Gullible's Travels
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Triple Crown settling in
It is eight months since my implant and I went back to Ashok last week for a check-up. The hole left by the extraction has filled in with bone as has the dodgy area to the right of the right-hand post.
Post and crowns - eight months later
The whole thing is made to amazingly fine tolerances, measured in microns. The posts have to be exactly parallel so the two ends of the "Siamese" crown can slide on. Compare the above with the before. The dark area is the part that has healed nicely thank you.
Posts and temporary crown - just after operation
It is eight months since my implant and I went back to Ashok last week for a check-up. The hole left by the extraction has filled in with bone as has the dodgy area to the right of the right-hand post.
Post and crowns - eight months later
The whole thing is made to amazingly fine tolerances, measured in microns. The posts have to be exactly parallel so the two ends of the "Siamese" crown can slide on. Compare the above with the before. The dark area is the part that has healed nicely thank you.
Posts and temporary crown - just after operation
Labels: teeth
¶ Permanent link: 8:50 PM 1 comments
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Call me Count Dracula
So it was back to Dr Ashok Sethi to have the stitches out and not before time. After 10 days my gums were telling me the stitches had done their job and were now more of a hindrance than a help.
X-ray of whole mouthful of teeth showing implants
I do not remember these X-rays being taken although I must have been led from the chair to the machine and back again. What I do remember is Ashok saying "Wider, Wider!" and me saying "Ow!"
It appears that, to be very sure of avoiding the nerve, he exposed it so he knew exactly where it was. This would explain why I felt some discomfort even through the anaesthetic and the sedative. talk about touching a raw nerve. Ugh and shudder.
X-ray of lower left teeth after implants
That it is for three months when I go back to get the OK for the permanent crowns to replace the current temporaries. Well apart that is from crowning the lower right 8 but Raj cannot take an impression for a least six weeks till these chaps have bonded in.
So it was back to Dr Ashok Sethi to have the stitches out and not before time. After 10 days my gums were telling me the stitches had done their job and were now more of a hindrance than a help.
X-ray of whole mouthful of teeth showing implants
I do not remember these X-rays being taken although I must have been led from the chair to the machine and back again. What I do remember is Ashok saying "Wider, Wider!" and me saying "Ow!"
It appears that, to be very sure of avoiding the nerve, he exposed it so he knew exactly where it was. This would explain why I felt some discomfort even through the anaesthetic and the sedative. talk about touching a raw nerve. Ugh and shudder.
X-ray of lower left teeth after implants
That it is for three months when I go back to get the OK for the permanent crowns to replace the current temporaries. Well apart that is from crowning the lower right 8 but Raj cannot take an impression for a least six weeks till these chaps have bonded in.
Labels: teeth
¶ Permanent link: 8:41 AM 1 comments
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
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!
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
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!
Labels: teeth
¶ Permanent link: 8:12 AM 3 comments
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
CT Scan for Titanium Implants
Tuesday I went for a CT scan in preparation for a couple of titanium implants next Thursday. I swear I could feel the scan move down my head. The technicians said no-one had mentioned that before but I could feel a planar circular sensation rotating round and round and passing down my skull, most odd feeling!
Some while back I mentioned that I had 11 crowns (including 3 post and core) [1]. Here is the proof courtesy of the implant specialist Dr Ashok Sethi:
X-ray of whole mouthful of teeth
Below is the lower right 8 (on the left of the X-ray) that gave me such grief a while back [2]. But there will be no implant there. Raj will crown it and then wait till, one day, it eventually fails and then do two implants together.
X-ray of lower right teeth (8 & missing 7)
No, the implants will be where I had the extraction last October [3]. The extraction was tricky because I had a "siamese" crown. The lower left 6 only had one root; the tooth having cracked the other root had to go. Half a root wasn't enough to take the strain of a crown so Raj crowned the two as a pair. See diagram below.
Diagram of lower left teeth (6 & 7)
Eventually the other half root went and so it took had to be extracted *from under the crown*. That meant separating the root from the cantilevered crown then easing the root out sideways - not as bad as it sounds. Now the extra strain on the remaining tooth has caused its root to crack so that too will have to go and two implants go in their place.
X-ray of lower left teeth
Tuesday I went for a CT scan in preparation for a couple of titanium implants next Thursday. I swear I could feel the scan move down my head. The technicians said no-one had mentioned that before but I could feel a planar circular sensation rotating round and round and passing down my skull, most odd feeling!
