Getting front tooth extracted and temporary flipper

[jian27]

This was a great thread. I have to get #8 extracted and bone grafting. I am getting an implant but have a lot of bone loss due to an undetected abscess. I had a tooth injury when I was a kid, and never knew the tooth was dying...no pain until a huge abscess this past year.

So I thought that when you had bone grafting you could not put any pressure on the site. It sounds like you all had your flippers put in immediately after the extraction and grafting. How does that work?

Hi, MountainMama

From my experience, the bone grafting is done, stitched up nicely and a temporary membrane is placed which helps with the gum healing and serves as a barrier. This membrane eventually fell off after a week or two which is normal. So with the stitching and membrane in place, my oral surgeon was able to place the flipper and show me how to take it on and off. Because the tooth extraction site was numb, I didn’t feel anything right away. After an hour or so I felt everything but nothing the ibuprofen couldn’t take care of. If there’s any discomfort it’s probably due to pressure that your surrounding teeth/gum has immediately after the surgery and up to a few days. You’ll know if the flipper is causing any pressure after popping it on and off (after a few days/initial pressure has worn off) and you might need to have your oral surgeon or cosmetic dentist make an adjustment on the flipper (which is pretty fast...like a few minutes).

As long as you follow instructions and don’t put pressure on the extraction site or try to use your flipper for chewing then you should be ok! Also for me...as much as possible I didn’t wear the flipper while at home. There was no point to since it was my family and I didn’t care if they saw me with my missing front tooth. I think that helped with healing and not causing unnecessary pressure.

As an update to everyone that’s been following this thread in which I responded to previously...

July 2018: Tooth extraction and bone grafting, flipper wearer for months!

December 2018: Got the implant surgically placed. Still wore the flipper and Essix retainer (I switched back and forth since the flipper was fragile). Oral surgeon wanted me to heal for another 5 months.

May 2019: Oral surgeon checked my healing and gave me the green light to see my cosmetic dentist to start on my FINAL CROWN!

• impressions done of my mouth
• Color selection for final crown. The dentist will take photos of your natural teeth next to their sample crowns of various colors and really try to match it to your natural teeth.
• final crown can take 3-4 weeks with whatever dental lab they use

June 2019: Went back to cosmetic dentist for final crown placement. The final crown is temporarily cemented because the color doesn’t exactly match. So my dentist wants me to wear it to see if the color will bother me...pretty much doing a trial run with my crown. If I don’t like it, he’ll take it out and send it back to the lab to adjust the color which may take another few weeks. Errr...

Future appointment- July 2019: to make my decision on whether my cosmetic dentist should permanently cement the final crown or take it out for color adjustment.

This whole dental implant journey is a process but totally worth it in the end. Time flies by.

If anyone has questions, let me know!

 

[Kate2022]

so glad to find this thread. I was wondering if you need to brush your teeth after every single meal/snacks? I feel so inconvenient since I’ve been doing that. Putting on the flipper is a challenge for me. So I tend to skip meals and snacks. I eat only lunch and dinner, so I can get used to wear my flipper before and after lunch. My tooth extraction, bone grafting and implant are happening altogether next Tuesday. I’ve been so nervous and tried to hard to avoid myself being sick and guessed what, I caught a flu on Thursday (not covid). It’s Wednesday and I am not 100% recovered. I don’t want to postpone my appointment because that means I might have to wait for another month! We all know how uncomfortable it feels without a front tooth. But then I am worries about the general anesthesia during the oral surgery. I was given a sleeping pill to take before the surgery, but I don’t know how to swallow pills and I was told only a small sip of water. I really don’t know how it’s going to happen.

 

[jian27]

@Kate2022

Hi there! Glad you found this thread useful! It has been sometime since I’ve been on and responded!

Hoping you recover soon fast from the flu and feel 100% by Tuesday! If you’re stressing, just try your best to relax and take it easy to help with your recovery.

Cleaning/Brushing/Rinsing- I definitely rinsed my mouth each time I ate to ensure I didn’t get any food particles stuck in/around the extraction site. This also helped with making sure I just kept up with good oral hygiene to prevent any possible infections. In the morning and night I would obviously brush my teeth/entire mouth without the flipper on.

I also cleaned the flipper gently with water and soap. I was told not to use toothpaste and to be gentle since the flipper is pretty fragile.

