I am in the airport waiting to fly to San Diego, where I will then travel to Rosarito to get my dental revision. The estimate I signed off on is lengthy. It includes a bridge removal, three extractions and three cavitations (in which the sockets’ sides are scraped to ensure removal of all infection), three partials, and replacement of composite fillings in many teeth. The dental materials will be those that tested as causing the least reactivity for my immune system by BioComp Labs. I am a bit nervous but I know everything will be okay. Interestingly (to me at least), my current bridge is made of zirconia, which is aluminum, and can cause reactivity for many people. Ditto for my crown that will be removed. These showed up as bright white on my panoramic xray (metal makes for easy to see materials on xrays, part of the reason why they’re used). The infected tooth with the crown on my upper right has a corresponding tender sinus area right over it. Further, my neck has been stiff and inflexible on the right ever since that tooth started giving me trouble, which was about a year ago.
What are my goals on this trip?
1. Properly remove infected teeth and crowns.
2. Remove metal bridge.
3. Replace these areas with partials made of materials that my body won’t mind too much.
4. Remove composite fillings and replace with less toxic materials.
The dentist I’m seeing was trained by Hal Huggins. All my research has shown him to be an extremely competent and – big bonus for me – kind man.
LATER:
I am in the bed and breakfast, in San Antonio del Mar, Rosarito. It is a lovely place overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The sound of waves crashing come through the large, glass, open doors as I write this.
Lorraine, the B&B proprietor, told me last night that Dr. Lagos is not only a ‘gentleman,’ he is also a ‘gentle man.’ Which is of course what I wanted to hear.
My first of four appointments begins in one hour. A driver will take me there. I was instructed to not eat before the appointment because of possible nausea from the anesthesia, but waiting from 6:30 am when I awoke until a 9:30 visit is just too long for me to go without food in my system. So I threw caution to the wind and ate a bit of goat cheese and some homemade sauerkraut, which had made the trip with me on the airplanes all the way from the east coast.