Depression Caused by the WAIT

Hello everyone!

Yes, the title is true.

Waiting to have permanent teeth that will allow for actually CHEWING 

of foods can cause depression & anxiety.

I will be the first to admit that I am depressed.

I already take anti-depressants and have for many, many years, 

but there are things in your life that can defeat these medications.

One obvious one for me is not being able to EAT!!

I have a HUGE bit of advice:

NEVER EVER BELIEVE ANY TIMELINE THAT YOUR 

DENTAL PROFESSIONAL TELLS YOU!!!

Originally, before all of this began, I was TOLD that this entire process, from surgery to healing to installation of permanent hybrid dentures 

would take 3-4 months!

After researching online, and also talking to a few who had been through this or were knowledgeable, I discovered that 6 months was the standard time! 

Soooooo - 6 months is what I put in my head.

This is the only thing that has 'saved' me from total insanity!
My surgery was August 13, 2019.

Four weeks ago, I was told "2-3 weeks and I would have my permanents". 

Well, we are now 1 week 'overdue'. 

I actually was stupid enough to BELIEVE them!

So, now I'm working on my mind to relax and believe that this will happen.....WHENEVER it will happen!

It still doesn't solve the issue of not being able to participate 

in a lovely dinner in a restaurant.

Or feeling comfortable to be in public!

My temporary dentures fit so poorly (the bottoms) 

that they make me look like a MONSTER.

It's even hard to DRINK with them. 

I usually take out the bottoms completely.

They are totally USELESS!!!!!

LOOK HOW HIDEOUS I LOOK!

I opened my mouth to show just how OUT OF LINE these bottom dentures are!  They don't in ANY WAY contribute to eating, much less aesthetics!

This was taken TODAY before I ran errands.

Guess what I did?

I took them OFF!

I speak better without the bottoms;

I look 'better' without the bottoms, 

except my mouth frowns without their support.

Bottom line is temporary dentures SUCK!

Tell yourself this is a 7 month process!

PREPARE to eat pureed foods while you are still healing. 

Then you can have foods that you can SWALLOW WHOLE.....

just to name a few - mashed potatoes; mac & cheese; FINELY cut up well cooked & tender chicken or ground meat; beans; rice; tender vegetables; spaghetti; tamales.

I want STEAK.

I want SALAD.

I want a BURGER.

I want fried ONION RINGS.

I want PISTACHIOS.

I want BREAD.

January 8, 2020 - FULL Wax Dentures

HELLO!

I'm going to share with you my latest adventure 

with my Hybrid Denture Journey!

This is a photo of me taken 1/8/2020

with full wax dentures in place.

The color I've chosen is PW2.

My hybrid dentures will be brand "Straumann" which is Swedish.

These wax dentures look almost real!

I can't IMAGINE what my hybrid dentures will look like!

OMG!

I'm sooooooooooo pleased with my color choice!

This PW2 is just a shade whiter than the B1 shade. 

I'm assuming that PW stands for Pure White. 

Sounds great to me! LOL

Here is me making selfies that aren't really 'beautiful' but FUN to say the least!

COME ON FEBRUARY!

I CANNOT WAIT for new teeth that I can actually CHEW and look GOOD doing it!

LOL!

More Wax Impressions

On 12-18-19, more wax impressions were made.

Lots of measuring and aligning.  

A few teeth were added to the wax impression

so that the Prosthodontist could see how they would line up. 

These are oh so very slightly misaligned. 

The color is a shade whiter than my current temporary, removable dentures. 

But, I want yet another shade whiter to try out. 

So, the set of "temporary" permanents made of wax

will be a shade whiter for me to see if I like that shade or not.

Here is the first try at wax impressions using just a few teeth on top & bottom.

There will be much more to come!

Due to the Christmas & New Year's Holidays falling on a Wednesday, 

which is the day of the week my Prosthodontist comes to my city, 

I won't see him again until January 8th!!

He has to 'special order' the color I want to try for my teeth.

I'll expose all of that in the end for you.

Thanks so much for your visit!

I'm doing great and very happy!

GREAT choice on my part to do this!

Wax Impressions and Acrylic Molds

This has been quite an impressive process!