Some while back I mentioned that I had 11 crowns (including 3 post and core) [1]. Here is the proof courtesy of the implant specialist Dr Ashok Sethi:
X-ray of whole mouthful of teeth
Below is the lower right 8 (on the left of the X-ray) that gave me such grief a while back [2]. But there will be no implant there. Raj will crown it and then wait till, one day, it eventually fails and then do two implants together.
X-ray of lower right teeth (8 & missing 7)
No, the implants will be where I had the extraction last October [3]. The extraction was tricky because I had a "siamese" crown. The lower left 6 only had one root; the tooth having cracked the other root had to go. Half a root wasn't enough to take the strain of a crown so Raj crowned the two as a pair. See diagram below.
Diagram of lower left teeth (6 & 7)
Eventually the other half root went and so it took had to be extracted *from under the crown*. That meant separating the root from the cantilevered crown then easing the root out sideways - not as bad as it sounds. Now the extra strain on the remaining tooth has caused its root to crack so that too will have to go and two implants go in their place.
X-ray of lower left teeth
Labels: teeth
¶ Permanent link: 8:34 AM 4 comments
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Can you feel anything when I do this? (2)
Apologies to both my readers, I have been off air for a few days 'cos my brain has been all of a jangle with toothache.
Last Monday I went to Raj as a follow up visit to a new crown and an extraction a couple of weeks ago. One tooth on the other side was giving me some grief and it can be hard to tell exactly which one. The nerves run close together and may cause a different tooth to appear to be the origin. So he sent me round to the endodontist for a second opinion and he pinpointed the lower right 8 (back molar).
Wednesday the endodontist did a full root canal job and sent me home. In his letter to Raj he wrote, "Healing is expected to be uneventful." Hah! If you consider "writhing on the living room carpet at two in the morning in a foetal ball in excruciating pain chanting over and over the mantra 'f*** that hurts, f*** that hurts, f*** that hurts'" as uneventful then yes it was.
I do not *ever* want to feel pain like that again.
Even the extra painkillers from the doctors could not mask the pain so Saturday night (well actually Sunday morning as it was half past midnight) I cracked and phoned Raj. He did a mercy dash to his surgery in Harley Street and I fell out of a taxi a few minutes later. He did some magic scraping with a steel implement and said that should do it. He was off to Sri Lanka on Sunday so he gave me a copy of my X-Rays in case I needed to go to A&E.
I am glad to say the pain and the swelling is slowly subsiding, the antibiotics and my immune system are slowly repairing that damage; soup for breakfast and lunch was getting tedious. I still cannot open my mouth more than half an inch, I have to post food in horizontally in thin slices, but that too will pass.
And then of course I can have the thing crowned! But I think I will wait a while until the memory fades.
PS
Deep gratitude is owed not only to Raj but also to his daughter, a doctor, who lives nearby and who he dragged along. Apparently I was slurring my words and he was concerned so wanted some medical backup.
Apologies to both my readers, I have been off air for a few days 'cos my brain has been all of a jangle with toothache.
Last Monday I went to Raj as a follow up visit to a new crown and an extraction a couple of weeks ago. One tooth on the other side was giving me some grief and it can be hard to tell exactly which one. The nerves run close together and may cause a different tooth to appear to be the origin. So he sent me round to the endodontist for a second opinion and he pinpointed the lower right 8 (back molar).
Wednesday the endodontist did a full root canal job and sent me home. In his letter to Raj he wrote, "Healing is expected to be uneventful." Hah! If you consider "writhing on the living room carpet at two in the morning in a foetal ball in excruciating pain chanting over and over the mantra 'f*** that hurts, f*** that hurts, f*** that hurts'" as uneventful then yes it was.
I do not *ever* want to feel pain like that again.
Even the extra painkillers from the doctors could not mask the pain so Saturday night (well actually Sunday morning as it was half past midnight) I cracked and phoned Raj. He did a mercy dash to his surgery in Harley Street and I fell out of a taxi a few minutes later. He did some magic scraping with a steel implement and said that should do it. He was off to Sri Lanka on Sunday so he gave me a copy of my X-Rays in case I needed to go to A&E.
I am glad to say the pain and the swelling is slowly subsiding, the antibiotics and my immune system are slowly repairing that damage; soup for breakfast and lunch was getting tedious. I still cannot open my mouth more than half an inch, I have to post food in horizontally in thin slices, but that too will pass.
And then of course I can have the thing crowned! But I think I will wait a while until the memory fades.
