With This Many Crowns, I Should Be a Princess

The saga of dental difficulties relating to the replacement of the bad crown on one of my upper incisors is finally, mercifully, almost over!  

It all started in 2012 ... yes, five years ago.  (I told you about it at that time in THIS post.)  Summary of the saga is:  faulty crown extracted, bone grafts (twice) trying unsuccessfully to get a good substrate for dental implant, crown prep for three-tooth bridge with a not-so-awesome temporary, one gum graft, and a lot of healing time allotted in between procedures.  In addition these difficulties, last summer I left the dentist that has been caring for my teeth for 30+ years.  Her practice grew too large and impersonal, and I felt like a source of income instead of a patient.  It was time for me to move on.

Fast forward to October of last year:   Went to my periodontist for an evaluation and asked him for a recommendation for a new dentist.  Without hesitation he had a suggestion ... told me that he thought that it was a great match for my personality and that I would be happy there.  Turns out that I am happy ... very happy, as a matter of fact.

Dr. Dana Culda practices general dentistry, and specializes in prosthodontics and cosmetic dentistry.  She evaluated the condition of ALL of my teeth, and came up with an awesome plan.  In addition to finishing the bridge on the one side of my upper arch, she recommended that I crown the three teeth on the opposite side.  Her recommendation was based on the fact that those three teeth had decades-old composite fillings whose margins were failing, which led to decay in places that no amount of dental hygiene could prevent.  Doing all of this work at the same time would result in the best possible aesthetic outcome.  My husband and I talked it over, and we agreed to proceed with Dr. Culda's plan.

This is the model of what my teeth will look like when they're all finished.  Even though it's a lot of work, and expense, I'm really excited to get on with this.

Yesterday was the big day ... a VERY long appointment to prep my teeth for their new look!  Here is the bed-head, no make-up, unedited Before photo ... the first time I have showed this ... and the last look I had at that stained temporary bridge on the left and my natural teeth on the right.

This morning, my mouth is sore but fine.  Dr. Culda is a perfectionist, and she took incredible care to make sure that each tooth was prepared perfectly, that impressions were perfect, and that my temporary teeth are as perfect as possible.  Want to see?  (Scroll down and prepare yourself for another bed-head, no makeup selfie.)

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I love this more than I can adequately express in words ... even though my upper lip and nose are puffy and sore, it's an incredibly-huge improvement!!  

In three weeks, I have an appointment to try the final bridge and crowns.  I can't wait to finally be finished with this ... especially because having beautiful teeth again is going to be the amazing outcome!

All "Gummed" Up

I had dental surgery yesterday afternoon, a procedure that my periodontist calls 'ridge augmentation'.  It involved an hour and a half of cutting, scraping, grafting, sculpting, and stitching to correct a depression at my gumline that was caused by removal of a defective crown.

 [photo of Sunday morning's sunrise]

In the beginning of it all, this was supposed to be a simple matter of removing the crown in question, extracting the remaining root of the tooth, and placing an implant to support a new crown.  One fake tooth out, another fake tooth in, easy as pie.  Two bone graft surgeries later, and two years have elapsed, and there wasn't enough bone formed to support an implant and I had to face the fact that I would have a bridge to span the gap in my smile.  To make the bridge look natural, my gumline needed work ... which is what yesterday's surgery was all about.

I feel pretty good.  I spent yesterday evening and overnight on good pain meds ... deciding this morning that I don't need them anymore.  (Maybe one more pill tonight at bed time.)  I've been icing my face like I was instructed to do, but the swelling is still pretty technicolor.  Considering how much time I spent with my upper lip pulled up to my nose, so the doctor had access to do his thing, it's no surprise that it puffed up like it did.  The same thing happened with the prior two surgeries, so I was expecting it.  Hopefully, I will look more normal within a couple of days.  Sorry to disappoint you ... no photos of my puffy face will be posted.

Doctor's orders are for me to take it easy today and do as little as possible.  You all know me well enough by now to imagine that I'm going crazy having to be still like this.  So far, I have spent most of my time sitting on the sofa watching TV with the dogs.  Found a morning marathon of HGTV's 'Sarah Sees Potential' and that helped pass the time.  (I love everything about Sarah Richardson!)  

My doctor assures me that this latest procedure is going to do the trick, and that I can soon be fitted with a permanent bridge.  I sure hope so because I really want to put this prolonged dental nightmare behind me.  

