• Dental Phobia Support

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Dental surgery today

S

ShannonCannon

Junior member
Joined
Jun 19, 2019
Messages
1
Location
New York
I am having a bit of dental anxiety this morning. Over the past 18 months I've had the majority of my teeth removed, all but one surgically, and I am in the "process" of fixing the remaining teeth so I can get my partials. Part of this was getting a root canal on # 2,3 but my dental insurance kicked it back and said the teeth aren't salvageable. Today I go in to get them surgically removed. I know it's best, but they are my last remaining "teeth set" on the top/bottom, meaning: it's the only part of my mouth with any chewing capacity because teeth are present on the top and bottom. That is about to go away. I will effectively be unable to chew things after today. Knowing that we haven't even started the process of fitting my denture and my last filling isn't even scheduled until MID-AUGUST, I am terrified. I am frustrated. I am realizing that it was these same teeth on the other side that caused tremendous pain for days due to a traumatic extraction. Different dental surgeon this time, (who did a great job removing a tooth last month but I felt pain relief was a bit inadequate over the following days since I can't take NSAIDS). He's fabulous and more than competent. Yet, I can't help feeling anxious. I hate that I won't be able to eat. I know soups, soft foods, and smoothies are available so I'll survive but I can't help having a feeling of immense loss and sadness. I want to reschedule but since I am a stroke patient on blood thinners it took some medical coordination to get the "go ahead." I don't want to mess up the process, or draw it out any longer. It has already taken so long, with so many medical specialties signing off here; wait, wait, wait... And getting approvals there; wait, wait, wait... and I've had no front teeth for over a year. I don't know what I expect in the coming days. Will my jaw become completely unaligned? I'm an ESL teacher. Will I still be able to perform the duties of my job, including helping with pronunciation and enunciation? I wear a digital mask so my missing teeth are occluded but what happens if I can't enunciate? I'm just plum nervous in a way I have never been before. I have spoken to a prosthodontist about temporary dentures since they aren't covered under my insurance. His rates are reasonable but still higher than I originally thought ($1500, I thought about $800). I am hoping I can afford them with a payment plan because I doubt my credit is high enough to get CareCredit. I've been too afraid to try since I'm declined for so many things and now I'm fixing my credit I'm concerned about hard inquiries. It just all seems so bleak. Pain. I am afraid of pain and inadequate relief. 12 pills for one tooth hardly covered me and I stretched them. 12 for two further back will, IDK? I hope to be less painful because of location? Speaking. I am afraid my ability to speak, and therefore feed my 5 children, will change. I am afraid of being unable to get enough proper nutrition into my body. I am already such a picky eater and I went from 132 at the beginning of this endeavor and I'm effectively down to 117. Losing teeth and eating smaller quantities and taking longer to eat (so you feel your signals properly at least) has been the BEST weight loss assistant. However, I really DON'T need to lose ANY MORE. I really don't. So, I just wanted to be transparent. My family thinks of me as a warrior. The 37-year-old foster-adoptive mom who survived a TIA at 32. The former-ICU-peds-nurse-turned-ESL-teacher can do anything! I can't. I feel broken. I'll be a little less me by 4:30. Does anyone have any advice, words, or IDK... ideas for better healing of the mouth and the mind? Has anyone been here, or remotely here, before?
 
I had all of my remaining teeth removed (about 12 of them) a couple of years ago and didn't have an immediate denture. I was worried about not being able to speak properly, but had very little trouble on that front. By the second or third day I was speaking without any trouble at all. I don't know of anyone who's more picky than I am with regard to food, but I found quite a lot to eat that was both nutritious and easy to eat. I also lost the one place I had to eat, and also mourned the loss of the last of my natural teeth. I countered that though, with positive thoughts about how good I would look when I smiled, and how I wouldn't always be worrying about bacteria circulating from the teeth that were not at all healthy. I also really looked forward to eating foods that I'd been missing out on for quite a while because even though I had that one "spot" to chew on, it wasn't a molar meeting a molar, so I couldn't eat things like steak and BLT's (my favourites!). I hope that you don't have as much after-pain as you did last time. Good luck today!
 
Everything you are experiencing is completely natural.

Good luck. Keep us posted.
 
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