I am now entering the final phases to the glorious end result!

Two weeks ago, the Prosthodontist made wax impressions of both top & lower jaws.

Today, he did the same thing, but worked on quite a bit of 'leveling' to insure that the bite is level. 

Then he made acrylic molds in red color.

These are used by the lab to insure that the holes are exactly in line with my implants.

Here is a photo of my bottom jaw mold in acrylic.

Although I don't fully understand every detail of this process,

I do know one thing for certain is that the Prosthodontist knows what he's doing!

This is a long process that involves a lot of exact measurements, leveling, etc.

This is the phase prior to getting my pair of "temporary" permanents made of wax.

These will be the prototype to my REAL Hybrid Permanent Dentures!!

From what I understand, once I have these screwed in place, 

we will work on every tiny detail to insure that the real permanents are absolutely 100% correct.

Making sure the color is to my liking; the shape and size of the teeth are fitting correctly and also to my liking; that the bite is 100% correct; that my speech is easy and that I sound like myself; that my bite is good & strong so I can eat solid foods easily.

Such a number of aspects that one doesn't truly realize

 and basically takes for granted regarding the mouth & its teeth.

I'm one happy girl!

I'm in the home stretch now!!!

Taking Dental Impressions to make Permanent Hybrid Dentures

Today was very exciting and interesting!

I have reached the point in this journey that the ultimate glorious end is quickly approaching!

I had dental impressions made, unlike anything I've ever experienced!!

One jaw at a time, this is what was done....

First the abutments (screw on tops) are removed from each implant.

A CT-Scan is taken.

Then metal guide rods, measuring about 1/2" long, are screwed into each implant.

It's quite the gruesome, eerie, freaky sight!

(as you will see at the end of my post)

The impression tray has holes in it. 

Each hole represents a guide to mark where the location of each implant is. 

Here is a basic idea of what one looks like.

Once the tray can easily slide into place with the guide rods in (a test is performed), 

a thick, fast drying putty is put inside of the tray.

It's then placed on the jaw and manipulated until it falls right into place. 

The guide rods will be sticking up through where the technician marked/drilled out each location.

This impression will show precise gum line shape and the exact location of each implant. 

WOW!

Now THIS is IMPRESSIVE technology!

Imagine though, in a few short years, I would bet

that a computer/CT-Scan will be taken and your hybrid dentures made.

All without much trouble. 

Advancements in technology happen quickly.

You never know!

So, without further hesitation,

here I am looking a bit like a newly created Monster 

for a Horror Movie (HAHA)!

I told the Technician....

"GRRRRRRR.  I'm going to bite you!"

We both LOL!

This is with the guide rods in place just before impressions with putty are made.

I'm so glad I'm not shy!!

You need to see this and understand the process.

Let's all share our experiences with others. 

Believe me, 

I would have had a much easier journey with a little actual advise and actual photos!

I hope this helps someone.

Have a great day and there will be much more to come....

Lisa : )

Cutting Away Gum to Expose Implant

The title is exactly what it states.

I had one implant just under the gum, so the Oral Surgeon 
had to cut away the gum to expose it.  

Under a local anesthesia, like you get at the dentist's when a tooth is going to be pulled, the Oral Surgeon deadened the area and then cut the gum away to expose the implant.

This is a normal occurrence and is easily taken care of.

I had this procedure November 13th.

This procedure is performed shortly before the installation of permanent implants!

YAY!

Dry Mouth

ok - I've been having dry mouth lately.  

The feeling that my mouth isn't moist enough.

I'm going to try Biotene Oral Rinse and also the spray.

So, I did a little research online and found that one of the causes is: 

Nerve damage. An injury or surgery that causes nerve damage to your head and neck area can result in dry mouth.

There are many reasons for dry mouth, 

but it's awfully coincidental to me that this started 

after my oral surgery.

Mayo Clinic is one site that I trust.

Here is the link to their article.

I just wonder, since the huge nerve in the mandible (lower jaw) gets disturbed during surgery and in turn makes your bottom lip and chin numb, (which by the way took 2 months for mine to finally subside enough that I can say I'm no longer numb), that this may be the cause for my dry mouth.

