HELP...Im new to this. I've been through so much this year, I'm nervous and need help. I had
dental implant surgery on Wednesday of last week. Teeth 9/10, 9 was missing
for years and 10 was removed. Number 9 got a bone graft. Could you share the
pain and discomfort level with me. I got very swollen on Wednesday night and
Thursday. Now, I have some discomfort right under nose above # 9. I wore a
dental flipper the first night. That's so uncomfortable too. My lip still
feels a little stiff in this area. Is this normal? My periodontist who did
the work only works at my dental office on Wednesday's. This Wednesday I got
the stitches out. I also feel the discomfort whenever I eat and I've been
eating soft foods that don't require chewing. I've been with no front teeth
since last June since my dentist messed up on redoing my bridgework that was
there for years twice. I'm worried something didn't go right with the
implants if this discomfort shouldn't be there. It feels like when I have
the flipper in, there's a pulling and tugging sensation, like either I can
feel the bone graft or implant. Like there's a wiggle sensation or something.
I can't raise the lip much in this area yet. Wondering if all this is part of
the pain and discomfort and healing process. . If anyone can share their
thoughts with dental implants and the pain and stiffness that goes with it,
I'd appreciate it alot. I know it will take 4 months for the healing. I
went in to my dentist this past Tuesday, he said it looked good just looking
at the area and I mentioned this to him. I saw the periodontist on Wednesday, he said it looked good too
just looking at the area, but did not take any xrays and I also mentioned the above to him. Area 9 doesn't feel as
comfortable as area 10 with the implant. Just wondering if this is all
normal with bone grafting or will my implant fail? All new to this implant stuff, not sure
what they should feel like. My Periodontist said he'll see my in 4 months.
How would I know if something is not right with the implants or it's loose or
something? I'm so worried. I want this to work, not fail. I can't go on
with no front teeth.

Maria

What your describing sounds pretty normal to me, I had a bone graft in preparation for an implant and it took several weeks to heal (about two weeks for the pain to go away). As to implants, in my case the periodontal disease caused so much bone lose I was no longer a candidate for dental implants.

It is also my understanding that you need to wait 6 months before the graft is ready for the implant and then another 6 months for the implant post to take.

Finally (not to discourage you) it is my understanding that about 50% of the implants fail. In my case my dentist built a great bridge to fill the gap where my front teeth were so the end results were good.

As to the flipper, I couldn't wear one either.

Hope this helps and good luck

You really don’t have to worry at all about it. Just be clam because implants need time to adjust to your body. You just have to be patient with it. Its an alien thing inside, so naturally you are going to feel awkward about it for the time being. Actually, implants do work as it did with my brother. Chances of failing are very less.

Maria, hang in there, I had my upper teeth removed on 5/5 and had bone grafts and implants done at the same time and am now wearing a full denture. While I was quite swollen for a few days and the stitches are driving me crazy, I have very little pain. Also it is quite normal to have your gums swell and shrink throughout the day and as well, some movement from the bone grafts. You are also correct in that it is going to take 4 months for everything to set correctly and soft foods will be the norm during that time.

At this point I think that you have to just trust in what your dentist and perio are telling you and try to relax and not worry about it. My understanding is that the success rate these days are very high.

Also the worst case is that if your implants don't take and all your missing is 9 and 10, a bridge can take care of that. I wore virtually full bridges on both the uppers and lowers for years with little problem, my issue was receding bone and gums from smoking for many years which kept me in a constant state of infection. Finally I see nothing wrong with going to see a Max/Fac surgeon (if you can deal with the additional expense) for a consult.

You can't get in a rush with this, take it a day at a time and don't drive yourself crazy!!!!

Further to my last post, I wanted to provide an update as to my progress. It has been 12 days since I had my upper teeth removed, 2 bone grafts and 6 implants placed. As I indicated before, I have not had much pain and have been able to treat what I do have with Ibupro;

At this point I still can't do much chewing, very soft foods only and this may go on for a long time (2 to 4 months), we shall see! I have however lost 10 pounds so far, so this is a major makeover. My diet consists of eggs, mashed potatoes, pancakes, soft fish, oatmeal, you get the idea. I did puree some meat and it tasted ok but it reminded me too much of babyfood very unappealing.

I still have some swelling so my new denture is putting pressure on this area and making me a bit sore. I was told that I need to keep the denture in my mouth and should not have it out for more than 8 - 10 hours. Great....I sure hope I'll be able to throw it away in 4 to 6 months.

Hello,

Thanks and don't worry to you. First I am going to answer your question...There is no proven fact that the risk of
periodontal disease is higher than normal. I am unsure if you suffer from periodontal disease or if you are worried about getting it. Gum disease is caused by many different factors such as, smoking, or poor dental hygiene. It is caused by bacteria. If you visit your dentist for a cleaning every six months the risk of periodontal disease can be minimized.

Usually your periodontist or general dentist will discuss your personal dental implant success rate before treatment. If you do suffer from gum disease this could mean that the level of bone at the implant site may not be sufficient. In this case, you can have a bone grafting done.

Thanks lot again
Charle Goster

It is now a month since I had my teeth pulled and implant sockets placed. My target date for modifying my dentures and plugging into the implants is 9/7/2011 and I am counting the days. I had no idea what a pain in the a** wearing a denture is and am thankful that it is only for 4 months. I really feel sorry for those people that have to wear both upper and lower dentures without the opportunity for implants.

One problem I have is the amount of denture cream I need to use to keep the denture in place. My gums are still in the healing process and if I use too little I feel some pain but if I use too much, I can't easily get the dentures out.

Updating my last post, I had a bone spur poking out the side of my gums and had to have some minor surgery on June 6th to grind it down. I could not wear my denture for a couple of days but all is well now. I really thought that one of my implants was failing which created a bit of a mental depression and I can't say how relieved I was that this was not the case.

How about someone wearing dentures providing some guidance on the use of denture cream? I would really appreciate it.