And so, on Monday, I got my new crown for my fifth dental implant. It feels odd to have all my teeth once again, always an adjustment after nine months from extraction to finish, living with a space in my mouth.
As it was last month when my dentist and his team took impressions to make the crown, this was not a fun hour of my day. Lots of stretching my lips to the maximum as he manipulated the post into place and then adjusted the crown itself to fit properly. I had to stop him at one point because the stretching was really extreme, and I needed an break and some Vaseline to lubricate my lips.
But we got through it. My bite feels right again. I can speak more clearly—which surprised me. The tooth in question was the first lower molar on the left side, kind of in the middle of my jaw. Apparently, even a space there, not visible, affects your tongue and how you form words.
When I saw my dental hygienist last week, she checked, as always, the status of my other teeth, several of which have been resorbing slowly for years. One of them has progressed—or, rather, regressed—a bit since she last checked. Not a good sign. It has been somewhat sensitive of late, though fluctuating. I’m just hoping that it and its neighbor, the other troublemaker at present, can hold on for a while longer. I really need a year, at least, between these procedures, just to let my mouth (and pocketbook) recover.
Scleroderma brings many, many complications. Resorbing dental roots doesn’t happen to everyone, but I seem to have hit the jackpot on this particular problem. I am grateful to have excellent dental care. Both my parents had partial dentures as they aged, and I’m glad that’s not the only alternative any more. I just wish dental insurance covered implants, which it doesn’t. Given that my issues are caused by a disease, it seems ridiculous that there isn’t some kind of coverage.
Universal health care, anyone?
Evelyn Herwitz blogs weekly about living fully with chronic disease, the inside of baseballs, turtles and frogs, J.S. Bach, the meaning of life and whatever else she happens to be thinking about at livingwithscleroderma.com. Please view Privacy Policy here.
Image: Akasha Dhage
It’s totally ridiculous that health care in the US is among the worst of all the industrialized nations. One cause I believe is our ideology of individualism, no sense that we are all responsible for taking care of each other. So if you can’t afford it, too bad for you. The irresponsibility of Congress on this topic is disgusting!