June 21 2009
Dear Bryanna:
Just to let you know that the implants seem to have settled in well and the dentist is proceeding with loading the final teeth - at last.
It has been a strange adventure with the awful salty tingly effect during the time of the temporary partial. I did not always wear it when out if not expecting to see anyone I knew - of course I did sometimes and horrified people if I smiled and forgot to cover my mouth. Then a bridge was provided which was either not cemented enough and very loose and flew across the room if I sneezed or was cemented to much and had to be cut apart to get off - YIKES it does not feel good to have the dentist struggle to get it out with pliers! After it was mended and reinstalled it broke apart in my sleep and half was (thankfully) discovered in the bed sheets. The good thing about the bridge is that the dentist used different abutments and the salty tingly effect was gone - BONUS.
One more hurdle is that I now will be having gum tissue graft over a couple of the teeth and hope this will be less horrible than the extraction and implant placement. Of course I am not looking forward to this additional proceedure but am told it is necessary for the longterm health of the area around one of the implants where extensive gum work was done at the time of placement.
Once the teeth are loaded I will report back.
One thing I do notice is that the implants/bridge seem very stiff and solid compared with natural teeth, not that one feels them moving but they do not feel as cement like as the implants. Perhaps when the teeth are loaded they will feel a bit more natural.
I hope our exchange of correspondence may be useful for others going through this work.
Thanks so much for your advice and help
Judith C