Hi sandy,
You have been through alot in just a short amount of time and you have a ways to go yet before you are in the clear and just on maintenance visits. But honestly, you are doing great in taking care of yourself and following post op instructions!
You mentioned that you have other dental work to be done. My suggestion is to not move forward with any permanent restorations until you have a complete diagnosis of all of your dental needs. If you are going to have more teeth removed, then you may have replacement options that could be less costly overall instead of doing one area at a time.
With regard to the bone grafting...... when this is done, your natural bone fills in more completely thus the gum area only shrinks back to where that bone levels off. When no bone graft is placed, the gum tissue can shrink to the point of appearing flat because the bone becomes flat and the gum tissue hugs it tight.
You may have recession on your other eye tooth and you may have had it on #11 as well. This would make the gum look higher than it really should be. Healthy gum tissue is never pointy.... it is rounded along the contour of where the tooth meets the gum. Chances are, the gum area in the #11 site will not match #6 (the other canine) because there will be no recession in the #11 site.
From your description of the flipper and the way it fits..... it sounds to me like it needs to be adjusted and may not be fitting very well. Aside from #11 looking different than #6....... the flipper should snap into place and not be poking you in the gum uncomfortably. A little pressure on that gum is ok and it acutally will serve to set the gum with a slight indentation as it heals which is what you want it to do. But more than a little pressure means it needs adjustment. And yes, the tooth can most defintitely be shaved down a bit if necessary.
I don't know why your gum is still sore on the palate nor do I know why you have a yellowish area. The bone graft is not placed in tissue, therefore it is not visible in color through gum tissue. The graft is placed inside the same bony socket that held the tooth in your jawbone so the graft material is encased in bone. Did your surgeon say anything about the yellow color??
If your flipper is not fitting properly and the dentist cannot make the proper adjustments without ruining the integrity of it, then yes, he should make you a new one at no charge to you. Dental Labs make mistakes all the time but more importantly if your impression was not exactly right, then the lab fabricated it to what the impression was and it could be that the appliance is not fitting properly in your bite.
It is important to wear the flipper so the gum area heals with a certain arc to it if you plan on having an implant sometime in the future. But if it is totally uncomfortable, see your dentist about adjusting it. He may get a bit annoyed but that's his problem......... it needs to fit properly and you may unfortunately have to make a stink about it!
Bryanna ~'.'~
Quote:
Originally Posted by sandy60
Hi Bryanna, when you say the more the bone fills in, the lower the gum will be, I want the gum to be higher. The other eye tooth is higher and they matched in appearance when the impression was made. Maybe this is what you meant since you said it will recede. The gum now looks boxy and does not have the moon shape arch on top...and the fake tooth does so points over the gum a millimeter above. One thing also is that my palate is still sore and the area is yellowish from the bone powder still there. The flipper is very irritating so I am hesitant to wear it, I would like to wait a few more days until there's less pain, more healing. No rush, I guess as long as I don't care esthetically.
My dentist told me that the tooth cannot be filed. The funny thing is that when I tilt it, the tooth fits in beautifully but then the flipper isn't tight in my mouth (the wire hanging!) so I can't wear it that way! I just wish it looked right from the beginning. I hope the gum starts taking the arch shape, does it know to do that by itself? I am sorry to bug you with all this, I just am really thrown by this experience, the cost, the other problems they see, may need more extractions on old root canaled teeth...it just is all happening at once. But if you can answer the first question about the shape, I'd appreciate it. Is it normal for it not to fit the shape of the tooth when the patient first gets it? I am sure it WAS the shape of the original tooth but now it looks like a big buck tooth. One more thing, do they ever remake these if the patient just doesn't feel right, even giving it a chance? I mean legally, are they supposed to for no fee? I also don't see why he said it can't be shaven...I know they can adjust something but what, if not the shape? I am so lost with this!
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