Hi mo,
I feel so bad that you have gone through so much with this tooth. Your dental problem is very common and just so you know.... everything you have written indicates an infection. The sooner you get this tooth out the better!
Your situation is a bit different than Alex in that you had the apicoectomy which in itself causes a void in the bone above the tooth. The dentist will not know the extent of the void until he removes the tooth. Again, this condition is always seen when a apico has been done.
The down time after the extraction varies from person to person. It would be a good idea to plan on a few restful days after the extraction and prepare a nutritious, soft food diet ahead of time. One that you can easily put together without too much thought. Unless your dentist instructs you otherwise, it is also important to wear the flipper for the first 24 hours after the extraction and then the next day take it out to clean it, give your mouth a rest and then wear it for several more hours the second day. By the third day you may need to see your dentist for an adjustment. Wearing the flipper at the onset does a few things. One, it acts as a bandade and protection over the extraction site. Second, it prevents the gum tissue from swelling alot. Third, the shape of the tooth on the flipper acts like a template along the gum as the surgical site is healing. So it's advantageous to wear the flipper as much as possible in the beginning and also throughout the healing process because it can actually help shape the level of gum tissue so the permanent restoration will look more natural.
I know this is scary and you'd rather do anything other than this..... but you realy will be fine. Please try not to worry and please keep in touch here!
Bryanna
Quote:
Originally Posted by mo27
Thank you both so much for your responses! You both made me feel better. I went to pick up the "flipper" today. It's basically what I pictured, it looks like a retainer kinda thing. Hopefully I don't have trouble talking or eating with it. It does make me hopeful to know that your experience hasn't been too bad. The eating thing does sort of concern me but I guess I can't worry until I see what happens. I will definitely let you both know in a week or so how it goes. Alex, I am getting an implant, but they weren't able to tell me how long I will have the flipper until the tooth comes out and they see what's going on. How long do you have to wear your flipper for? Did you have a bone graft too? If so how was it?
The weirdest part about this for me is the fact that my tooth never once hurt me. My root canaled tooth appeared to be getting longer, falling almost so I asked my dentist about it. It never hurt or felt lose. He noticed a gray area on the xray and had me to go to an oral surgeon. After many mistakes and a pointless apicoectomy I found out the root was fractured. Now after that my tooth is bothering me a bit but I think that's because I made the mistake of even letting them do the apico before exploring what it was. Live and learn I guess! And now my tooth is starting to look a different color and all that, so I am sure in the end I will like my new tooth better.
One more question for you.. How long did it take you to recover after getting the extraction and flipper? I guess I just want to mentally prepare myself for how many days I will need after.
Thank you both again so much, you are very helpful! I'm glad I found this site.
Maureen  |