You might want to talk to your oral surgeon/dentist about the sleeping pill. I was never given one since I was awake during my procedure in 2018. But if you have an issue with pills talk to doctors and see what other methods they might have? I understand why they said only a small sip of water because when you’re under general anesthesia you’re suppose to have an empty stomach (no food/liquids like 12 hrs prior). Just FYI, I did have all 4 wisdom teeth pulled in January and was under general anesthesia for that but it was via an IV that knocked me out. No sleeping pill prescribed.

Wishing you the best of luck for procedure and recovery afterwards!

 

[Kate2022]

@Kate2022

Hi there! Glad you found this thread useful! It has been sometime since I’ve been on and responded!

Hoping you recover soon fast from the flu and feel 100% by Tuesday! If you’re stressing, just try your best to relax and take it easy to help with your recovery.

Cleaning/Brushing/Rinsing- I definitely rinsed my mouth each time I ate to ensure I didn’t get any food particles stuck in/around the extraction site. This also helped with making sure I just kept up with good oral hygiene to prevent any possible infections. In the morning and night I would obviously brush my teeth/entire mouth without the flipper on.

I also cleaned the flipper gently with water and soap. I was told not to use toothpaste and to be gentle since the flipper is pretty fragile.

You might want to talk to your oral surgeon/dentist about the sleeping pill. I was never given one since I was awake during my procedure in 2018. But if you have an issue with pills talk to doctors and see what other methods they might have? I understand why they said only a small sip of water because when you’re under general anesthesia you’re suppose to have an empty stomach (no food/liquids like 12 hrs prior). Just FYI, I did have all 4 wisdom teeth pulled in January and was under general anesthesia for that but it was via an IV that knocked me out. No sleeping pill prescribed.

Wishing you the best of luck for procedure and recovery afterwards!

Thank you for the information. I’ve been having hard time putting the flipper. I spent an hour and still couldn’t get it it. Very frustrated and I gave up and not been wearing it for the entire day. Dental office won’t open until next Monday to help me with this issue. Do you have issue putting in ur flipper?

I don’t get to talk to the oral surgeon directly. It’s the front desk person who responded to my email and she only gave one or two words answer for each question I asked. Not knowing if I can be fully recovered by Tuesday, I just had to postpone the appointment for another two weeks to avoid the $295 cancellation fee. I feel very frustrated. It’s been almost a month since I broke my front tooth and still haven’t extracted yet. The oral surgeon is always so busy. When I was there for my consultation, the dental office was like a supermarket, full of people. They scheduled 3 patients with same appointment time. So only chatted for no more than 10 minutes and rushing to leave already. The billing person who went through the bill with me in a tiny office took off her mask when I went in. I feel like she wasn’t being professional at all because the office stated that mask is required. That’s why when I first started having dirt throat, I thought it was covid because of her!

Everything just come all at once (broken tooth and being sick). I‘Ve been so depressed and avoid my toddler girl being sick, I neglected her a lot within the past couple of weeks. I feel so bad. And not sure how long this will last.

 

[swafford]

i wanted to share my experience so far its only been a few days. there was 2 posts on here that i said wow i wonder if these people went to the same place as me! and also the information they give you on a flipper at the peridontist is well, 0

so lets start with the first 2 things i had in common with others

1. "all the information is in your pamphlet" yah ok, i got home and NONE was in it about having a flipper. it was mostly about having a iv and gauze bandages, 2 things i didnt even have.

2. "they never answer their phones" this is true as well. if you have a really hard time even making a appointment at a place, expect the same when you have a emergency or just need basic info.

i called a few different places and all of them were very busy and it took me nearly a month to find someone. one dentist i did a consultation with he had a different way of doing things and i got a infection the day after his consultation and i was able to call his private number while he was home for thanksgiving and he answered for me and was very helpful. the only problem was he was priced 3k more then everyone else. he was the only dentist at his office and smaller offices like that they seem to have more time to cater to you. the place i had surgery at the waiting room was PACKED. it seems like everyone in the world is getting teeth pulled. id say hundreds a day around the world probabbly.

so now let me start my story from the beginning and maybe this info will help some people. first off i have major anxiety. and the thought of being 41, single, no gf or kids and thinking time is running out to find a gf has kicked in. now with having my tooth extracted at first i was like this is it its over for me. but in the week since ive had it pulled its the first thing ive mentioned to new people i talked to. and they had no reaction except dentists suck. and continued to talk to me and it didnt even bother them that i said i had a flipper. actually they were kind of nice about it. and im only average looking.

