I am pissed.
I went to see the oral surgeon today to get sutures out, and to have the upper plate modified so that I could use it. Both were done.
When you hear the phrase 'modified so that I could use it', what does the word 'use' mean?
In this case: "Wear it if you absolutely need to, but otherwise, don't -- and if you do, don't chew with it. Doing so will imperil the integrity of the graft. Try not to wear it at all. " Before, it was 'Don't wear it for two weeks, then we'll modify it'. A mild caution not to overdo it, chewing wise, once it was in use. But that was it. No warnings about not using it at all. But now that we're at the point of actually using it -- well, well, well, different story.
In that eloquent phrase: WTF?
I know, I said that I like conservative doctors. But it would have been nice, up front, to know that the 'no chewing' period was going to last considerably longer than I thought. I knew that it would be at least four months from when the graft was done to when the first implants were done. I did not know that I was going to have to spend some portion of that continuing to eat soft foods. The first two months of which contain the two prime eating holidays of the year. Oh, joy.
How long will it last? I didn't ask. At that point, I really didn't want to know the answer. Somewhere less than four months, would be my guess. If I'd known this, up front, would I have said the hell with it, just go with dentures? At the moment, I'm thinking: oh, yeah.
Side note 1:
If I've lost ten pounds in ten days, what will months mean? Other than going insane because I won't be able to bake, that is? I do like losing weight, but crunching into something'd be nice, too. Especially if I can be relatively sure that the crunch isn't shattering bone in my jaw.
Side note 2:
As he was taking out the sutures (and without anesthetic!), he muttered that some of the sutures were awfully complicated, to which the nurse replied 'Well, your sutures always are.' He seemed to think this funny, saying 'Yeah, but usually you have to take them out, not me.' Oh, great. So the guy who did them thinks they're complicated -- and someone of lesser talent gets to remove them? This does buckets for my enthusiasm, too.