PS
Deep gratitude is owed not only to Raj but also to his daughter, a doctor, who lives nearby and who he dragged along. Apparently I was slurring my words and he was concerned so wanted some medical backup.
Labels: teeth
¶ Permanent link: 8:33 AM 3 comments
Monday, October 02, 2006
He looks in my mouth and then he starts to gloat
He says my teeth are OK but my gums got to go. *
Went to Raj on Friday because my teeth were giving me gyp and it looks like I am down for two crowns and an extraction at Harley Street prices. The latter may be years off but the crowns, numbers 12 and 13, are to be done as soon as I get the x-rays taken (see previously "And finally monsieur a wafer-thin mint").
Meanwhile I am on Corsodyl mouthwash, for the gingivitis. Corsodyl is one of the viler tastes on the planet and wreaks havoc with the taste buds. My tongue feels like it has been lightly sand-papered. I can forget about drinking fine wines until I am off the stuff as everything has hints of sand and glue.
* Unfinished Sweet by Alice Cooper
He says my teeth are OK but my gums got to go. *
Went to Raj on Friday because my teeth were giving me gyp and it looks like I am down for two crowns and an extraction at Harley Street prices. The latter may be years off but the crowns, numbers 12 and 13, are to be done as soon as I get the x-rays taken (see previously "And finally monsieur a wafer-thin mint").
Meanwhile I am on Corsodyl mouthwash, for the gingivitis. Corsodyl is one of the viler tastes on the planet and wreaks havoc with the taste buds. My tongue feels like it has been lightly sand-papered. I can forget about drinking fine wines until I am off the stuff as everything has hints of sand and glue.
* Unfinished Sweet by Alice Cooper
Labels: teeth
¶ Permanent link: 9:48 AM 1 comments
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
And finally, monsieur, a wafer-thin mint
Well it was a busy day yesterday.
First port of call was Eastleigh and our accountants Langdowns DFK to sign the forms making Mary a fully-fledged director of M&M Enterprises thus turning it from Mark&McLellan to Mark&Mary. Not that we are exactly a major multi-national corporation, more what the Americans call a "Mom and Pop operation". Still it is worth being a company for tax efficiency reasons.
Second port of call was London and the Oral Hygiene Centre in Devonshire Place for a full set of "after" X-rays. The "before" set was taken fifteen years ago when I first starting seeing Raj Rayan. Now, many root canal treatments and eleven - count'em, eleven - crowns later he felt it was time for an "after" set. Each crown was carefully colour-matched to the existing teeth which means they are all the same old not-as-white-as-I-would-like colour. But they are structurally sound, all mine and paid for!
Third port of call was Charlotte Street to meet up with Pete and Amanda for drinks then across the road to Fino, Tapas restaurant. The food was excellent but not cheap. One high spot was the presence of Pedro Ximenes, PX to it's friends, on the wine list - like liquid Christmas pudding. This was recommended as an accompaniment for ice-cream and is what we would have taken to Bob and Lynn's on Saturday if we had had any. So this was a chance to try it and I just had to have the Chocolate Brownie with pistachio ice-cream. Mind you it was struggle, I felt like Mr Creosote by the end.
Well it was a busy day yesterday.
First port of call was Eastleigh and our accountants Langdowns DFK to sign the forms making Mary a fully-fledged director of M&M Enterprises thus turning it from Mark&McLellan to Mark&Mary. Not that we are exactly a major multi-national corporation, more what the Americans call a "Mom and Pop operation". Still it is worth being a company for tax efficiency reasons.
Second port of call was London and the Oral Hygiene Centre in Devonshire Place for a full set of "after" X-rays. The "before" set was taken fifteen years ago when I first starting seeing Raj Rayan. Now, many root canal treatments and eleven - count'em, eleven - crowns later he felt it was time for an "after" set. Each crown was carefully colour-matched to the existing teeth which means they are all the same old not-as-white-as-I-would-like colour. But they are structurally sound, all mine and paid for!
Third port of call was Charlotte Street to meet up with Pete and Amanda for drinks then across the road to Fino, Tapas restaurant. The food was excellent but not cheap. One high spot was the presence of Pedro Ximenes, PX to it's friends, on the wine list - like liquid Christmas pudding. This was recommended as an accompaniment for ice-cream and is what we would have taken to Bob and Lynn's on Saturday if we had had any. So this was a chance to try it and I just had to have the Chocolate Brownie with pistachio ice-cream. Mind you it was struggle, I felt like Mr Creosote by the end.
Labels: teeth
¶ Permanent link: 5:56 PM 0 comments