back to the tooth. so originally this tooth had alot of fillings over the years and for the past about 30 yrs i had to keep getting the fillings re done. i had a impact right next to my nose and for some reason the tooth cracked left to right in the back of the tooth on my gumline. i didnt even realize it at first until my tongue touched my tooth and pushed it forward. youch!!!

my regular dentist got me in for a emergency visit the next day. he then bonded my tooth, which was basically taking filling i think, and creating a bond between the wiggly broke tooth and the fang tooth next to it. then he said it needed pulled and i should consider a implant. i said yes and he took a mold of my mouth for the flipper. i think this total cost was nearly $600. because i dont have insurance. he said he would do the crown and flipper but for the surgery he wanted a periodontist because they specialize in gum healing.

what ive learned that even though a periodontist specializes in gum work, it sort of doesnt matter if their office is to busy to see you. for example i should have a 2 week healing checkup after surgery, but the date they gave me is almost 4 weeks after.

so anyways the bond worked good. i had it for a month. it actually worked so good i was wondering if i could just keep the bond lol. but after waiting a month i got a "gum bump" above the tooth. i freaked out thinking oh no is this infection going to spread and ruin all my teeth!!
i quickly called 2 drs and they both answered me (dentists i mean, not drs) they called me in a strong antiobiotic and it went away in a few days. i had felt a sore pain by my nose area and thought it was normal pain but it was actually the infection starting. as for the gum boil i woke up mid night because it was hurting so bad and looked at it in the mirror and i was going to pop it but when i liifted my lip and brushed against it, it popped itself it had so much pressure on it. i had paper towels handy and dabbed the gunk off. i drained it myself. through the day i kept dabbing it and getting the little bit of ooze out and by the next day no more gunk came out

so now lets get into surgery! like i said above i have super high anxiety. and my pain tolerance in my front teeth is horrible. i decided to opt out of the gas and being put to sleep. for money reasons i didnt feel it was worth the extra 150. i had my wisdom teeth done before and had gas and besides it making you feel high in another dimension i dont think it actually did anything for the pain

the tooth removal lasted maybe 10 minutes. thats it! i spent more time in the waiting room. when they said its out. i thought, did i hear that right? the only thing that hurt was the novicane shots, they always hurt me alot, and when he was breaking the bond the first way he tried hurt so then he used some sort of drill and that didnt hurt.

now that the tooth was pulled this is the part i didnt like. they basically rushed me out of the room. told me a few things that i said i wont remember that can you write it down. and they said itll be in thhe pamphlet. which it wasnt. they didnt show me the tooth they pulled out, they didnt show me what the flipper looked like, they didnt tell me how much to wear the flipper, how to eat, how tot ake the flipper in and out. nothing.

when i got home i was a bit baffled on what to do. i was spitting light blood the entire day. i could taste it in my mouth. it wasnt overly bad. my gum was stitched up. it was hard to spit with the flipper in. and tbh the flipper pushing on my gum kind of hurt. i actually mentioned it before i left. they did about 3 adjustments and i could tell the guy was behind on time because he simply said youll prob have to go back to your dentist for adjusting. since my mouth was still numb i didnt really feel how off the flipper was

i had mentioned to them numerous times i need a narcotic pain med. my state has one of the strictest laws on pain meds. if you break a foot they give you tylenol. they kept saying ibprofin and i kept saying no i need that plus a narcotic. they went into their dribble drabble about how bad narcotics are. they have to do this so they dont get sued. i was on pain meds for 12 years when i was a mechanic because i had so many injuries. and now im on disability so ive been off pain meds for about 10 years ever since the laws went haywire. so i know how to handle pain meds and when i def need some. the fact that someone telling me ibprofin is a cure all is insulting
as i was leaving they said the ibprofin wont be ready for 7 hours because of some sort of processing. i said what? but i was so sore i just said whatever fine. they said the novicane will last 7 hours so i should be ok. yah ok, by the time i got into the parking lot my novicane was wearing off. i went right back inside and told them to call me something in right now and i need a narcotic as well even if its just for today.

i dont think the pain was from the actual tooth removal. i think the pain was from the novicane shots. like i said earlier my novicane shots usually hurt for 4 or 5 days. so i took the narcotic right away first, waited about a hour for spacing and took the ibprofin. i will say ibprofin is key to gum tooth surgery. when i had my wisdom teeth pulled ibprofin worked better then narcotics because it reduces swelling. but i still had breakinng pain that first day that needed a pain med.
i woke up the next day with the flipper still in. i couldnt eat with this thing and was starving. the dr called me to check up on me and said the flipper is for looks and i could take it out. i popped that thing out as fast as i could.

