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My experience of Zygomatic implants.

Yes it is,the trial teeth on the impression stage are only made in wax,so that any adjustments can be made,my dentist did say to me,its best to make sure that they are as you want them,as once the final bridge is done it will be too late.

I should have had my permanent ones done on the 9 th of September, but with having the different alterations done,and then the technician being on holiday meant the work wasnt back,then the dentist on holiday,so its taken a lot longer,but I do want them to be right,especially after what they have cost,haha.

Like you,I felt that they were too big,whilst my lips were relaxed and slightly apart,I could see too much of the teeth,rabbit sprung to mind,haha.

Anyway,try and cheer up,and think about the lovely new teeth you will have in another few months time,and by then you should be well used to the feel,and healing will be complete.

Good luck with it all,and keep us posted.
Coral.
 
Hi there,
No,I haven't got them yet,on my last appointment one or two adjustments had to me made on the wax model,I had the teeth made slightly smaller as I thought they looked a little bit big,and also felt that they pertruded slightly,but anyway,this time they were perfect,fit great ,comfortable, spot on,but they were still in wax,as he wanted to make sure I was totally happy with the look and fit.

So the next appointment is on the 11th November, and will definitely be the permanent ones,and I can't wait,as with all the healing process there is a bit of a gap now between the roof of my mouth and my teeth,although not loose or anything,still screwed in tight,but it is still annoying,and cleaning is a bit of an issue,with food getting trapped inbetween the gap,this is the reason they have to allow 6 months before they fit the final permanent bridge,so that the mouth can fully heal before final bridge is screwed in.
Will keep you posted,and do the final chapter of my journal on completion of my treatment.

Hope you are feeling better now,and learning how to cope with the feel of a denture,as it does feel awful at first.

Take care,and all the best.
Coral.

Sounds like you are nearly finished, good lucky Jo
 
Hi everyone,
I had my very last dental appointment today,I finally got my new permanent denture fitted.
It has just taken exactly 9 months from the date of my treatment in March,it was supposed to be 6 months,but with one thing and another,hols etc,it became 9.

I have got to say that they look great,and all the trauma etc has been well worth it.
I have no regrets whatsoever.

So I guess that brings me to the end of my journal,I thank you all who have been following it,and if anyone is thinking of having this done,I would say definitely go for it,and if you need any help or advice regarding this treatment,I will be only too willing to help,going by my own experience.

Good luck to everyone in your own dental journeys.
Regards.
Coral:jump:
 
Very good news Coral! Congrats! I am 4 months post op and looking forward to where you are at. I think understanding this is a long process and 6 months is just an estimate, the finish product is worth it.

Enjoy!
 
Great Journal Coral! I am 1 month post op today from immediate load implants. I had 25 teeth removed, 8 upper implants and 6 lower implants placed and loaded the same day. I describe the surgery as tough enough to bring a linebacker to his knees. I too had a great deal of pain for a few days to a week after. At 4 weeks now, I am experiencing what you did at your 6 weeks. I have a post op appt. in 2 days. Thank you for being honest and describing what you were feeling every step of the way. It is a great help and makes me feel like I am progressing normally.

I am from the US and had my surgery done by a world class surgeon. I am very happy with the way they look. Not sure about function yet as they are bothering me. No real pain, just discomfort and annoyance. Her in the US., they cost $45,000.00 US dollars.

Thanks again Coral!

Donna
May I ask which oral surgeon in the US that did your surgery? I am looking for a surgeon that is an expert . Much thanks
 
Hi Thank you so much for sharing your experience which I found extremely useful .I will be having Zygomatic implant and wish to ask you how is it now also did they have to cut the gums and have stiches or was it used with 3D scanning technology to produce a precise replica model of the upper jaw bone. This allows to visualise the precise shape and topography of the jaw and cheekbone, without having to carry out a wide surgical exposure. using special 'guides' that help to accurately put implants directly into the correct position.
PLease let me know as the latest procedure preventing cutting throught the gum which procedure did you go throught .

Kind regards and best of luck
Kas
 
Hi,
It will be a year in March since I first had my treatment, and everything is fine now.

