50 Years Old Great Smile - Fort Mill, SC

I am 50 years old and I had the top and bottom done in one visit. I was in an auto accident 25 years ago and I was in braces. The damage to my face and mouth was bad, however it did not need surgery at the time. I had a great smile and was only missing 3 teeth. The gums were receding rapidly and the tooth pain was ever increasing. My teeth were protruding into my sinus cavity and were going to need root canals to save them. I researched all options and saw all-on-4 as the best option.

There is going to be pain and discomfort with this procedure. The first 2 days you will be in some serious pain, make sure to have your ice packs handy. Please make a pill chart so you can track your dose time. To much and to soon can cause more problems. Day 3 to 8 you will use a heating pad to help control the pain. By day 10, the follow up day, I was almost off of the narcotic. Today is my day 17 and I am back to normal duty at work and I use ibuprofen to control the pain. I take 2 pills when the discomfort starts, usually about lunch time and then 2 pills around 7pm. I found Listerine Naturals without fluoride, to be soothing and use it several times a day. The healing arches will seem odd and natural at the same time. The numb lower lib is a bother and I fear biting it. I would go through this again because the overall pain and discomfort I suffered daily is gone.

Eating is going to be different. When they say you will be on a soft diet for a long time, its true. I did try to have a "normal" piece of food that was a bit crunchy. I guess I forgot how much surgery was done in my mouth and how much was not covered by the healing bridges. Avoid excessive chewing or chewing on hard stuff. This will take pain to a whole new place.

This is not a maintenance free option for teeth replacement. The care and hygiene process is very involved. I am learning a whole new regimen of oral health.

I can go a full day without needing anything for pain. I do find that I am a bit sore after eating and this is normal. I have a water flosser that connects to my sink faucet. I like this option because I do not run out of water and there is no pulsing water. I still use the unit I received from the implant center at my office. I will continue to use a standard type water pick/flosser because you can add mouthwash to it.

I can get floss under my lower arch and it comes out clean. I can only get floss under the back-ends of the upper arch. I can not find a way to get between the upper lip and arch nor from the pallet to the lip. I am guessing there is still a lot of swelling under the top arch. I am able to force mouthwash and water flossing everywhere under the arches and I feel and smell clean in the mouth.

I am not experiencing nasal congestion or very much pain in my sinus cavity. I suffered long with allergies and sinus issues. I am remarkably free of sinus issues at this time and have no difficulty breathing through my nose. I do have bit of post nasal discharge that includes blood clots. I had a few large nasal discharges a couple days after surgery that were rather large clots and this happened while showering. I guess the warm moist air helped to dislodge these bits.

The healing process is going better than I could ask for. I am very diligent in keeping my mouth clean. I have a 3-5 minute rinse and flush routine and a 2-4 minute brushing routine that I do 4 times a day. I always rinse my mouth out after eating lunch while at the restaurant and I keep a small travel toothbrush and bottle of Listerine in my pocket. I am always amazed at how much stuff I get off my tongue when I brush it twice a day.

it has been just over 4 months and things are going very well. My numbness in my lower lip is much better. The right side is back to normal and the left side it getting there. The biggest thing to deal with is not having molars to chew with. The jaw muscle is going through a bit of change. some days it is sore because the chewing is with a nipping style and this over works the jaw and gives the lower lip hell... you will have so much food there it will seem impossible to deal with. Time will be your friend with this as you will learn to manipulate food like a pro.