HOWEVER, I wake up every morning with my chin feeling like it's 'waking up' from numbness.

Once I'm up and out of bed, it goes away.

Interesting thought to contemplate about the dry mouth.

I'll confirm it next appointment.

And I'll find out if Morning-Numb-Chin is normal or not.

When Implants Decide That They Don't Want to Emerge

WOWOWOWOWOW!

I have TWO implants on the top jaw that are determined 

to not reveal themselves!

I asked the Technician today, at my appointment,

What are we going to do?

I don't want these to DELAY progress!

She reassured me that this is normal.  

No worries!

When it 'comes time',

the Oral Surgeon will 'trim' the gums to expose the implants.

Then we will be good to go!

So, this post is to let you know that there really IS a light at the end of the tunnel!

THANK GOD!

Another Food Idea - TAMALES

I promised to update you as I found other food choices, 

if you are like me and are unable to actually chew anything

since the bottom dentures flip-flop around!
Here is the link to the post where I talked about food choices:
https://myhybriddenturejourney.blogspot.com/2019/09/foods-some-ideas-on-what-you-can-eat.html

If you like Mexican food - TAMALES are soft and can be simply cut up with a knife & fork!

I ordered & picked up this tamale dinner from a local Mexican Restaurant.

It has refried beans and Spanish Rice with it!

YUMMMMM!

The masa (or dough) melts in your melt!

Happy eating!

What color do I choose?

Hello everyone!

I'm at a point in my dental process that I'm deciding on the color of my permanent hybrid dentures!

Although I'm still 4+ months away from getting my permanents, 

I'm also very anxious to choose a good color!

I've watched many a video on the internet and 

most of the ladies out there are the color PW4.

Earlier in this process the Prosthodontist's Technician advised me to not go too white.

She was concerned about me being stared at and talked about having fake looking teeth.

I told her, in all earnest, that the $xx,xxx I was spending for this, 

that I wanted a smile worth the same amount that I was paying.

So, she's 'lightened' up a bit.

Below are photos that I took from my iphone showing the color chart.

Here is the neat thing....my dentures are color A1, 

which are yellower than B1 (the color the Prosthodontist and Technician suggested).

I wasn't happy with my A1 colored dentures, so the next whiter color is B1.

Although you can't see 'yellow' in my dentures, 

unless a really white tissue or shirt is placed up against them,

I decided that if I'm going to spend this amount of money, that my teeth are going to be WHITE!

Here is a recent photo of me, with my A1 colored dentures.

This is in my car and in 'true light' from the sun.

So, now, let's take a look at the tooth color chart!

I took these photos with my iphone.

Although the color B1 is the next shade whiter than my dentures,

I have decided to try PW4 first.

You can see that PW2 is close in color to the suggested B1 color.

So, if PW4 turns out to be overly bright white for me, I will go with PW2.

But, PW4 is what I see all over the internet and it's BEAUTIFUL!

Women are very satisfied with this color.

I think that I will be also!

So check out these colors:

So, don't you agree with PW4 as the choice?

I can't wait (4+ months away) to show you how beautiful this PW4 color really is!

NEVER EVER 'short' yourself!

If you are paying out the whazoo like I am, you DESERVE this gorgeous white color!

More to come.....

I'm hanging in there and moving forward in this process.

I will reach the end with FULL happiness!

Take care!

Lisa : )

Implant Failure - or a simple abutment change

I just experienced a very scary situation!

A certain area in my mouth has been bothering me for a long time

and just recently, in the past few days, it's been hurting.

Last night I decided to really look at the area.

It appeared ok, but maybe a little redness.

I touched the implant and it moved, also hurting me at the same time!

Well the 'F' word flew out of my mouth and then the overwhelming sense of despair.

Called the Oral Surgeon and they got me in right away this morning.

He saw it move too!

So, they took a CT Scan and brought me to a surgery room.

The plan was to remove the implant and if the bone looked healthy,

he was going to install a new, larger implant.

He deadened the area and then torqued the implant.

It did not budge at all!

So, he changed the abutment (screw top) to a flatter one that wouldn't stick up so high.

So a loose abutment caused the illusion of a loose implant!

WHOO HOO!!!!

Now I'm riding Cloud 9!