The 3d scanning was done prior to the treatment to allow precision placement of the implants, but they did have to cut the gums, and place stitches.
I think for me that this was the worst part, as the incision site was a painful bulky ridge, which made eating and drinking a somewhat painful task.
Once this was healed, the rest of the symptoms weren't too bad, and I didn't seem to have much pain from anything else, the other problem, I experienced was the numbness, caused by the stretching of the nerves, this did last for about 6 months before it went completely, but now it has all gone back to normal.


I hope this helps, and don't hesitate to ask if you need to know anything else, I will be only too pleased to help.

Good luck with your treatment, and I hope everything goes well. I am sure you won't be disappointed with the end result.
The first 2 weeks of healing are not so good, but after this, things start to get better.
Good luck.
Coral
 
Hi Coral

Thank you so much for all the support and your fast response which is helping me a lot and of course your experience .
I will not need to have the gum cut or stitches because they are using a guided computer 3D template which will determine the exact position and angle of the drilling they assure me that I will be normal within a week due that no cutting and stitches required ie please see the link bellow


I will be going through the procedure in June 2015
Please note that your experience shared was vital to a lot of people and thank you so much for this as you convince me to go ahead and what to expect and this will prepare me morally and physically.
When you had your temp denture fitted how long was it for you to eat normally ? also after the final fit did this hurt and how did you feel than ie pain eating etc

I will be in touch and also will share my experience with other.

Un grand merci
Kas
 
Hi there,
I am so pleased that you found my journal to be helpful, I know that I would have appreciated being forewarned before I went ahead, then I would have known what to expect, but instead I went into it blindly, believing it would be all ok in about a week.

However if you have read my journal you will know it doesn't come without pain and discomfort for more than any week.
If you are not having cuts and stitches, then you are lucky, you may not experience as much discomfort as I did.
This must be a newer technique, but even so, I think things will be pretty sore and swollen, and relatively tender for a while.

I was able to eat normally after about 2 weeks with the temporary denture fitted, it felt strange at first though, and does take a bit of getting used to.
Although, they do advise not to eat anything hard to chew, and to stick to soft meats like chicken, for the duration of the temporary bridge.

They started taking impressions for the final denture at about 5 months post op.
They say it takes about 6 months for the mouth to fully heal.
The impressions were nothing, and completely painless, as was the fitting of the final denture.

You did not say if the implants are the upper or lower, or both, mine was the upper, but i am going in May for the lower ones done,my surgeon says this won't be anywhere near as bad, as no cutting to the lower, or it will be under the bridge.

Hope this helps, and don't worry , you will be fine, and not have any regrets.
Kindest regards
Coral
 
Hi Coral

I will have both done upper and lower and will have all extraction and Zygomatic implant screws done the same day ,extraction in the morning and implant in the afternoon I just found another clinic called Brighton dental clinic , have you heard about them ?

A bientot

Kas
 
Hi Kas,
No, I haven't heard of them, but when I was doing my research , with very little information about at that time, I struggled to get any surgeons that actually did this treatment, there was a few in the London area, but I am from Yorkshire, so wasn't much good to me, but I did see that other one you mentioned, they popped up in the listing lots of times.

I have noticed now, that there is a bit more choice of surgeons doing this treatment, and also a bit cheaper than mine were, but I just think if they have been around longer, then they are probably a bit more experienced, so i decided to have lower ones done with the same surgeon, tried and tested ,haha.
So if I were you, I would stick to the one who has been performing this treatment the longest.

Of course, you do have to pick someone that is not too far away, as there are a hell of a lot of appointments, and if any problems did occur, then it's not too much hassle to go back.
This is the main reason I couldn't go to the London area, it is a 4 hour drive, so was out of the question.

So choose with care, weigh up all the pros and cons, even ask if you could speak to someone who has had the treatment done by them.
My dentist did ask me if I would like to have a chat with someone who had the treatment done, he gave her my number and she phoned me, it really put my mind at rest being able to ask her what she thought.
She was over the moon, just as I am now, but even she, didn't warn me of the 2 weeks of suffering, but I suppose you soon forget, if I hadn't have written the journal, I would not have remembered all the details.
So choose wisely.
Good luck.

