It’s done!

I had 2 dental implants placed yesterday, Wednesday, March 28th. My bone graft surgery was on November 22, 2017. 4-6 months is a good amount of time to have dental implants placed after a block graft in order to prevent the bone from disintegrating. Remember, the only reason bone is there is to support teeth. Dental implants act like the root of a tooth, so if a dental implant is there, it will stabilize the bone and give the reason for the bone to be there!

The implants I had placed were of the Straumann brand. I like this brand the most because I like the surface of the implants, and the components of the implant are easier to work with. But really, any brand is doable.

The day of:

My surgery was scheduled for 12 PM, so I arrived at the surgery center at 11 AM. I was brought back into the pre-op area where I met with the anesthesiologist and nurses.  I had not eaten anything yet that day, so I was so hungry!

 

I was so nervous….

Even after all of the surgeries and knowing a 3D x-ray had been taken, so there was definitely bone in there, I was STILL nervous. So…reminder to you: It is totally normal to be nervous. And also, the older you get, you will feel more calm because you know what’s coming, but you’ll also feel nervous because you know what’s coming. Just make sure you have someone with you who can tell you jokes and keep your mind distracted, just like my husband did. It helped so much.  And it doesn’t hurt to make sure you have your meal planned for when you leave the hospital…it gives you something to look forward to.

I was sedated…

I chose to be sedated for this surgery instead of doing general anesthesia. This is because a dental implant surgery is not very serious, and sedation is easier on the stomach and recovery aspect. Dental implants can even be placed with just local anesthesia (like a shot you get at the dentist for a filling), but I wanted to not be aware of what was going on so my nerves could be down.

This involves just an IV, and medication is inserted through the IV, and before you know it, you are sedated and unaware of what is going on. When I woke up, the first thing I asked was,

“Are they in?”

And thankfully, I received a laugh and a yes! I was so happy. I felt a little groggy waking up, but it honestly just felt like I was waking up from a long sleep. It took about 15 minutes for me to be fully alert. My lip was very numb still, and I had some pain at the surgical site. I was given pain medication, some water, and I changed into my clothes, which always feels good! Within an hour, I was discharged and feeling pretty normal. My lip was numb for about 1.5 hours after the surgery, so I had to be careful with eating anything to avoid biting my lip!

After leaving the hospital with my husband, we went straight to Pressed Juicery for a healthy ice cream . This has become a tradition for my family to always get ice cream or a milkshake to eat with a spoon on the way home from the hospital.

I will be sharing a “What I Ate” post so you can see how creative you can actually get with soft foods!!

For now, let’s talk about some things that are normal and things that aren’t, so you know what to look out for.

Instructions:

1. No straws for 1 week after surgery
   
2. Only SOFT foods allowed for 1 week
3. For 24 hours: no driving, alcohol, bending over, sudden movements
4. No strenuous activity- only walking for 1 week and then can add small activities like yoga after 1 week. Activity can resume after 2 weeks
   
5. Keep surgical area elevated to avoid swelling
6. No direct pressure on surgical area
7. No hot foods for 1 week
   
8. Brush your teeth still!!! Just be careful around surgical area
9. Use Peridex (chlorhexidine) prescribed by your doctor two times a day, and no eating or drinking for a half hour after swishing
   • Make sure you really do use the chlorhexidine as indicated because it is ESSENTIAL to helping repair tissues
10. No aggressive spitting for 1 week
11. You can shower today! Do it! It will make you feel better
    

What is normal:

1. Some blood coming from the surgical area
2. Some swelling in the surgical area
3. Slight pain in the surgical area
4. Feeling tired or exhausted the day of surgery and the day following surgery
   
5. Some nausea the day of surgery
6. You might see some screws in your mouth where the implants were placed. This is COMPLETELY normal. If you don’t see them the next day after surgery, don’t freak out! Your tissue might be healing over them. That is okay!
   

What is not normal:

1. Difficulty breathing, headache, vision issues
2. Persistent dizziness
3. Persistent nausea or vomiting
4. Pain that does not go away after a few days, pus coming from the surgical area (green, yellow)
5. Temperature greater than 101.5
   

Look out for my “What I Ate” post. It’s very important to maintain a healthy diet while healing, and make sure you’re not just eating sugary foods. A well-balanced diet will help the healing process!

Thank you all for your support and well wishes for my surgery. It did go well, and I will continue to update you on this post as I heal!