ive had conflicting stories from each dentist and articles on if i even have to wear the flipper. they say its more for looks and i can just keep it out. but then i hear your teeth will shift and then gap and the flipper wont fit. so i dunno. some say store it in water when its out and some say it dont matter. i put mine in a cup of water anyways. you dont want it to dry and break in sunlight.
my cleaning routine is this. i wake up and eat without the flipper. usually either scrambled eggs or i found a really soft banquet mega bowl chicken dinner that is really soft to eat. after that i brush my teeth and rinse with the prescription was they gave me. during the day when i eat i brush again and rinse my mouth with saltwater lightly. dont want to swish to hard and mess the gums up. (btw i had bone graft put in the same day as tooth extraction) and before bed i brush and use the presciption liquid again

ive barely worn the flipper at all. it pushes against my tooth next to it and hurts! my dentist is far so 2 days after i went in for a adjustment. i think they file it down. the adjustment fixed my bite, and also didnt hurt when i put it in and out. i went home that day and popped it out of my mouth and the next day didnt wear it all day. the day after i popped it back in and it was pressing on my tooth again! argh! even worse then before. so i called to make another adjustment in a few days before christmas with my relatives. this prob happens because of gum swelling and not really the teeth moving. i dont think the teeth will move on you that fast in a few days.
i dont know if i want to wear this flipper at all besides going to the store. i live in a secluded area now and have no visitors and no kids or gf. i would only wear it on a holiday, shopping, or on a date. i wish i could adjust it at home

my stiches popped about the 3rd day and were hanging in my mouth. i took some scissors and trimmed the hanging piece. i called and they said that was normal. 2 days later as i type this i can feel another piece of stitch hanging that ill have to either trim again or pull out. it feel pretty frayed as if its falling apart like they said it would

to end this your surgery is spaced in 3 or 4 sessions over the course of the next 8 months or so. i wouldnt think its more then a year. odb was one of my favorite rappers and i remember on live tv he popped his flipper out in the 90s. as a kid i thought wow he did that in front of everyone. this made me feel a bit better like ok this is it, this is your life the next year deal with it. ive been trying to drink mostly water which i hate instead of soda.

the first surgery i had done was tooth removal and bone grafting which is just basically powder of bones packed into your gum. i think they pack it pretty close to your gumline im not sure. and then i think he said he put a plug above the powder im not sure to keep it packed in i may be wrong. in a few weeks they see how my healing is and if its ok they can schedule the 2nd surgery with involves the post, or what i call the screw and a little cap that goes over the screw. then you wait a few more months or whatever for that to heal into place. after that your ready for the 3rd surgery which is basically just putting your crown permanent tooth on top of that post screw and screwing it in or sealing it however they do it.

and thats my story for right now. maybe if anyone has questions or if something happens where i feel the need to post more updates i will. oh and total cost for everything when im done will be around 5k. the first surgery is prob the cheapest around $500. some people give you free consultations with free xrays. and others will charge you $100 for a consultation. the dentist i didnt go with had a free consultation but he would of charged me for xrays since he used some sort of super virtual reality program. he also said instead of using a flipper he would of took my old tooth and bonded it to my 2 other teeth. and he would of did the implant the same day as the tooth pulling. he seemed pretty confident he could do it while other dentists like to work in stages so you can heal. im not sure if that makes the success rate higher or what. usually your 100$ consultation will be applied towards your surgery if you pick them.

talking. your speech is going to be weird for sure. with the flipper in you have a bad lisp you sound drunk almost. with the flipper out if its your front tooth your "s" and p is going to whistle through your tooth. both ways its kinda hard to talk. i def have a hard time talking loud or raising my voice. my mom is hard of hearing so i cant even talk to her on the phone. but my gum is still healing

 

[swafford]

i guess ill put another update here since i need to vent somewhere. its only been a week and ive about had it with this flipper. my dentist is nearly 2 hours away and they didnt adjust it right the first time and kept saying its my gums swelling. i honestly dont think my gums are even swelling to impact the flipper. so i went back for a 2nd adjustment yesterday. the adjustment should be simple and i prob could of did a better job myself at home with a razor which now i wish i would of tried myself. the flipper keeps pushing the side of my tooth and causing extreme pressure trying to push it in and then once it pops in has massive pushing on the left tooth. i explained this to the dentist and assistant and they just keep looking at me like im crazy and blaming my gums. i keep saying the side of the flipper needs grinded its rubbing all the way up the tooth and then getting stuck halfway and pushing my other tooth. i dont think im crazy, i have a gut feeling it dont feel right. what do they do? shave my real tooth next to the flipper to even it out. which had filling in it and now i see pits on the side of my tooth which im worried can damage that tooth in the long run. im not sure how deep these pits are. they also grinded half of the back curve of my flipper off. for what reason who knows. i told them it fits perfect in the back, yet they grinded it and now its a bit floppy and they told me to get that paste to hold it into place. unreal. this $500 hunk of junk is worthless. they made it wrong, cant adjust it and now they screwed it up. furthermore i had scheduled a mouth exam for a few other teeth that are discolored and cracked since its almost a 2 hour drive. when i was done getting my flipper adjusted, which was better but still not 100% better, they said ok your ready to go. i said what about my exam? i had my periodontist fwd over the xrays which took me like 5 hours to get ahold of them to rush them over. they just looked at me. and then the dentist says whens the last time u had a cleaning? i said i dont know last year maybe. and he said we have to schedule u for that and then look at your teeth then. i was shocked and didnt know what to say. i felt like he lunged a sword in my chest. i said can you just look real fast at this one. and he said no and basically looked at me like this convo is over. and left the room. the assistant said your ready to go. i almost couldnt get out of the chair because i was so confused on wtf just happened. i walked to the desk and the assistant told the front dek woman schedule me for a teeth cleaning. she realized i wasnt back there long and i said he didnt do the exam. she said he didnt? she goes i have it right here in the notes and apt schedule to do one. i said he told me i need a cleaning first i dont understand? (btw went back and looked and i had a cleaning this year already and i have no tarter buildup and when they do do cleanings they always loosen my fillings). the front desk lady was just as confused as me and had no clue what to say. she said well did you mention the exam to him. i said yes and he refused to do it. and she goes i dont know what to say. we were both shocked. so i figure ok ill schedule this stupid cleaning to get my other teeth looked at. she goes the earliest we have is 6 months from now. 6 months! wtf. i said i have one tooth that i know the gumline exterior is cracked. thats it for me im finding a new dentist. ill have this one finish the crown down the line and hopefully he does a good job because thats why ive stuck with him and did the drives is because hes always done a good job. but today felt like pure price gouging. imo 1 of 2 things went on there. 1 he just had no time and somehow the messages got messed up on him suppose to do a exam. 2. he didnt want to use the other dentists xrays because then he wouldnt make as much money off me. its easier to schedule me for a exam, say i need new xrays by then, gouge me for xrays, gouge me for a cleaning i dont need, pay for a exam, and then pay for my fillings. thats easily $1k in his pocket if i need all 6 teeth worked on that im worried about. well i decided to find someone else in my new area.


and since i wore my flipper all day yesterday after i left the dentist and went shopping i noticed that my gum feels really sore and hard next to my nostril area when i blow my nose. it feels painful like when i had my infection. although i been on antibiotics for a week so i dont think its the infection. i dont know if its the bone graft hardening or gum hardening and shaping or what. at this point calling them and asking them is such a nightmare i dont want to. ill prob just wait and see if it gets really bad before i call. and now with it being christmas weekend itll be 10x worse to call. im so mad right now i feel like going back to the first overpriced dentist i passed on and switching to him for everything and saying look can you finish what these 2 clowns started. i had a bad feeling going to a periodontist and dentist and having 2 different places try to work on one project was a bad idea. especially during consultation when the periodontist was only in the room for about 5 minutes of the hour consultation and was rushing out the door as i was asking questions. unfortunately i needed this done right away because i had already got one infection so it was like throwing a dart at a board and picking someone.

as for this flipper ive about had it with this thing. everytime i wear it it makes my gum feel worse while its healing. i dont think its helping i think its making everything worse. and i have no dentist to calm me and say thats ok or that shouldnt do that. its only been a week and im about to just stop using this thing forever and just say f it and let people see my stupid smile without it. im single anyways and i never see the same people in public twice. i was thinking about that yesterday. why am i embarassed to not have a tooth in public. i been going to the same store for a year and ive never seen the same shoppers or the same workers twice. so who cares. i tried chatting casually with some christmas shoppers yesterday in stores and i sounded like i was drunk with this thing in.

my healing checkup isnt for another 3 weeks. it should of been 2 weeks away from surgery but they scheduled it 4. that concerns me as well. alot can happen in 2 weeks. i have almost 0 faith at this point that this procedure is going to go smoothly. i have a bad feeling that either the post isnt going to go and stay in right or the crown is going to be installed wrong. fml

 

[MountainMama]

i guess ill put another update here since i need to vent somewhere. its only been a week and ive about had it with this flipper. my dentist is nearly 2 hours away and they didnt adjust it right the first time and kept saying its my gums swelling. i honestly dont think my gums are even swelling to impact the flipper. so i went back for a 2nd adjustment yesterday. the adjustment should be simple and i prob could of did a better job myself at home with a razor which now i wish i would of tried myself. the flipper keeps pushing the side of my tooth and causing extreme pressure trying to push it in and then once it pops in has massive pushing on the left tooth. i explained this to the dentist and assistant and they just keep looking at me like im crazy and blaming my gums. i keep saying the side of the flipper needs grinded its rubbing all the way up the tooth and then getting stuck halfway and pushing my other tooth. i dont think im crazy, i have a gut feeling it dont feel right. what do they do? shave my real tooth next to the flipper to even it out. which had filling in it and now i see pits on the side of my tooth which im worried can damage that tooth in the long run. im not sure how deep these pits are. they also grinded half of the back curve of my flipper off. for what reason who knows. i told them it fits perfect in the back, yet they grinded it and now its a bit floppy and they told me to get that paste to hold it into place. unreal. this $500 hunk of junk is worthless. they made it wrong, cant adjust it and now they screwed it up. furthermore i had scheduled a mouth exam for a few other teeth that are discolored and cracked since its almost a 2 hour drive. when i was done getting my flipper adjusted, which was better but still not 100% better, they said ok your ready to go. i said what about my exam? i had my periodontist fwd over the xrays which took me like 5 hours to get ahold of them to rush them over. they just looked at me. and then the dentist says whens the last time u had a cleaning? i said i dont know last year maybe. and he said we have to schedule u for that and then look at your teeth then. i was shocked and didnt know what to say. i felt like he lunged a sword in my chest. i said can you just look real fast at this one. and he said no and basically looked at me like this convo is over. and left the room. the assistant said your ready to go. i almost couldnt get out of the chair because i was so confused on wtf just happened. i walked to the desk and the assistant told the front dek woman schedule me for a teeth cleaning. she realized i wasnt back there long and i said he didnt do the exam. she said he didnt? she goes i have it right here in the notes and apt schedule to do one. i said he told me i need a cleaning first i dont understand? (btw went back and looked and i had a cleaning this year already and i have no tarter buildup and when they do do cleanings they always loosen my fillings). the front desk lady was just as confused as me and had no clue what to say. she said well did you mention the exam to him. i said yes and he refused to do it. and she goes i dont know what to say. we were both shocked. so i figure ok ill schedule this stupid cleaning to get my other teeth looked at. she goes the earliest we have is 6 months from now. 6 months! wtf. i said i have one tooth that i know the gumline exterior is cracked. thats it for me im finding a new dentist. ill have this one finish the crown down the line and hopefully he does a good job because thats why ive stuck with him and did the drives is because hes always done a good job. but today felt like pure price gouging. imo 1 of 2 things went on there. 1 he just had no time and somehow the messages got messed up on him suppose to do a exam. 2. he didnt want to use the other dentists xrays because then he wouldnt make as much money off me. its easier to schedule me for a exam, say i need new xrays by then, gouge me for xrays, gouge me for a cleaning i dont need, pay for a exam, and then pay for my fillings. thats easily $1k in his pocket if i need all 6 teeth worked on that im worried about. well i decided to find someone else in my new area.


and since i wore my flipper all day yesterday after i left the dentist and went shopping i noticed that my gum feels really sore and hard next to my nostril area when i blow my nose. it feels painful like when i had my infection. although i been on antibiotics for a week so i dont think its the infection. i dont know if its the bone graft hardening or gum hardening and shaping or what. at this point calling them and asking them is such a nightmare i dont want to. ill prob just wait and see if it gets really bad before i call. and now with it being christmas weekend itll be 10x worse to call. im so mad right now i feel like going back to the first overpriced dentist i passed on and switching to him for everything and saying look can you finish what these 2 clowns started. i had a bad feeling going to a periodontist and dentist and having 2 different places try to work on one project was a bad idea. especially during consultation when the periodontist was only in the room for about 5 minutes of the hour consultation and was rushing out the door as i was asking questions. unfortunately i needed this done right away because i had already got one infection so it was like throwing a dart at a board and picking someone.

