Two Big Steps In Reconstruction in ARCHIVES Forum

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Two Big Steps In Reconstruction

Author	Comment
marylander	Two Big Steps In Reconstruction	Lead	[-]
Posts: 410 (06/28/06 08:01:25) Member I Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Tags : None Remove this ad Tomorrow and Friday I will go through what are the last two big (but not the last steps overall) in my total reconstruction. Tomorrow Dr. C will put the bottom back teeth into temporaries and Friday he will put the top back teeth into temporaries. Each is a 4-hour appointment (partly to give me plenty of rest breaks during the process. After that there will be several weeks of doing bite adjustments on the temporaries before the permanent crowns and bridges are ordered for the bottom, and then several more weeks of tweaking before the permanent crowns are ordered for the top. When the permanent crowns are ordered for the bottom, I will also get a full coverage bottom splint for night wear and day wear as needed. At this point, I am excited and nervous all at the same time. Excited at the prospect of having a good bite for probably the first time in my life, and nervous that I'll still have problems. I don't know if I'll have a chance to get on and post from home over the weekend or not, and I won't be back to work until Wednesday of next week because of the holiday. We've been given July 10 as a date for moving to the mega company's e-mail server, so I'm afraid I won't be able to post on a regular basis much longer. I can't begin to say how much I've appreciated everyone's advice and support in the last year-plus. My husband tried to take some pictures of the old back teeth and says he just doesn't have the right kind of lens to get a good shot (nor does he have one of those gadgets they use in the dentist's office to pull your lips back!), so I guess I've given Cymy all the pictures to post that there will be...except maybe a full smile picture that will show some of the back teeth when this is all over, I hope! Becky L.
Michelle Denise	Re: Two Big Steps In Reconstruction	#1	[-]
Posts: 6585 (06/28/06 09:37:49) Senior Member * Moderator * Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Best wishes for a succesful complete recovery Becky. I hope if nothing else you can get your husband to type a note for you from time to time for you since you have the tendonitis. We really need some success stories out there for people to hear and know that there is more than one way to get well. It isn't all about just splint therapy; it may also be about cosmetic denistry and reconstruction too. I had a former good friend that had TMJ I bumped into her a few months ago. We use to work together and lost touch. They wanted her to have orthgnathic surgery. She refused and went the cosmetic denistry route. She is cured. Her teeth look very nice, but a bit unnatural. I think she should of went a bite more natural looking. It isn't that they were so white. They just looked too perfect. I hope that makes sense. There is something called too perfect to me where it looks fake or unnatural. Please keep in touch we need good stories to tell people.
marylander	Re: Two Big Steps In Reconstruction	#2	[-]
Posts: 410 (06/28/06 10:53:43) Member I Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Michelle: Thanks so much. I sure hope I have a good story to tell soon! I will try to get on from time to time on weekends. I know what you mean about your friend's teeth. Dr. C says he and his lab take great care not to make the crowns look fake like so many dentures do. For example, one of my bottom front tooth crowns looks as if the tooth is very slightly turned. If you look real closely (and of course I have), you realize that the base is actually straight and fits tightly with the othrs, but the top is made to give the appearance of a slight imperfection. Dr. C said that is because almost no one has four straight bottom front teeth, so putting in that little "twist" makes it look more natural. Just wanted to say you have mentioned your friend a couple of times before and that's been very encouraging to me. It's nice to hear about a real success story that went the same route. I'll be in touch through next week at least. Becky L.
FPDChief	Re: Two Big Steps In Reconstruction	#3	[-]
Posts: 815 (06/28/06 11:24:29) Member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Hi Becky L. Wow, you must be getting so excited. I think it's great that the reconstruction is working so far. I actually believe that reconstruction could help many people if it wasn't so cost prohibitive. Even though my bite has been worked on (braces twice, etc.), it still is not perfect and it can drive me crazy if I allow it too. I try and never bring my teeth together. You haven't mentioned very much about how your TMJ and related pain has been lately. You just sound so positive and that is great! I hope you can get back with us and tell us how the appointments went. God bless... Carol
feelines	Reconstruction	#4	[-]
Posts: 1878 (06/28/06 21:23:43) Senior Member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Remove this ad I am excited for you and will try to keep in touch...
Annie in Pain	Re: Reconstruction	#5	[-]
Posts: 1913 (06/29/06 11:12:01) Senior Member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Good luck, Becky......
marylander	Re: Reconstruction	#6	[-]
Posts: 410 (06/30/06 16:47:44) Member I Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Okay...I found an old ace elbow brace which isn't as good as my work ones, but enough for a short note: I made it through both days okay. The muscles on the right side of my face (The worse side) are pretty sore but they've been worse. He gave me lots and lots of rest breaks, yesterday was 3 hours and today almost 5, but I bet at least a-third of that was "down time" to rest my jaw. I had a good cervical pillow while I was in the chair too. At the moment, I'm still novocaine numb. He expects to have me back in once a week for a couple of weeks to keep tweaking the bite. The permnanet crowns and the night-time splint should be delivered in early August. He told me to keep eating what I have been eating for a few days to give my sore muscles a chance to recuperate, then to gradually begin eating more foods. Still no hard, sticky, or chewy foods untli the permanent crowns go on. He promised to buy my husband and I a steak dinner when it's all over! I'll try to check in again sometime next week, when I get back to work Wednesday if not before. Becky L.
marylander	Re: Reconstruction	#7	[-]
Posts: 410 (07/05/06 07:49:42) Member I Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Remove this ad Just a quick update from being back at work: The soreness from keeping my mouth open is gone, my gums are a little sore from all the shots. I am able to eat a wider variety of foods and chew more than I have in over a year. My neck had improved during the early phases of treatment, but the remaining symptoms seem to have pretty much vanished in just a couple of days (I just hope they stay vanished!) Right now I still feel like I am hitting my two front teeth harder than anywhere else. He wants to adjust this very slowly and gradually because of course, if he takes too much off, then I'm back to hitting too hard in the back. I certainly understand all of that. I have an appointment tomorrow for him to look at my bite and give it a "tweak." I am supposed to get the permanent crowns the first week in August and then a splint for night-time two weeks after that. Sleeping six weeks with nothing on my teeth makes more nervous than anything else but so far so good. I had some Xanax left from before, which always seemed to keep me from clenching at night, so I've gone back to taking just a small dose of that until I get the splint. The only bad news is he thinks a couple of the molars could need root canals. He said to think about it, that it was my call, some people in my situation choose to go ahead and have questionable teeth done while they are in temporaries; others choose to wait and see. Of those that wait and see, some "luck out" and have no problems, others have to have root canals through the permnanent crowns later on. After having the weekend to think about it, I think I'm leaning toward better-safe-than-sorry and having them done. Dental insurance will actually pay for part of them. That's about it...I'll let you all know if anything changes, but I think I'm on a good road to recovery now. Becky L.

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