Dental Procedure (Gum Graft)

Thursday, 11/5, I had a dental gum graft procedure on the anterior part of my lower front four teeth.

Arrived and was immediately scanned for temperature check and taken to a room. Associate doctor (AD) had full sleeve tattoos on both arms (Dawn mentioned one was a Sesame Street theme). She took my blood pressure with a cuff attached to a new piece of machinery. All was well. They have a new doctor at this practice who preferred to use the modern equipment, and the AD had to remember how to turn the cuff from automatic to manual, so it wouldn't beep throughout the entire procedure. The other doctor apparently leaves it on automatic mode. 

The AD asked how my day was going and I mentioned my struggles with getting a Lyft rideshare to the office--I had a ride scheduled, but something was inexplicably wrong with the app-based payment process, and so my appointment was canceled with no warning and I ended up driving myself. The original plan was for Dawn to come with and we'd both take a rideshare roundtrip. What actually happened: I drove there and Dawn volunteered to drive back. Dr. Browning came in and said he had tweaked his back. They attached the IV drop to my right arm and started the twilight anesthesia drip. 

The procedure lasted about 45 minutes, I think. During this time my consciousness was like waking up in the middle of the night and falling back asleep. I briefly recall lightly snoring, and was alert enough to realize it was inappropriate and checked it. That's all I recall vividly.

The AD had described the aftereffects as feeling drunk, and that's not too far off, but not quite right. For me, drunkenness feels much worse. I felt mentally ~80% and physically ~90%--just mildly uncoordinated and unfocused. It was a bit of a struggle to guide myself--I was aware I knew enough to get into the passenger seat, but my brain was not quite prepared for dealing with the rest of my body reacting somewhat clumsily. The AD carefully guided me to the waiting car, and explicitly told me to duck my head while getting in, which I was grateful for--I might not have remembered to duck. 🙂

Dawn drove us home successfully 💜 

Since Thursday, I've rested and eaten carefully. This is my third dental gum graft, but the first under twilight sedation. The first two were with a different doctor, under local anesthetic. I chose to go with a new doctor as the old doctor no longer accepted my insurance. And the new doctor turned out to also do cosmetic touchups as well, which was great. 

Compared to earlier gum grafts, this one uses a custom upper palette shield to protect the source of the graft tissue, which is wonderful. Pain seems quite minimal. I took ibuprofen and acetaminophen a few times as instructed, but could have done without. Also taking amoxicillin three times daily. Eating all sorts of soft foods guilt-free 😇 Cozy Shack: chocolate pudding, rice pudding, tapioca.