I just had an implant installed today. Installed seems like a good word to use because the dentist used a variety of tools that builders use, including a drill, compressor, stainless steel rod and hammer. All very well sterilized, I was assured.

I tend to be a trusting person so when my dentist told me he couldn't do the implant but he had a brother-in-law who was pretty cheap, I went ahead with the brother-in-law, who practises in a small town, 20 minutes away from the city. Hmmm.


The BIL has a bona fide dental practise-at least he works in a building with a sign that says, Beausejour Dental Office and he has dental hygeinists who love their jobs. (Have you noticed that dental hygenists can get downright giddy when they're scraping the crud off your teeth? They really like it. They generally seem like a happy bunch to me. Go figure.)


Today I went for the implant and Dr. K was happy, VERY happy to see me. His 2 assistants were also VERY happy to see me and it seemed to me that all the hygenists, receptionists and other people who work there all knew who I was and were VERY happy to see me. I seemed to be a bit of a celebrity.

I was getting a little nervous. I started wondering how many implants the BIL does in a year. They all seemed to know what they were doing. But they all seemed a little too happy. They reminded me of the time Michele, Yvonne and I got together to make our first batch of fresh cheese. We were so excited. We sterilized everything we needed to use, we read the instructions over and over and over. We talked about every detail and about what we should do. And the cheese worked out fabulously-the second time we tried it.

Gulp.

When I am draped with sterile clothes and have a funny cap over my head, I become very docile and agreeable. So even though I was nervous, I didn't get up and run away or ask to see the good dentist's credentials. I just let him do his thing. And when he told me that he would have to "tap" the implant into place if it didn't go in all the way, that I should not worry, it was part of the procedure. However, when we got to that part, my confidence in the dentist began to leave with every tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, TAPTAPTAPBANGBANGBANG. Those were not little taps. They were bangs that could have broken my jaw if he had been hitting it with the same power he was using to "tap" the implant into place. As he was banging, I realized that at that moment, I was totally trusting in him and his ability to install an implant. I was also trusting my own dentist who referred me to his brother-in-law. He apologized for what he was doing but because we were commited, we couldn't stop.

Finally he did stop the hammering, checked his work and reported that it was a slam dunk. I think that meant he was happy with it. Whew.

The procedure itself lasted all of 20 minutes or so and it wasn't bad at all except for the hammer. As they worked, I became more confident and less worried in their abilties. The dentist was happy with how things were going and I liked his satisfied grunts and pleased words as everything worked out just as it was supposed to.

The worst is over and in a few months, after bone has grown around the implant he will be able to place a beautiful new tooth in the gap that is there right now.

That's good thing because I never really liked that tooth in the first place and now, knowing that there's a big hole where my tooth should be is surprisingly embarassing to me.