Hi! How’re we doing?

Well, how about this for an update on my oral adventures? Would you believe that the second dental implant didn’t make it either? After the course of antibiotics, I felt good for about a week. Then I started to feel it again, the twinges in my left jaw, the funny taste. I went back to salt rinses. This time, I added LED light treatments that I normally use for teeth whitening. That staved off another serious infection till my follow up appointment with the oral surgeon.

What’s the verdict?

Then came the moment of truth. The tech looked at the implant, then she took my X-rays. I already knew deep inside, that it probably wasn’t salvageable, but you still wait to hear the verdict. After all, I knew it was a little loose, and figured that after 5 weeks, it should be stable.😂

So, the oral surgeon looked at the X-rays and bingo, just like I thought, it needed to come out.🤪

He explained that at the bottom of the implant, it should be all white, showing that it is fusing with my jaw bone. There was nothing like that. not even close. See X-ray above! (Ignore the white strip which is just my thyroid shield.)

After he numbed me and took the implant out, he said there was gum tissue growing and pushing it out, filling up the space. That sounded to me like a Murphy’s law kind of situation.

We’re going to let it heal for another 4 months, and try again. Sigh.

Things we’re going to do differently:

1. Do each implant separately, starting with the upper one, so that I have one side of my mouth to eat with. That way, I can optimize my nutrition around surgery, something I could not do when both implants were placed at the same time, on both sides of my mouth.
2. Get IV antibiotics with implantation.
3. Do a 2-step implantation, and bury under the gum.
4. I will do more extensive research on dental implants in autoimmunity and immune compromised states. So far, mainstream articles are saying there is no increased risk of implant rejection, such as here and here. This article speaks on titanium allergy in autoimmunity, and specifically cites multiple sclerosis MS. I already knew that, hence a non-metal implant option in the form of ceramic zirconium. This is the only article I have found that says it is risky, and essentially find an alternative.
5. I will inquire about testing for sensitivity to ceramic zirconium.
6. Depending on what I find, ceramic zirconium may be out, and maybe all dental implants.

It’s never a dull moment in MS land, whether it’s directly related issues, or indirectly. I couldn’t tell you exactly why the implant didn’t work. Is it something unique to me, MS, or the disease modifying therapy DMT? Or is it a combo of all these?

Listen to your body

All I know is this. If one way doesn’t work, we will try another.

My body said NO to this one. End of story.

How is insomnia related?

Can you guess what else happened? The first 2 nights after the implant removal, I suddenly could sleep through the night again, without weird vivid dreams, and wake up better rested. Then I realized I hadn’t slept well in 5 weeks. I’ve been sleeping better since.

What’s the connection between the implant and sleep? It wasn’t the pain waking me up, as that had been under control for weeks.

Body, I will continue to love you! 😂

I shudder to think of what my body would’ve done, if I had tried to implant metal in it. It’s basically rejected this style of zirconia non-metal implant. On to the next.

Yours in wellness,

Dr. Folake.

I am Dr. Folake Taylor, and I live with Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis PPMS. After 15 years in internal medicine primary care, while battling disability/ PPMS for the last 7 of the 15, I found myself diving deeper into holistic health for answers. Now I’m turning my lemons to lemonade. I refuse to allow physical and cognitive disability stop me, from fulfilling my destiny of using my voice to benefit the world with my knowledge, which I did prior to my illness. Sharing what I have learned and am still learning about the body’s ability to heal itself, which is quite different from what I learned in medical school, is now my mission. And as I create an online self-paced course for MS recovery, I will take you along with me as the daily journey continues.