My Oral Surgery From May - Almost There

Here is a totally outdated post written right after I got pretty intense oral surgery on May 12 (I was swollen and in pain for about three-four days afterwards), but never managed to finish and post:

I just got surgery (the third and final surgery since May of last year, nearly a year exactly to the tee).  Due to my absurdly impacted adult canines, I've had baby canine teeth that outlasted their life expectancy by roughly 25 years.  It all came to a head about three years ago when they finally gave out (on a plane heading to Cleveland, due to a Kind granola bar, just before Christmas, if you want to be precise.  It is a traumatic memory that will not be quickly forgotten).  I procrastinated for a year with a flipper, then finally last year I very unwillingly and reluctantly committed to get this fixed once and for all.  The process left me somewhat breathless - just thinking about all of the time, coordination, expense... and on top of having just had twins, returning to work full time, dealing with Covid... it was challenging.

Last May I went in for my first surgery, to remove an impacted canine on my right side (the one on my left is so high that the dentists and surgeons deemed it would not affect the dental work).  That surgery left me black and blue and swollen for days.  I guess my failure to drink milk didn't really affect my bone density, because my tooth was really hard and tough and stuck in there!  I then began the long and tedious process of a carrier dystalizer/invisalign to move my teeth so as to create more space.  The baby canines were so small that there wasn't enough space for a dental implant.  That process continued until the dentists finally deemed I had enough space for implants.  

Then I went in for my second surgery, to remove the roots and remainders of my baby canines, in February of this year.  

Then it was three months to allow the bone to heal and the hole from those baby canines to close up, so that the area was strong enough for implants.  

This week was my third surgery, to get two titanium rods screwed into my mouth.  It feels as thrilling and as sexy as it sounds.  Here is the X ray.  

I am now on painkillers and ice packs and antibiotics, while I recover and wait for the implants to take.  My bone is supposed to fuse around the titanium rods and essentially accept them into my body as if they were roots of teeth.  Thereafter the final step will be to put caps on and hopefully have a good smile again.  It's obviously embarassing and horrible but now that the process is nearly done I really only feel extreme gratitude toward science and medical innovation.  Much like the awe that I felt after getting my Covid vaccine, I am truly amazed by the technology and skill that allowed me to enjoy this even being a possibility!!