as for this flipper ive about had it with this thing. everytime i wear it it makes my gum feel worse while its healing. i dont think its helping i think its making everything worse. and i have no dentist to calm me and say thats ok or that shouldnt do that. its only been a week and im about to just stop using this thing forever and just say f it and let people see my stupid smile without it. im single anyways and i never see the same people in public twice. i was thinking about that yesterday. why am i embarassed to not have a tooth in public. i been going to the same store for a year and ive never seen the same shoppers or the same workers twice. so who cares. i tried chatting casually with some christmas shoppers yesterday in stores and i sounded like i was drunk with this thing in.

my healing checkup isnt for another 3 weeks. it should of been 2 weeks away from surgery but they scheduled it 4. that concerns me as well. alot can happen in 2 weeks. i have almost 0 faith at this point that this procedure is going to go smoothly. i have a bad feeling that either the post isnt going to go and stay in right or the crown is going to be installed wrong. fml

It shouldn’t hurt that much. I will say that with my flipper for my front tooth, I had to have about five adjustments in the first two weeks to make it comfortable. Swelling does impact a little but that shouldn’t affect the pressure on the tooth next to it.
Can you find a different dentist? Even if it is the higher priced one? Sometimes it is worth it.
When I got my flipper, my oral surgeon adjusted it before he had me leave after the extraction and bone grafting. He didn’t want it pressing on the bone graft at all. I was numb and couldn’t feel it, so a few days later I went to my dentist to have it adjusted. Then was back there multiple times. My dentist was great about it and kept asking where I felt pressure.
It did take about two weeks before I was comfortable talking in it. I also did use the denture adhesive, mostly because I kept getting food stuck under the upper plate.
You shouldn’t feel the bone grafting at all. I also can’t believe the dentist ground on your real tooth instead of the flipper! My dentist did that when the implant did not quite fit and I am still worried about how it will affect the health of my tooth long term also.

I hope you can get it figured out.

 

[Dg6300]

My friend, I think it is time to consider a second opinion.

Though we are coming up on both a weekend and major holiday, if you are going to seek a second opinion, I encourage you to do so right away.

Like our friend Mountain Mama says (hi Mountain Mama! It is good to see you again!), this amount of trouble and suffering is more than we’d usually expect.

 

[swafford]

It shouldn’t hurt that much. I will say that with my flipper for my front tooth, I had to have about five adjustments in the first two weeks to make it comfortable. Swelling does impact a little but that shouldn’t affect the pressure on the tooth next to it.
Can you find a different dentist? Even if it is the higher priced one? Sometimes it is worth it.
When I got my flipper, my oral surgeon adjusted it before he had me leave after the extraction and bone grafting. He didn’t want it pressing on the bone graft at all. I was numb and couldn’t feel it, so a few days later I went to my dentist to have it adjusted. Then was back there multiple times. My dentist was great about it and kept asking where I felt pressure.
It did take about two weeks before I was comfortable talking in it. I also did use the denture adhesive, mostly because I kept getting food stuck under the upper plate.
You shouldn’t feel the bone grafting at all. I also can’t believe the dentist ground on your real tooth instead of the flipper! My dentist did that when the implant did not quite fit and I am still worried about how it will affect the health of my tooth long term also.

I hope you can get it figured out.

hi thanks for the reply. im def going to find a different dentist to get my other teeth looked at. this morning i took scissors and started shaving down the side of the tooth on my flipper exactly where i told them i felt pressure. after about 5 of my own adjustments it feels better. i should of tried this in the first place. i dont think they made the flipper right at all. and this dentist being a hour n half drive for me its hard to spend time and gas for 5 minutes of adjusting. i told him last time it still hurt some and i wanted to make sure it was fine before i left because of the drive. he just looked at me and wouldnt do no more and blamed it on swelling.

im wondering if my gum is hard because it has a plug in it under the bone grafting. im not sure. all i know is the nostril above the tooth that was pulled when i blow my nose it feel a bit odd. maybe im pushing on a wound still and itll get better.

they grinded your tooth to during adjustment? thats weird that they would do that. im concerned as well about them doing that.

i also cant really tell if the flipper is pushing on my gum or not. it seems like it is. they are so minimal with their teaching about this stuff that its almost like you have to wait it out and just hope for the best

my periodontist called me yesterday to see how i was doing. i didnt bother answering the phone at this point. when they called me the day after surgery they rushed me off the phone so fast i could barely get a word in. i figured why get frusterated with them again by answering. between this dentist and periodontist im fed up with both. ill just keep doing my own adjustments because so far all theirs has done is make my mouth hurt either worse or just as bad

 

[swafford]

My friend, I think it is time to consider a second opinion.

