We’re back…Big dental procedures on the horizon…School holiday ends in 4 days…

Yesterday morning, we made the harrowing drive on the N4 to Malalane for our dental appointments with what we consider the finest dentist in the land, Dr. Singh. The drive takes about 40 minutes, but that doesn’t mean it is an easy 40 minutes. The N4 can be quite a challenge, especially with the road conditions, traffic, trucks, and now the fact that Tom is driving using one eye. Every time we make that drive, we are relieved when we arrive safely at our destination.

Getting an appointment with Dr. Singh isn’t always easy. His reputation extends far beyond Marloth Park, and he is considered one of the best dentists in the area. Nelspruit has excellent dentists, but making the 90-minute drive each way would be a real challenge, especially when multiple appointments are required. For us, having a highly skilled dentist only 40 minutes away is worth the drive.

Several years ago, in Komatipoort, by a different dentist, I had resin veneers placed on my front teeth because they had started chipping from years of age and normal wear. I knew then that resin veneers wouldn’t last forever, but they served me well for several years. As the years passed and our busy lives of world travel continued, the resin began to chip and show more obvious signs of wear. Several of my other teeth cracked, and some of my older crowns began falling out.

We have both always taken very good care of our teeth. Throughout our lives, we have brushed and flossed, had regular cleanings, and addressed dental problems as they arose. Even during our almost 14 years of world travel, we have continued to have our teeth cleaned and have necessary dental procedures done wherever we happened to be. Unfortunately, neither of us has been able to escape some dental issues, including having a few teeth pulled over the years.

At this point, we needed to do something for both of us.

Tom’s lower front teeth were crooked and beginning to loosen. I had two large gaps in my molars where crowns had fallen out, along with horribly worn resin veneers on my front teeth. I knew that putting off the problems could eventually lead to much more extensive dental work. In my case, I certainly didn’t want to end up needing dentures somewhere down the road. And for Tom, losing his bottom front teeth wasn’t exactly something either of us was looking forward to.

As a result, Iam getting a full mouth of porcelain veneers, and the process officially began yesterday. It will take about a month to complete, with a few return visits to Dr. Singh. On October 20, I will have a full-day appointment during which my teeth will be prepared and ground down, and temporary veneers will be placed while the dental laboratory makes my permanent porcelain veneers.

Tom’s dental work is also underway. He returns to Dr. Singh on October 16 to have his four lower front teeth removed. He will receive temporary teeth while the dental laboratory makes his permanent replacements. Yesterday, he had impressions taken and a complete mouth scan, which will provide the lab with the information needed to design his new teeth. His ophthalmologist surgeon explained dental work won’t interfere with his detached retina recovery. We return to him next Thursday for Tom’s second eye surgery and will stay overnight in Nelspruit for the next day’s follow-up appointment.

I also had laser surgery on my upper gums yesterday to expose more of my teeth. I have very small teeth, and Dr. Singh felt this procedure would help create a better result with my new veneers.

As someone who is always anxious about medical procedures, I had managed to do quite a number on myself before yesterday’s appointment. I kept expecting the procedure to be difficult and the recovery to be painful. Having gone through open-heart surgery in Nelspruit in 2019, I tend to become especially anxious when medical procedures are involved.

I shared my concerns with Dr. Singh, and he was extremely reassuring throughout the entire process. That helped me more than he probably realized. I expected to be in pain last night, but I took two paracetamol tablets, known as Tylenol in the US, about eight hours apart and ended up sleeping very well. When I woke up this morning, I was amazed to discover that I had absolutely no pain.

Dr. Singh also prescribed antibiotics for five days as a preventative measure because of my heart history. I feel great today.

Best of all, none of this will stop us from heading to Jabula tomorrow night. No one would notice anything different about my teeth right now. We plan to continue our usual social activities over the next few weeks until the more extensive appointments, when we’ll need to make a few adjustments for recovery.

We are both looking forward to having these dental procedures completed. It will be wonderful to finally have our teeth repaired and looking good again after putting up with these problems for so long. Of course, we’ll share photos of both of us when everything is finished. It will be interesting to see the before-and-after results! Plus, once completed, we’ll share the costs for each of our full procedures.

For now, we’re just grateful that yesterday’s appointment went so well. We’ve crossed one more hurdle, and thankfully, neither of us has to give up our Marloth Park social life while we wait for our new smiles.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, October 1, 2016: