June is Oral Health Month so I wanted to share my personal 'tooth' story. I made the decision to go through with a dental implant back in 2017 and I finally finished in 2020. Now that it's all over, I can say I'm happy with the decision I made but holy cow was it a long journey.
I started working the front desk at Ballantyne Endodontics for a couple years before I had kids. For those that don't know, endodontic therapy is root canal therapy! I learned SO much about teeth and oral health in general while working there. My former boss and friend, Dr. Chopra was the one who convinced me to do a consult for a dental implant.
I was born with a common developmental oral health condition called hypodontia (which, with a little research I learned about 20% of adults have!). It means I was born without a permanent tooth and more specifically my adult lateral incisor (tooth #7, right in the front). So once I lost my baby tooth, an adult tooth never came in. This was an easy diagnosis as the x-ray showed there wasn't a tooth up there at all.
I got braces for the first time when I was in 6th grade, and a space was made for a pontic tooth to be attached to a bracket. Once I got my braces off in 8th grade, my retainer was made with a pontic attached to it. This was just super for my self esteem going into high school...because whenever I took my retainer out, the tooth would come out with it! So I never ate lunch in 9th grade (so trivial looking back). Not too much longer after that, I had a Maryland Bridge put in.
Maryland Bridge:
This bridge lasted about 14 years for me. But because of the material of the tooth, it had slowly started changing color since it was porous. Functionally it was still working for me, but I had become so unhappy with how it looked and it was effecting my self confidence SO much! It was at this time that I worked at Ballantyne Endo and Dr. Chopra convinced me to look into an implant.
Summer 2017, before the implant:
I had my first consult toward the end of 2017 and I scheduled my implant procedure just before Christmas. For this kind of surgery I saw a periodontist...they specialize in the gums and the bone that actually supports the teeth. When I woke up from the procedure, I received the bad news that they were unable to perform the implant and had to do a bone graft. There was just not enough jawbone there for the actual implant to go into, and there ALSO needed to be more space between the two existing teeth. This meant I needed braces again (yes I cried).
The bone graft needed to heal for at least 6 months before they could take an updated CT scan to see if it was successful and therefore if an implant would be possible. I got connected to Hull & Coleman Orthodontics to get started on my lovely SECOND journey with braces. THANKFULLY I was a candidate for Invisalign!!! I was in the same boat though, when I took my Invisalign out, my pontic came out. But I didn't care at this point, I was just grateful I didn't need metal braces again.
By April 2018, about 5 months after I had the bone graft done, I became pregnant with Elin! This was of course wonderful but it meant my implant treatment had to be put on hold. I was able to continue with my Invisalign treatment, but I wasn't able to get my CT scan until after Elin was born. In March of 2019, I was able to get the scan done and received the good news that the bone graft worked beautifully...so I was able to move forward with the implant!
CT Scan once bone graft was healed:
In May of 2019, I finally got my dental implant. Healing from this surgery typically takes several months so the implant can fuse to the jawbone. Something to note is that a periodontist ONLY works on the gums and bone, so I had to go to a prosthodontist for healing abutment, and then the actual restoration of my tooth (the part that you SEE). So throughout this whole ordeal, I had been going to Dr. Griswold for consults and fittings for the final restoration. It is such a complex thing because its a front tooth, and Dr. Griswold is a perfectionist (so thankful for that!). The shape, the color, the texture, the fit...all need to match my natural teeth because its right in front. It took many appointments to get it just right, but boy did she get it right!
Implant before final restoration:
I still had my Invisalign up until this point, even though the implant was completed. Some of my other teeth had shifted slightly since my first round with braces so I was having all of that straightened out again as well (literally). I finished my refinement period in 2020 just a couple months before Oliver was born. It was the most wonderful news to be done with all of it!
It was a long ordeal, but I appreciated how every step was done RIGHT (having two babies in the middle of all that definitely dragged it out longer than it should have). It was so important to me to go to specialists so I knew I was getting the best treatment possible for each step. So thankful that Charlotte houses some of the most incredible dental specialists.
Final restoration:
Thank you to Dr. Gadhia at Periocare, Dr. Coleman at Hull & Coleman Orthodontics, and Dr. Griswold for doing your absolute best work on restoring my smile. It sounds so corny, but my smile AND my confidence was restored!
AND a huge thank you to Dr. Chopra, at Ballantyne Endodontics for connecting me with all the right people and sharing her own tooth story to inspire me.
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