Kindest regards.
Coral
 
Hi Coral

Thank you again for all the precious information .
One London quote were in their 40k for both Jaws and one in Brighton half of that , due I suppose that they actually have their own technician in house and do 100 ' s a week in their 3 clinics also they are based in Howe and Brighton instead of centre London so what do you think ?,both procedure are the same the only difference is that for Zycomatic implant Dawood did this the longest and Brighton quite recently with a 100% success rate also after reading 218 Brighton reviews they were all positive.

I will be asking to speak to some patient before deciding .

A bientot
Kas
 
Hi Kas,
Errrmm, yes, I have read some of the reviews, it seems that most of them are for standard implants, which have been around quite sometime, if you remember from my journal, I started off with the standard implants some 10 years ago, these didn't last long unfortunately, due to the lack of bone.
So my advice would be to use the one who has done the Zygomatic treatments the longest, as like I said, it's a relatively new procedure, so you don't want any novices.

The surgeon who did my 1st standard implants, has done 100s, but yet, he was the 1st one I contacted when I learned of the Zygomatic ones and he hadn't even heard of them, let alone do them, so that's why I had to look elsewhere.

I think it has to be your choice, go for a free consultation at both, (most offer this), then see who you feel the most comfortable with, after all you need to have a good feeling about who is treating you.

Not an easy decision, but one that isn't to be taken lightly, so do more research if you have to.
Unlike you, I didn't have to make that decision, there was only one practice within a reasonable distance from me, so i didn't have much choice, but the surgical team were brilliant, and all well experienced, think it was a team of 5 who did it.

All the best, let me know who you decide to go with.

Kindest regards.
Coral (Sheila)
 
Thank you again Sheila

The Brighton the cheapest one apparently has been doing the procedure for over a year and half will let you know when I go and see them both.

A very good week end to you.

Kas
 
Hi Kas,
Actually, I wouldn't have thought that a year was long enough for this treatment, my dentist had done it for 2 years, prior to my treatment, there was a team of 5 surgeons, and each had their own practice, they get together and travel around doing the treatment, but in 2 years they have only done about 20 procedures.

After all, this is not an everyday run of the mill treatment, and comes with a high price tag,not one that everyone can afford.
Also most people cannot get so much time off work to incooperate all the healing time, and appointments, so clients will not be in abundance.

At the end of the day though it is your decision, and this is only my opinion, but like I said, I could get my lower jaw done a lot cheaper now than from the surgeon I used, but I prefer to pay for the experience. .

Anyway, you have plenty of time to think about it if you are not going ahead until June, so no rush really.
I am sure you will know better after consultations with both.

I wish you luck with it all, and keep me informed, and remember, I will be here if you need any support at all.

I hope you too have a good weekend, and relax, and don't be stressing over implants, haha.

All the best.
Sheila
 
Quick update.
After having the Zygomatic implants in my upper jaw, and having great success, i am now having the 'all on four' same day teeth on the lower jaw, a similar type of treatment, but not half as invasive.
I must be a glutton for punishment.

My treatment is booked for June 3rd, so i will be writing another journal regarding this procedure.
I hope my journal on the Zygomatic implants has helped those of you who have had, or having, or considering this particular treatment, as I went into it blindly, without any idea of what to expect, but this time around I will know just what to expect, as it is a similar treatment, but I am informed that it is not nearly as problematic, not being as invasive, so hopefully they are right.

So good luck to everyone.
Regards.
Coral
 
Hi again everyone.
As expected once I arrived home I felt awful all night,so just laid on the sofa all night and watched TV,dosing up on the prescribed paracetamols and ibuprofen, I did invest in a gel ice pack, which I found to be a godsend, and cooled my face down somewhat.
As I hadn't eaten all day,I did try to eat something, as I know you have to build up strength to recover from any surgery,the advice was not to have any hot drinks,and nothing that had to be chewed for at least 24 hours.
To have chewed anything would have been a physical impossibility, I did manage to slurp down a bit of scrambled egg,it was really quite difficult,so not only did I look like a 'miss piggy',I sounded like one too.ha ha.
As expected I didn't sleep much the evening of the surgery day,and was up the following day at 6 am.

