Bone Graft, Sinus Lift and Implant Bridge
I grew up in the times when there were school dentists. You know the ones that said “put your hand up if it hurts” no anaesthetics. So I have always been scared of the dentist. About three years ago I got the most incredible toothache. I had several abscesses and needed to see the dentist. Unfortunately I had to have most of my teeth taken out due to gum disease. My top set being the worst affected. What was left was unstable and at risk.
Working in care with the elderly there was no way I could have dentures, but only being 47 I wasn’t prepared to be gummy. It broke my heart and my confidence and the job I do at present requires me to have a lot of effective communication with the public.
My dentist suggested having my 6 remaining top teeth removed and a 4 implant bridge, bone graft and sinus lift, to give me a whole top set of teeth. It sounded great but I was so scared not only about the treatment but the costs. I did shop around and was shocked at how costly this procedure is and how many hidden extras there can be. It took me 3 months to make the decision and two more abscesses to say “yes it’s time to go ahead with the referral!”
On the day of surgery I was surprisingly calm. I even drove the 2 hour drive to Kent. I was greeted by the team who I felt I knew well by then. The four hour surgery went quickly and was completely pain free. I even fell asleep at one point. That night I went out and enjoyed a light meal. The hotel room was great – If I could I would have slipped the bed in my bag, it was so comfortable I slept really well.
The swelling came two days later and was gone two days after that. I did take pain relief regularly for a week to 9 days. I’m so pleased I had this done and there was no hidden extras or unpleasant surprises. Now I can smile all the time.
I first met the team at the implant experts in March. Straight away I felt comfortable, the whole team is so friendly and approachable. I spent several hours going over everything. I also had time to go out for a walk and talk about it with my man. This helped as we had time to think of questions we wanted answers to from the morning’s conversation.
All my concerns, an overnight stay, finances, dates and times of surgery were sorted out before I left that day. I felt so excited and it was all happening in May. I was reassured that should I need anything before this date I could phone, email and talk to any member of the team at any time.