be over. I got to the oral surgeon’s office, was seated in a room, and waited for the oral surgeon to see me.
The oral surgeon came in and explained that she will now take out the nub, do an x-ray, and then send me over to my dentist right after for my crown (we had already scheduled the appointment with my dentist months in advance). I opened my mouth. She grabbed some tools and went into my mouth. I felt her pulling on the nub, and occasionally she would ask, is it hurting? Do you feel any pain? Mhmm, I responded, thinking it was normal as I tasted blood in my mouth.
The oral surgeon pulled and pulled, and finally finished whatever she was doing and with a slightly concerned voice, said, “Hm…let’s check after the x-ray.”
The staff put some gauze pads in my mouth and took me to get my x-ray done. Then, I returned to the room and waited. I wonder what she has left to do, I thought.
The oral surgeon came back in. “Your implant came out when we were taking out the nub. We’ll have to put it back in again. The pain you were feeling was because your implant came out.”
I stared at the oral surgeon. Is this a joke??? The implant came out? I thought the implant is supposed to be permanent! I couldn’t believe it. I have to go through the whole painful process again to put the implant back in.
The oral surgeon said that it is typically rare for the implant to come out and usually only happens to older people, then asked me if I wanted to do an implant again or do a bridge. Well, you said an implant was the best solution last time…
I decided to do the implant again. The oral surgeon said she could put in the bone graft today if I am free, and added that it would be at no cost to me. I would then have to wait another few months before the dental implant could go in, and then another few more months before doing what I was supposed to have done today. With the implant that came out when she was pulling on the nub, she is sending it back to the manufacturer to see what happened.
I waited in the room for half an hour as the staff set up the procedure room and called my dentist to cancel my other appointment. In the meantime, I started telling my friends how my whole implant came out. The staff finally took me to the procedure room and took my blood pressure. It was high.
“Your blood pressure seems to be quite high…is it usually this high?”
It’s probably high because I’ve spent the last half an hour telling my friends all about how the implant came out and how I have to start at zero again! Imagine anchoring a pillar into the ground, just like how a dental implant is anchored into the jawbone. It’s stable, anchored deep into the ground, and now you’re ready to build your structure. All of a sudden, someone goes in and just pulls out the pillar. The whole pillar comes out. Would your blood pressure go up? I would think so.
They took my blood pressure again, then told me to rest in the room for a bit so my blood pressure can go down. I guess I should put down my phone while I wait.
After the machine took my blood pressure a few more times, it finally went down. The oral surgeon came in, put in the bone graft, and finally, I was able to go home. It was not as bloody as last time, but I was back to having a hole between my two teeth.
Another four months of waiting until I can get the dental implant begins.