Possessed

I do not know what possessed me...Oh yes I remember now! I have had two conversations today that inspired me to search for articles I have written. One was on quitting smoking and the other was about my dental implants. Thus far I have not found either article but I started cleaning out my external hard drive as a result. One of my discoveries was that I was saving articles and other files that would never be of any use to anyone at any time. If I want to know something I google it. I do not go through files from 1998 that I most likely do not have what I need to open it anyway. I turn to the Internet-that big file cabinet in the sky for any question I might have and rarely is it not there. So I have started cleaning and deleting and I have made a dent. Sure wish I could find that dental implant article...hmmm Still looking. Maybe I put it on the blog...no, that was before I started the blog...still looking.
Found one!!!
I filed it under Personal Info and titled it Crunch and Munch. No wonder I had trouble locating it when I was searching for dental implants
Crunch and Munch!    By Barbara Brooker 10/23/1999
     I have a lifelong history of poor dental health. In pictures of me with baby teeth they show discolored and decayed. I have unpleasant childhood memories of Saturdays as they consisted of mornings at the dentist and afternoons at catechism. Now, I am sure the reality wasn’t that bad but that is my perspective none the less. When I reached the rebellious teen years I dropped both. After marriage we did not have the money to go to a dentist not that I would have anyway. The only time I even considered it was when I suffered with a toothache which began to happen with regularity. While still in my twenties they became bad enough to consider dentures. Vanity played a part because my front teeth were showing decay and I knew that was most unattractive. I was way beyond anxious when sitting in a dentist’s chair so I opted to have my upper teeth removed as a patient in the hospital. I was quite happy with my upper plate and had little or no problems with them. On the bottom I started with a partial plate but it wasn’t too many years until I lost the teeth the partial attached too and so I did without. I knew that a bottom plate was in my future and didn’t consider that much of a problem. Little did I know!!!
     I was able to get by with what I had until I was in my forties but then I knew it was time to get a bottom plate. The dentist told me I didn’t have much of a ridge and that I may have problems but I didn’t think much about it. I never adjusted well to the bottom plate. It seemed I always had a sore someplace and if one was fixed another cropped up somewhere else. I tried new plates but that didn’t help either. The dentist mentioned that I might be a candidate for dental implants. I was interested but I knew that insurance would not cover them and I had the erroneous information that the cost was exorbitant. So I tried to get by with what I had but it became increasingly more difficult to eat. I gave up many foods because they were too difficult and it was too painful to eat them. Over time the situation worsened and I became less vain in the face of pain and would take my bottom teeth out at every opportunity. It became like an addiction and I would think when would I get these damn teeth out when we were in social situations. They were the last thing I put in and the first out whenever possible. It became much easier to eat without them.
Last year while on vacation my husband suggested I get the implants when we returned home. I think he grew tired of seeing me putting them in and out of my mouth several times a day.
     I asked my dentist to set up an appointment with a dental surgeon so that I could make a decision as to whether I would proceed with it. The appointment was near the end of May. There was some question if I had enough bone left in my lower jaw to accommodate the implants but x-rays confirmed it okay. We discussed procedure and cost ($2400). Surgery would consist of two holes drilled into my jawbone in the approximate location of my long gone eyeteeth. Titanium pegs would be inserted and then I would need to let four months elapse to allow time for the bone to grow around the pegs and make them solid. At that time the pegs would be uncovered and an attachment knob screwed into them. As far as I was concerned it was a go. The surgery took place in Council Bluffs because the equipment he needed was in that location. June 3rd was the date. It took about an hour and I was successful in getting my mind in another place to endure it. Considering my history in a dentist’s chair I thought I had performed a miracle by sitting in one spot that long! I was glad a friend went with me because I was in considerable discomfort for the 60-mile trip home. I took pain pills for the remainder of the day and slept a great deal but the recovery was not extreme and by the following day all was well. I was glad I had an excuse not to wear that pesky bottom plate for two weeks while my gums healed. Even then I hated putting them back in my mouth. I went through the summer with the same struggle I had been having for the past several years. I carried a plastic bag in my purse so I had somewhere to put them whenever I dared. In late September I had the titanium pegs uncovered and that was a bit more of a procedure than I had anticipated. It closely resembled the first surgery and I did not expect it to be that extensive. I felt as though I were squirming all over the chair but I managed to live through that. He hollowed out a depression in my bottom plate for the temporary knobs to fit into until the final healing was completed. I could tell the difference in stability immediately and enjoyed a meal while actually chewing my food. I was very anxious to get the final procedure finished so I could begin to enjoy the benefits of having these little metal “teeth” in my mouth. The 13th of October was the day and it was worth it all. The attachments were placed in my bottom plate and the two came together for the first time. The stability was unbelievable. I chewed so much that first day that my jaws were tired. They were not used to all that work. The first thing I tried was an apple and it worked great. I ate steak, celery, carrots, nuts and many other foods I had not been able to eat for years. I had not enjoyed this much pain free eating for more years than I can remember. My entire system was in a pleasant state of shock. My body was dealing with food that was actually chewed into tiny bits instead of the big chunks that had been forced through my system. The total monetary cost was $2770.00. And I say it is definitely worth it. 
You have no idea how many areas of your life are affected by the lack of having working bottom teeth. I talk, laugh and yell differently. I feel more at ease because I do not fear that my bottom plate will fall in my lap.  And the joy of eating is tremendous not to mention the benefit of having the food properly prepared for digestion. I leave them in for the entire day without a second thought just like normal people do. The teeth in your mouth affect every other area of your life.
P.S.
This was written a long time ago. I have had my implants about 13 years now and I am still very grateful for them. They are the best thing I have ever done for myself. I am not sure I would have the nerve to have it done in Mexico although I am sure many have without incident. I had mine done in Council Bluffs Iowa by Dr Anderson
PPS-  I am still delighted with my implants 2014

Still searching for the other one...maybe it is a hard copy ,after all that  was 30 years ago!! Wow!