Friday, May 25, 2007

An extraction and two posts

Well that wasn't as painful as I was expecting but that was mainly because I was doped up to the eyeballs. The extraction of the molar was the part I was least looking forward to. The work was done under a local but I was also sedated with a drip feed into the arm. I don't know what was in there but three hours of my life disappeared down a chemical black hole.

When I came to Dad was there as the "responsible adult" to make sure I got home safely. I had an hour's kip, we strolled down to the chemist to pick up a prescription for antibiotics, then - duty discharged - Dad went back to Farnham. When the anaesthetic wore off it was not too painful, no need for more paracetamol this morning. Now it is a soft diet for three months while the bone grows in and bonds to the implants.

ct scan of jaw showing site of implants
CT scan of jaw showing site of implants

This is the CT scan I had done last week with the implants superimposed. The yellow is the implant and the green is the post that takes the crown. Number 36 is where the cantelivered crown was. Number 37 is where the extraction was and had to move close to the adjacent tooth because of the hole left by the split root. That will fill with bone over the next few months - the human body is a wonderful thing!

3 comments:

Rosa said...

What is that orange thingy? That scan is too cool. I love looking at these new fandangled "pictures" they're able to capture these days. A lot better than the old negatives, I tell you! So glad you are not in need of high doses of narcotics! That's a good sign. Bet you're glad this is over! Aren't we just keeping the dental profession in business, between the two of us!

Mark McLellan said...

Rosa. Indeed we two are doing our best to keep them in the black. That orange thingy marks the location of the nerve channel that runs down the jawbone and is to be avoided when drilling the holes for the implant.

I have since discovered that the sedative was Midazolam (aka Versed). According to Wikipedia it is "It has powerful anxiolytic, amnestic, hypnotic, anticonvulsant, skeletal muscle relaxant and sedative properties. It is considered a fast-acting benzodiazepine, with a short elimination half-life. It is therefore a very useful drug to use for short minor procedures such as dental extraction."

The more I think about what was done to me (and looking at all the stitches around the area) the happier I am that I was not really conscious for the operation.

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Ouch! Poor you! I do sympathise.