This is part 2 of my whole experience. I am writing about my experience because after what I had to have done, I have read about all kinds of stories from many other people who went through or are going through similar issues that I currently am now going through. Hopefully by writing this it will help others or at least let those out there know they are not alone. If you read part 1, then you know how I went through Aspen Dental. You will have also read a little about what was going on that led up to my surgery and I had even mentioned that I have TMJD. If you haven’t read part 1 and want to start at the beginning of my story, you can read it here —> My Dental Experience & Major Dental Surgery (Part 1).
So now we are up to my surgery day. Just to sum it up, I had to have my whole top row extracted including wisdom teeth. My bottom wisdom teeth and second molars had to be extracted on the bottom. Since I was getting my top row extracted, I was going to have a top immediate denture. When I woke up, they were supposed to already be in place. That didn’t happen because of a complication during surgery. But I will get to that shortly.
So, as I mentioned in part 1 I had a long wait in the waiting room before surgery. Aspen Dental in our area has only one surgeon who splits his time so a wait before surgery was understandable. But it did not help with my anxiety. I was terrified to begin with and waiting was not helping. I almost got up and walked out. But I was finally called back and my husband went back with me until I went under. Yes, I requested to be put to sleep. I met with my surgeon and he could clearly see I was freaking out. So I talked to him for a little bit before he got started. He was very detailed in what was going to happen because he wanted me to fully understand everything beforehand. As much as I was worked up, he was worried that we would have to reschedule but after taking to him about my TMJ issues, he assured me that he wouldn’t open my jaw up as far as he normally would. He made me feel so much better about everything and I was able to be a lot calmer afterward.
I don’t really remember anything else after that. I don’t remember going to sleep and I barely remember waking up. I do remember kind of waking for a split second during surgery toward the end though and I remember my surgeon telling me he was almost finished but that almost felt like a dream. Everything he and my hygienist said about aftercare I didn’t hear. Or at least I don’t remember any of it. My husband was back there at that time so after we got home and I became aware again, he told me everything that had happened because I had no idea. I’ll get to more of that after I tell you about my little adventure home.
So, my hygienist walked me out the door after my surgery but I don’t remember if it was her or my husband who helped me get in the car. I was completely out of it. I do remember thinking I had a rock stuck in my mouth but after my husband pulled out of the parking lot, I was out again before I could ask him if I had a rock in my mouth. Next thing I knew, my husband was coming out of Walgreens with my prescriptions (antibiotic and pain medication). He got in the car and I asked, “How did we get at Walgreens?” I’m not sure if that was how that question sounded but that’s what I had meant to say. So my husband says, “Well, I kind of drove over here.” I remember saying, “Well, that’s good…I thought we flew but that wouldn’t make sense.” “Nope, it sure wouldn’t. You should probably just sleep on the way home.” he says.
My mouth was so packed with gauze it wasn’t funny. I thought I was going to gag so I tell him I need to get them out of my mouth. So of course he runs over to my side and adjusts the gauze a little because he told me I couldn’t take them out yet. Then I remembered I had a rock in my mouth so the gagging all the sudden wasn’t an issue. I wanted that blasted rock out of my mouth. So he had to assure me I did not have a rock in my mouth. Later I realized the rock was my tongue. It was a couple hours after I got home that I was awake and knew what was going on again. That was when I found out the complications I had.
I was in unbelievable pain, more pain than normal. Come to find out one my eye teeth would not separate from my gum. No matter what my surgeon did, he could not get it to let go. He told my husband he had never seen anything like it before. It ended up ripping a big section of my front gum wall and boy was that painful. That was the reason I couldn’t wear my immediate denture. It wasn’t until 2 months after my surgery that I was able to wear them. Ugh, wearing a denture is another nightmare but that will probably be talked more about in part 3. Anyway, I also found out I had a SECOND complete set of wisdom teeth! The ex-rays didn’t show them and I have had a few ex-rays at other dentist offices that never shown a second set before either. My surgery ended up being 30-40 minutes longer than he was expecting. I never really understood why I had developed TMJ issues but my surgeon told me that could have been a factor.
I swelled really, really badly and it lasted for quite a while. I also couldn’t open my mouth further than one finger space. And I didn’t even have my denture in yet. I was told that trismus (closing of the jaw) was normal for anyone for having dental surgery. Normally it clears up on its own after swelling subsides within 1-2 weeks. Not mine. Three weeks went by and I still couldn’t open my mouth!
Now that my post is beginning to turn into another novel, I am going to stop here for now. I will get more into my recovery (which took forever, and is still kind of ongoing) in part 3. So look for part 3 coming soon. I will get more into how I have been dealing with TMJ issues.
Links for complete story:
My Dental Experience & Major Dental Surgery (Part 1)
My Dental Experience & Major Dental Surgery (Part 2) You are reading it
My Dental Experience & Major Dental Surgery (Part 3) Coming Soon
Disclaimer: This is not a paid or sponsored post.
