Spirit Song United Methodist Church

Of course my suffering is nothing compared with what so many others are struggling with, but its my suffering and so I feel I can whine a little.

Many years ago I lad a molar extracted from my lower right jaw, leaving a fairly large open space. But my back molar compensated for it and I was no worse for wear. Then a few years back I had to have a root canal on my rear molar on that same side. It continued to serve we well, even though it was basically dead. A couple of years ago I cracked it and a large piece fell off while I was eating, but since it was dead I felt no pain. The dentist filed down the rough edges and I continued on my merry way.

Then last December I bit down again and this time the tooth broke in half. I made an emergency visit to the dentist who promptly extracted what remained. Now I was told I had a decision to make – which was really no decision at all. I could just continue as I was but with the foreseeable problem that with no bottom molars on that right side I would not be able to chew very well. In addition, with no molars on the bottom, the top molars would drop and would eventually have to be pulled as well. I couldn’t have a bridge put in because there was no tooth to anchor it.

The only option was to have an implant. I was very disappointed (to say the least) when I was told my dental insurance wouldn’t cover it (considered “cosmetic”) and so I would have to pay for the entire procedure out of pocket – approx. $4,000. Ouch! That was almost as painful as what followed. The oral surgeon said we would have to wait a couple of months for my jaw to heal from the extraction, and then he would put in the implant hardware. That happened two weeks ago Wednesday. That surgery was bad enough but then we had already made plans to take a long weekend trip to San Diego and so our friends picked us up early the next morning for the seven hour drive. The good news was that I didn’t have to drive. The bad news is that the painkillers barely masked the pain and made me nauseous.

I survived the trip but found that after a week my lower lip and chin were still numb. The oral surgeon decided that perhaps the implant was too close to the nerve so he elected to “back it out” a little. That may not sound bad but it was – very painful. Now, five days later, I’m still sore, my lower lip and chin are still fairly numb, and I’m still experiencing some pain. The nurse told me to be patient and it will probably go away on its own. We’ll see.

So, I’m not really a very happy camper. My mouth is still sore, I can’t chew on the right side and I have to wait until at least June before they finally complete the procedure and put the new crown in. I know I’m whining – but it helps a little. And of course you can be sure that my little complaints won't keep me from ministering to those who are truly in need. Take care and God bless.

Steve

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 22, 2008 at 08:00 PM and is filed under General. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.