Dental Work #3

I had my final dental appointment this afternoon, and everything is finally done!

I had the apt set for 2p, arrived on time, and was immediately taken to the exam room for the cleaning. The dental hygienist confirmed the needed cleaning with a quick exam, then went about with Lidocane injections of the Top gums, as she would first clean the upper teeth, then the lower.

As the scheduled appointment was for two hours, I settled in, got all numbed up, and she began by using a high pressure water pick-type thing than literally carved up any loose plaque on my teeth; much like old open pit miners used to use hydro monitors (basically, hose valves) to spray away hillsides to expose whatever they were after. Anyway, without the lidocane this would have been painful as both the teeth and the gums were targeted. She would pause to suction and water from my mouth during then whole process.

Once done with that, the manual picks that scrape away harder plaque were used, followed by flossing and then a thorough rinse.

Then, everything was repeated for the bottom teeth.

Once that was done, the hygienist applied a plaque inhibitor along the gums and between all my teeth, and repeated. Any excess fluid from this was suctioned off--thank goodness! It tasted nasty!

Once that was done, I was instructed to switch my current mouth rinse to Listerine, for its antibacterial properties. Considering I now have to keep my mouth as bacteria-free as possible, I'll definitely be following this advice.
Also, I need to start flossing--not one of my strong points as I am too uncoordinated to do this effectively. The hygienist gave me a couple of options: 1) Buy a Water Pik to replace flossing. 2) Buy some of the new horseshoe shaped floss aid-they're disposable, and cheap. In either case, because of the upcoming transplant, I need to be flossing to help lower the bacteria in my mouth.

As far as after-care, my mouth will be sore for a few days. I need to continue rinsing my mouth after eating (with water), and then use a rinse I purchased there called Chlorhexidine Gluconate Oral Rinse USP, 0.12%. This is an after care mouth rinse that I will use twice a day for one week. After that, I'll switch to the Listerine. So, new oral care for the rest of my life...Woo-Hoo!!! :o)
Lastly, I will have two follow-up appointments. The first is for one month from now to see if any issues have developed since the deep cleaning. The second will be after six months, just to see how everything looks.
Once I am healed from my transplant the dentist wants to see me again to check on my oral health at that time, as well

While the hygienist was poking around, I asked her how the extraction site looks [from my pulled tooth] and she stated that it is looking great! She basically reiterated what the dentist said last week--that it will be now 1-2 weeks before everything is back to normal.

After everything was done, the hygienist took my Dental Clearance form to the Dentist, he signed it, and I am now officially one giant step closer to finally being placed on the Active List!

YAY!!!  :o)  :o)  :o)

After I got home today I emailed my Transplant Coordinator and asked how she would like to receive the Dental Form, and she already got back to me instructing me to just email it to her. So, I scanned the form, and immediately emailed her the Dental Clearance. Whew!

So there you are, everyone. I've been waiting a year for this day; and it finally arrived!

Next up...Surgical Consult for my Double Nephrectomy.

Good Health to All!

ScottW