Replacing All my Teeth. London, GB

Booked in to have all on 4 treatment for both upper and lower arches in less than 2 weeks from now. As the surgery date draws closer I am getting more nervous about the actual process, how I will feel afterwards and the end result -- is it going to feel really weird and unnatural? Like many people on this site I have had a big fear of dentists though not sure why as it is not even the needles that bother me particularly. I think it was more that I was didn't want to hear the bad news about my dental situation. I am still in my mid thirties just about still and have had aggressive perio disease which I left untreated until earlier this year when I was suffering from abbesses pretty much constantly and two teeth fell out within the space of 48 hours (though had lost quite a few before this and hadn't done anything). However, by the time I did go to the dentist, the first time in almost 15 years, it turned out just to be too far gone to save my natural teeth, those which hadn't already fallen out by the time I started this treatment, and the ones I do have left are all crooked and loose with major gum recession also. Basically not a pretty picture!

So I have spent the last 6 months or so getting use to the idea that I am going to lose my teeth and figuring out what I am going to do about it and how I might be able to pay for treatment. I have also attended many dental appointments during this time and more or less overcome my dental phobia thanks to some very kind and patient dental professionals. In terms of options, dentures were definitely something I wanted to avoid at my age as you hear lots of horror stories about them falling out and not being able to eat and speak properly. Full implants seemed like the way to go but the cost here in London, UK is so high so have thought about and looked into going abroad - Hungary being the most obvious choice but I am not the best traveller even under normal circumstances and my fear about what if something goes wrong during treatment definitely put me off this. Anyway, got some great advice from the guy who did the perio work and also did my own research and looked a few clinics in London and have found one that was recommended to me and seems very professional, offers a good guarantee and I feel comfortable with though certainly not the cheapest. At the same time, I figured out an affordable way of paying for the treatment, partly through re-mortgaging, as it so much money and I earn a very normal salary - not the kind of wage that can really afford cosmetic treatments.

Anyway, everything is now set up for treatment to go ahead I just need to turn up on the day and place myself in the hands of the surgeon and the rest of the team doing the work. It will be done under conscious sedation as well as local anaesthetic. Not had sedation before but hope this will help or at least make me not care about what is going on as last time I had just local anaesthetic for dental work I could still feel quite a bit of pain. I will be at the clinic all day and am told the actual surgery part will take about 3 hours. Well I am going to make the most of solid meals for the next week or so even though chewing with the amount of teeth I have left is not that easy as I will be on a very soft diet for a while after the surgery. I really hope it will all be worth it but I am optimistic that it will improve my quality of life and will start feeling confident to do all the normal things that people do again.

Anyway, I will post again after my surgery.

Went for the 'all on 4 treatment yesterday and it all went really well. I think the actual surgery took about 4 hours maybe a bit longer but I lost all sense of time once they started pumping the sedation drugs into me. The only pain/discomfort I felt was towards the end when the surgeon bolted the prosthetic teeth into the implants and the rest was a bit of a blur -- the extractions, putting the implant screws in etc. and I was too out of it to feel anything much.

They gave me antibiotics, ibuprofen, co-codamol and steroids to take over the next few days. I felt a bit rubbish in the car one the way home and then slept a bit in the evening once I got back. I felt a bit nauseous at one point but the feeling passed after a few minutes thankfully. I have been using an ice pack fairly regularly also. I haven't eaten too much yet just some rice pudding and some very soft creamy desserts and drinking fruit smoothies. The lower part of my face has swollen up a little bit today and a my mouth feels a little bit sore but nothing too bad - nowhere near as painful as having an abscess.

Still feel a bit 'washed out' today, the day after but really happy I have got this done. My new temporary teeth look amazing and feel quite good generally. Beforehand, I was concerned if it would feel strange but it isn't that bad -- the lower one feel quite normal and with the upper ones it feels slightly odd where there is a bit of an acrylic ridge at the top that I can feel with my tongue. It feels a bit odd if I tap my teeth against each other, quite a different sound from my natural teeth - but not a big issue. My speech is not that badly effected though, I don't think I would want to give a presentation to a whole room of people or anything just yet but normal conversation is ok and in some ways slightly better than before as my natural teeth had drifted so much making speech somewhat difficult.

So far, I am really happy with the clinic where I have had the work done. It seems very well set up and all the staff have very dedicated roles including the administrative staff, the nurses, the dental technician, anaesthetist and the dentist of course who are all friendly, professional and most importantly highly competent in what they do. I think it is particularly good that there is a dedicated technician on site who works with you to provide teeth as you want them. I am also pleased I have chosen somewhere local as this is a complicated procedure that requires numerous appointments to get to the final result. I had three appointments prior to surgery, the surgery itself and now have seven further appointments planned over the next six or seven months.

Anyway that is about it for now. Will be taking it pretty easy for a few days as I expect the swelling to get worse possibly. Just happy that I have got the surgery out of the way and that my new teeth look great.

My recovery seems to be going quite well. For the first couple of days I had quite a bit of blood in my saliva, felt pretty tired and my face swelled a little so I looked a bit like a chipmunk and my skin was really dry. Using the icepack pretty regularly for the first 3 days but not any more. Thankfully not too much pain though still taking ibuprofen to help keep the swelling down and using lots of moisturiser on my face and chap stick on my lips also. I have developed a bit of bruise on my right jaw and my face stills feels a little bit stiff and awkward so I can't wait for this to settle down to so I know how my new teeth really feel and my face looks with a mouth full of teeth once more.

Finished taking the steroids yesterday and just over half way through my course of antibiotics. I have just about been able to eat some normal food as long as it is really soft such as spaghetti bolognaise yesterday and tonight I'm going to try some chicken and vegetables but with lots of gravy to soften it up so I can mush it up and slurp it down hopefully. I've ventured out a couple of times now and day after tomorrow I return to work so getting back to normal. I just feel very grateful I was in a position to get this procedure done as it is very distressing when your teeth start failing especially when it all happens so quickly.