A couple of months ago I posted some questions about a dry socket/pain that developed after having 4 teeth pulled at once from various locations in my mouth. You were able to help me then so perhaps you can help with my current questions.

I KNOW I need a lot of work done on my mouth because for many reasons (some good and some not so good) my dental health has been neglected for many many years. I cannot have root canals so that's why those four teeth were pulled a few months ago. After I went in for my cleaning in February and to follow up after having those teeth pulled (with a different dentist because things didn't go so great with the extractions and care after the fact) we came up with a plan for crowns for the front teeth (there were so many cavities and various issues that crowns were only slightly more expensive than getting all the cavities filled). I felt good about the plan but wanted to wait a few months so that I could 1) let my mouth recover from the dry socket and various complications and 2) so I could save up some money and not have to finance the expensive dental work. The plan was to wait until May to get the work done.

Of course...my teeth had other plans. In early March one of my front teeth just broke off at the gum line. So I headed back to the dentist to figure out how this would affect the plans and what needed to be done to deal with this now very unsightly broken tooth at the front of my mouth. So we sat down and came up with a new plan to remove the rest of the broken tooth (not enough left to put a crown on it). We also decided to finally pull this horrible eye tooth that was WAY out of alignment with everything else up towards the top of my gums (not even down by the rest of my teeth at all). Then we would put in a bridge to span those front teeth. The dentist acknowledged that this is not the best long term solution but short term it would deal with the immediate issues of appearance and pain as well as give them an idea of the condition of the other front teeth (which he was worried looked like they might break off like this other one just had...especially the one that was right next to it). The dentist put in writing that he would credit 2/3 of the cost of this work towards future crowns or implants in the future whenever I decide to invest in a better long term solution to the problem.

Okay...so I went ahead and had this work done Tuesday morning. Got there at 6am and left a little after noon (this was done under sedation...that's why such a long appointment). During this appointment they extracted the two teeth and placed a temporary bridge in my mouth which spans a total of 7 teeth. Yesterday (Wednesday) morning I went back in and they checked the bite and did some additional drilling where my bottom teeth were hitting the bridge and making it difficult to close my mouth all the way. I slept most of Tuesday after I got home so Wednesday morning was really the only time I had to really try and adjust to this new feeling and try to explain at the dentist's office how the new bridge felt. Never having had this done before I really didn't/don't know what is normal and what is not. Some of my questions and concerns were addressed at the appointment and some not and some are things that I have become concerned/curious about since leaving the dentist yesterday. So I was wondering if you guys could help me out with some of my questions about what it normal and what is not and if there is anything I should follow up with the dentist on sooner than my next appointment (in three weeks). So here goes:

1. The bridge feels heavy. This honestly feels better today than yesterday and I am wondering if maybe it just feels that way because the gums are so sensitive from all the work done...or if it's something I should be concerned about. This is just the temporary one...so they told me at the dentist's office that it won't feel as natural as the permanent one once they put that in and that I may be feeling awkward because they HAVE changed my bite significantly with the bridge. Makes sense I guess...just curious if that "heavy" feeling is normal...like something is pulling down on my gums?

2. On either side of the bridge it feels like the teeth are hitting the outside of my mouth. That doesn't sound right...it's the INSIDE of my mouth but on the outer part just above where my upper lip is. Do you think this is just from swelling and will go away in a few days? I have a VERY tiny mouth so I guess I'm just worried that the bridge may be a little large for my small mouth. Probably just worried about nothing but no one really answered this question at my dentist's office.

3. They did a bunch of drilling yesterday while I was there to adjust the bridge where my lower teeth were hitting it. Since then it feels like the entire bridges has shifted there the top of the bridge on the back side has moved up into the contour of the roof of my mouth. At least...that's what it feels like when my tongue runs along it and there is increased pain in that area. Plus, when I tried to clean in there like they showed me with floss in between the teeth at the top by the gums...there's on place where the floss and pick won't go through and it did yesterday at the dentist's office. So would it really shift like that or are the gums at the top of the bridge/roof of my mouth just hard and raw and sore from all the work that was done? I tried to look with a mirror but I just can't see anything well at all. I think I'm just paranoid...but would also like to point out that while it felt better after they did the drilling with my lower teeth barely touching the bridge after they were done...it's now MORE comfortable and the lower teeth don't touch at all. So it's not necessarily a bad thing because on the one hand it's more comfortable bite wise and on the other I'm having pain in the gums back there at the rood of my mouth and top of the bridge.

4. Where the eye tooth was extracted...it is black all around the top of the bridge. There's clearly a big hole there but when I floss/use the pick they gave me between that tooth and the teeth next to it, it's all black and oozy. No pain though or bad taste...just black and oozy. There was a LOT of decay in that tooth because of where it was and it had many cavities that were filled over 10 years ago. Does this sound normal and is there anything I should do to take care of it and clean it besides what I am already doing (brushing, flossing, mouth rinse)? It's odd because unlike when I had the four teeth extracted a couple months ago, these teeth have something placed over them so the wounds are not open in the same way the others were and I can't flush them out in like I could the others. The tooth that was broken and that they pulled the rest of looks fine and you cannot see any difference in the gums over that tooth than the rest...just where that eye tooth was which was in really bad shape. If the back pus continues to seep out...should I go back to the dentist. They had to see it yesterday when I was there and they didn't say anything about it or about caring for it differently.

5. Obviously I have soreness and tenderness in my gums and face after having all this work done. At what point will it be normal for this to die down...a week? Two weeks? Just curious more than anything else so I can know if I should be worrying as time goes on. I cannot use ice packs so I think I just have to deal with the puffiness and swelling without much to help calm it down.

6. When biting into food there is a definite pressure. I am fairly certain this is normal given the way a bridge works with it being over several teeth and all. Does it ever go away or do you just get used to it? Is it less once the permanent bridge is put in vs the temporary I have in now.

7. I talk with a slight lisp now with the bridge in. I assume I just have to get used to the feel of it and then that will go away. Is that normal or should I be worried that maybe it's not the right fit for me.

Overall I am very happy with the appearance of the bridge and at this point I don't have any serious concerns. But because I am used to dealing with pretty high pain levels I do worry that I might ignore signs of more serious issues because I can "deal" with the pain and soreness. I've been taking Tylenol and Advil for the pain and have needed to take them every 4 hours to keep the soreness at a manageable level. I also want to make sure that if any of these things I am experiencing are signs that the bridge needs adjustment that I am not waiting the full three weeks before telling the dentist and then having to wait even longer for the permanent bridge. I know they will tinker with the temporaries until we have it right and the gums are healed and where they should be before we get the permanent ones in...I just would rather not prolong that process unknowingly by not bringing something to the attention of my dentist. I also don't want to be a paranoid bother to my dentist if all of this is normal and I am worrying unnecessarily about things that are perfectly normal.

Okay...that was really long and I apologize. Just trying to get it all out and try to be as clear as possible (I know some of my descriptions may or may not make sense...hard to describe certain things).

Thanks in advance for any help in answering my questions or easing my concerns. All advice is very much appreciated and was a big help a few months back.