A Little of Everything This Morning

There's a lot going on right now.  I have already spent some time this morning gathering my thoughts and trying to put things into their place ... getting a plan in place to deal with what I have to (or want to) do for the next few days.

Later this morning, I have an appointment at the periodontist for a dental implant.  Most folks would run screaming from the idea of this, but I welcome it ... I'm to that point with this loose crown of mine.  It's a front tooth, this is the third crown in this location, and the dentist is pretty certain that it's loose this time because the root is cracked.  I expect to come home later today with my head in a sling.

I know that Ruby will be here to comfort me when my anesthesia wears off.  She is such a love!  I never have to worry about where she is, because she's within a step or two of me at all times.  This makes it been really hard to try to get decent photos of her.  I'm working on it.

Right now, she's snoozing in her crate.  I have never had a dog with a crate before, and it's been a learning experience for me.  It's a great sense of security for me, knowing that she's confined and can't get into things and hurt herself when I'm not around.  Oh the other hand, I now have a new decorative element in my family room bay window.

The cats think that they have a new place to nap.  I have pulled both Alice and Maggie out of Ruby's crate multiple times during the last few days.  Ruby defers to the cats (good dog!) and we don't want the cats establishing territory in Ruby's safe place.

Right now, Maggie is napping in her primary spot ... in the south-facing window behind me, watching the birds outside.

The DC Big Flea is this weekend.  I love this show, but I am not planning to go this time.  There's nothing that I need, it's a bit of a drive, and I'm planning a very low-key weekend ... since I have no doubt that my head will be throbbing. 

I read on a blog yesterday that Eddie Ross is in town this weekend and that he will be leading shopping tours through the show ... at $50 bucks a head.  Am I the only one that thinks it's insane to pay someone to show you what kinds of bargains are available at a flea market?  I don't care who Eddie Ross is or what reputation preceeds him ... I can find my own bargains, thank you very much.  Besides, his first tour starts at 1:00 on Saturday.  The best bargains will be long gone by then.  (Do you think he preshops the place so he can 'find' things when he has his entourage in tow?)

Sorry ... that was catty.  It just bugs me to think that there are folks out there who think they have to follow someone else's lead to do something that they are quite capable of doing themselves.  If you need to shop with someone, grab a friend and make a day of it.  Admission to the show is $8, and you'll have $42 extra dollars to spend on treasures.  (Here's some free shopping advice ... Be sure to visit one of my favorite dealers in Aisle H, Booth #412 under the balloons.  She told me yesterday that everything in her booth is half price.)

A much closer to home place for me to shop for great stuff this weekend is Shumate's Auction in Warrenton (only a half an hour up the road from me.)  If my head will cooperate, I plan to be there on Saturday.  Kathy, the owner and auctioneer, puts together great auctions and there are definitely bargains to be had.  For example, I bought a pair of these beautiful English chairs for a ridiculously low bid at her last auction a few weeks ago.

Our friend Janet scored this dresser.  I wonder what it will look like once she works her Annie Sloan Chalk Paint magic on it?

On Monday, I will be shipping out the first rose orders of the season.  This early spring weather has awakened the nursery roses earlier than I expected, and I quietly put my 2012 rose inventory up on the web site last week.

'Glenn Dale'

Because most of last year's cuttings failed, I have far fewer roses available than I usually do.  This first batch was about 150 plants, and I have about 75 more in the greenhouse that aren't ready for their new homes quite yet.  I usually start the year with about 750 plants, so this year's 225 is pretty disappointing.  The plants I do have are large and healthy ... I'm trying to concentrate on 'glass half full' point of view.

"Caldwell Pink"

I should stop stalling, get up from this couch, and hit the shower to get ready to start my day.  My appointment is at 10:00.  My periodontist is awesome, but I could probably still use whatever good thoughts you can send my way.

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Edited at 1:30pm to add:  I've been home from my appointment for a little while now.  This procedure was almost a piece of cake ... didn't feel a thing after the first sting of the needle.  I have most of the feeling back in my face now.  Earlier, it felt like I was numb all the way to my earlobes, which is a good thing for dental work.  The periodontist couldn't place the actual implant today, so I have a bone graft, some stitches, and a tooth on a 'flipper', just like the little pageant girls wear.  This wasn't what we hoped for, but at least I'm not bothered by that awful loose crown anymore.