DAY 1. 13/3
Wow,felt absolutely shocking, my face had swollen up even more,my mouth was sore and throbbing, I had a large bulky ridge across the front of my mouth from the incision site,a pounding headache, dizziness when standing, and nasal congestion.
Speaking was very difficult and sounded as if I were blowing raspberries through my teeth.
My top lip was still very numb,as were my cheeks,had a great ' trout pout' though,people pay hundreds for this ha ha.
My mouth was burning up,so i rushed to get out the ice pack again and dose up on the pain meds.
By 11 am I was quite hungry,so managed to eat some sloppy porridge oats,or should I say slurp it,couldn't have it hot at all though,my mouth was much too sore.
For tea,I had a Greek style yogurt with mashed up banana which was quite nice actually.
I decided I must follow all the advice on my after surgery care sheet,so as it was now 24 hrs post op,I rinsed my mouth out several times with salt water,and corsadyl mouthwash alternatively.
So a day of keeping on top of the pain and discomfort, and carrying on as best I could.
With this type of surgery I did expect a degree of pain and discomfort, but I was really not prepared for this.

DAY 2. 14/03
Up again at 6.30,not much sleep again,no improvement on symptoms, in fact they were worse my cheeks were burning up more than ever and my new bridge felt like it was too big for my mouth and rubbing on the inside of my cheeks,and my mouth feels like an inferno.
Still dribbling, spitting, and blowing raspberries when speaking, and eating what i could manage to slurp down easily,so yet another lazy day just popping the pills, rinsing and icing and watching TV.

DAY 3. 15/03
OMG,no change ,still got all the awful symptoms,they just aren't easing off at all, is this normal,should I still be feeling like this,should I contact the surgery,????its Saturday no one will be there, I was really starting to panic,surely I should be improving slightly by now,I was really quite worried but I somehow got through the day,with the aid of the pain meds,the ice pack and the mouthwash.

DAY 4. 16/03
Yay,I slept till 8 30,got up a little bit more sprightly this morning, I noticed the swelling had gone down slightly ,come to think of it,pain is not as bad,am I finally getting over the worst ?,as this 4 th day has progressed I am feeling much better,still got discomfort in my mouth, and still have difficulty in eating and drinking but my speech is improving and my cheeks have cooled down a lot ,I have still got some numbness,but not half as bad ,also i have been able to cut down on the pain meds too,hopefully I am now on the mend and the only way is up.
This brings me up to date now,but I will post again in a couple of days with any further progress.
Kind Regards.
Coral 251

Dear Coral, you have no idea how much it means to me to read your experience as I am about to undergo the same, two zygomatic implants in each cheek in about six weeks time and I am terrified!:scared: I have had a plate in for a year attached to two of my implants which have all failed, all seven of them, they are still in but I can see them all, no gum over them, all gone. The dentist who did them gave me all my money back! Thank God because the craniofacial surgeon who is going to do the surgery is going to take it all off me again - then the prosthodontist will want to be paid for the temporaries lasting six months, then the permanent teeth hopefully lasting the rest of my life.
Hang in there and please do continue to post, so appreciated. I will not have teeth for 48 hours, then they will be fitted and after the surgery I will have a PCA (patient controlled analgsia, morphine pump). I don't think you should have been left alone for four days, that sounds rough. Hope you are feeling better, it's Easter Saturday today here in South Australia. I came here from UK when I was 17, now I am 60 this year.
Keep smiling on the inside Coral:) Cheers!
 
Hi kas, my name is Jo I have been to Brighton clinic for consultation and having the same thing done. I am very scared. I have been quoted 16,000. Don't know whether to go ahead or not. Hope yours are successful
 
Hi there Lightspirit
I am sure you will be fine, and once you get your temporary denture you do have to be careful what you eat, nothing too hard to chew, as the temporary one is not metal reinforced as the permanent is.
I finished with all my treatment in November 2014, I now have a lovely set of permanent top teeth, so now I am going to have the all on four treatment on the lower jaw.
I wish you every success with your treatment, and once the healing period is over, you certainly won't regret it.

All the best.
Coral
 
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