The Freaky Tooth Blog is Back!

Ok- so it's been a couple months since the last post. I hope you all enjoyed your holidays. Unfortunately Santa did not bring me a tooth for Christmas. But, maybe he will for Christmas in July! That's right, I said July. I will get to why it might be July in a few paragraphs, but first here is what has been happening.

The Stent
Ok- so remember there were a lot of things that were supposed to happen at the first of the year? One of which was that Gomes would call Mazur and make sure we got the stent ordered. Well, I did talk to Mazur sometime between the last posting and the Christmas break to tell him what was said, and he put it on his calendar to contact Gomes if he had not heard from him by about January 3rd. Well- it's January 22nd, the implant goes in on January 30th, and the stent is still not ordered. Mazur has put in a couple calls to Gomes with no return. He finally called him back on Friday and wondered if Mazur had ordered the stent yet. AAAAGGGGGHHHH!!!

The Flipper
Well, it just so happens that I think there actually might be some bone graft growth going on! YAY! My flipper started hitting something in the hole about a month ago and was continuing to do so. So I went in to Mazur this morning for a flipper adjustment thinking that would be good timing before the surgery next week. We got it all fixed up! Woo hoo!

Odds and Ends
So Dr. Mazur and I decided we would go ahead and order the stent today- we should be able to get it in by Monday next week. There was a debate as to if we should send it directly to Gomes or not... I decided I'd rather take it with me. It should come in their morning delivery on Monday and then I can pick it up Monday afternoon and have it for Tuesday. If Gomes doesn't pay for it, then Dr. Mazur will. I told him at this point I'd pay for it because I just want it done right- but he said I shouldn't have to and he would if Gomes doesn't. But guess what- that required more impressions. No joke. :) Dr. Mazur thought it would be best for them to have a current model to design the stent from, instead of the previous wax up- especially since I think there is bone growth going on there. I really really wonder what they do with those molds when they are done. Time for a Dateline investigation with Chris Hansen. :)

I also asked Dr. Mazur what kind of timeline we are looking at for getting this done. He suggested 3-4 months of bone growth and integration (i'm hoping for 3 months- I integrated very well last time!! ) Then we will start the prep work for the crown and the veneer. I agreed with Dr. Mazur that we would try to even out the space with a veneer on top of it and the adjacent I-tooth. Dr. Mazur also said he would be able to put the abutment in too- so then I don't have to go down to Indy to try to get it done and get back up here for an appointment to fit something on it. The crown and veneer and stuff will all take a few weeks too. So add on another Month. So... thats 5 months total... so July. Yay.

So I go to Gomes in a week. I have done a drive-by of his new place, but it was a weekend so it was not open. It is in a hispanic neighborhood- which I guess is a good population for him being from Venezuela and all. :) I will be giving him a call later on this week to make sure everything is in order and to see if he will call in my prescriptions ahead of time, so I can have some drugs with me to pop in before the hour long ride home. Pretty much the pattern has been that I get home, I take some drugs, I ice my face, and I take a nap. Then I am good to go by that evening. :) So hopefully I can try to continue that pattern in the car on the way home and will be no worse for the wear.

All I know is that I am ready to get this party started! Pack me with cadaver bone and ship me on my way! So wish me luck- or better yet, wish Dr. Gomes luck. :) The good news is that if he messes it up this time, Dr. Mazur is getting trained to do implants using some hi-tech equipment and I can go to him. :) I can't wait to report in next week and let you all know how it goes! Until then....