Needles and a Screw

fritzdenis

Jun 1

Found out last fall, after a filling-pocked molar shattered, that I needed the remnants pulled. A bone graft to replace lost jawbone, the insertion of a base, and the mounting of a crown would follow. A periodontist completed the second step last Tuesday.

I opted for no anesthesia while knowing that most folks choose oblivion. I needed to drive myself home after the procedure, and the medical profession frowns on letting groggy patients wander around in motorized vehicles.

The periodontist stuck my gums with Novocain around the work site. That stung. Then she scraped away at the target area, used various tools to push and prod, then hammered a small chisel to lift the jawbone upward into the nasal cavity. She crammed bone meal graft (cadaver sourced and sterilized) into the gap then began to drill. She checked several times via x-rays to make sure that the bore hadn't penetrated into the narrowed nasal cavity. Then she took a glorified electric screwdriver and turned a glorified screw into my jaw. I could feel the movement of something slowly spinning and pushing inward. The screw, apparently, was the base for the crown.

After that, she packed more bone meal around the screw and began to sew mesh into my gums. (The mesh holds the graft in place.) The threads sometimes crossed over my lips as she weaved her knots. I found that sensation more unnerving than the turning of the screw (take that, Henry James).

The procedure lasted more than an hour. Some of the hardest parts were holding my mouth open wide for long periods, keeping my head turned at an awkward angle, drawing my tongue out of the way, and suppressing an urge to gag and choke. And towards the end, I began to feel dull pain at the work site earning my gums another needle stick.

The periodontist blew through a set of post-op instructions after the ordeal. She gave me a two-sided sheet of reminders, four prescriptions, and a sample bottle of sterilizing mouthwash. Then she told me to come back in two weeks.

That evening, my mouth throbbed as expected. But I also felt a burning sensation on the outer edge of my elbow. My osteopath checked me over the next day and discovered distressed areas in my neck. He turned, pulled, and prodded, but my elbow still hurt. He told me that the neck-twisting position held during the dental procedure had irritated a line of nerves running down my arm. He asked if I'd like a steroid shot, told me to lie on my stomach, and injected several sites along the left side of my neck.

When I got home, I downed an analgesic, collapsed in bed, and took a nap. I did the bare minimum after I awoke. The next morning, I told my wife that the day looked promising. She asked why, and I replied, "No needles."

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