Though we are coming up on both a weekend and major holiday, if you are going to seek a second opinion, I encourage you to do so right away.

Like our friend Mountain Mama says (hi Mountain Mama! It is good to see you again!), this amount of trouble and suffering is more than we’d usually expect.

thanks for the reply. yes i agree. now im torn between do i just let these people finish what they started or try finding someone else for the rest of the entire process. i know for sure im going to find a different dentist for my other teeth now that i suspect have cavities. and since im on disability i have a heating program replacing my furnace i think next month (been waiting 11 months for them to do it) so that puts a pickle in my schedule as well. the heating program always says their about to do the install, then runs out of money, leaves me in the dark 3 months, calls again says they are going fwd, etc etc. everyone thinks getting free stuff on disability is such a luxary but man the anxiety and hassle of it puts me ina constant panic for days. so now i gotta juggle between these teeth issues and my furnaces. ugh. sorry most of that was just ranting.

 

[swafford]

also out of curiosity whats the longest you guys and gals have left your flipper out for? i live alone and dont leave often. so i kind of dont even need it in. the dentist said its more for looks and id ont really need it in. but ive read articles that said you should have it in for gum shaping. i get alot of really conflicted stories. id like to have it out as long as possible unless im going out or someone is coming over. out of the entire week ive really only worn it maybe a total of 20 something hours. ive went days without wearing it at all because i hate it

 

[swafford]

well its been around 7 months so ill leave a update since my last post. my flipper i adjusted myself by scraping it until it fit. still pissed my dentist shaved my tooth instead of the flipper. the flipper is temp and my tooth is forever. the surgeon has been flimsy, i think so far hes done the job right but who knows. they dont explain anything to me, they dont explain whats happening, its hard to get ahold of them, when i get there i dont know whats going to happen and when im done they rush me out the door. ive had issues with pain meds, sometimes they give them to me, sometimes they dont, sometimes they forget, sometimes they dont call them in right away. i had a horrible pain before my healing cap was put in, it was hurting extremely bad for 4 days. i asked for a xray they wouldnt give it to me. the surgeon was in a rush to stop talking to me. i asked if it should be hurting this bad he said no. i asked what it could be and he said i dont know. so i havent wore my flipper at all in public for a month and half because it pressing on that area caused more pain. when they put my healing cap in 2 weeks after they said bone had grown over the screw and they had to grind it down. could that be why i was getting so much pain? who knows, i get no answers. they said the healing cap wont hurt. gave me no pain meds. it hurt for over a week. everytime they say something wont hurts, it hurts. i have 1 appointment left. i went to my appointment to get my mold for my final crown. i was told they were going to give me a temp tooth and abutment. but they didnt when i got there they only gave me the mold. i was extrmeely confused. they told me use the flipper and rushed me out and seemed to not want to talk to me. paying thousands of dollars and these people rush you around. i also had a black mark on the top of each tooth next to my healing cap. i asked the dentist while he was looking at that tooth if he thought it was a cavity. he didnt answer me. so i said if it is a cavity should we fix those before we put the tooth in. it would make sense and be easier is what i was thinking in my head thats common sense. he said well save that for another time. i mean he was clearly looking right at it and couldnt take a second to tell me if it was a nerve of cavity? wth. i cant wait to be done with all this and find a new dentist. once you start with one your stuck until the end almost. if i was married and had a wife who wasnt bothered by this i prob wouldnt of had any of this done because how uncomfortable ive felt being blind in all this. ive had to constantly do research online and i can chew fine without a tooth. im actually worried still about the pain i had in my gum before the healing cap. i tried explaining to the dentist how the flipper pushing may of been causing pain and didnt want the new crown to be put in if when i eat and it presses on it if itll cause pain. also they grinded one of my teeth down so the crown will fit better when it comes in. that worries me about enamel and if thats going to make my tooth more likely to get a cavity in the future. i dont like the fact they grind my teeth spots down instead of the parts and pieces. cant wait for this crap to be done with.