not for the faint of heart

WARNING!!!!!!!! this is NOT for the faint of heart. if you do not like to see blood or gums and especially bloody gums, DO NOT, i repeat, DO NOT read any more of this post. there is some graphically bloody content! it's a step by step documentation of my dental implant surgery. i, personally, find this gory-ass shit incredible. maybe it's because it's my effin mouth, but, really, i'm amazed by technology and our bodies ability to accept and heal, adapt and recover.

my friend, brendan wrote me a ridiculously funny email about my fusion with bone and titanium:

That's so crazy that you are getting permanent teeth!! Are you afraid it is going to take away your magical powers and world reknowned party trick?? Seriously though, it must be exciting, although in the short-term, kind of painful and frustrating. Is it hard to eat with just the titanium in there? Fusing bone and titanium - you'll be like Wolverine. You can start the Korean chapter of X-Men.

bring that shit on bitches!!!!!!!!!

so, without further ado, i present to you, my dental implant surgery!

my gums before the surgery:

the first part involved cutting open my gum to measure my bone loss. the exact spot where the tools are resting shows the thinnest part of my bone:

so, uh, yeah! remember how i mentioned that my dentist had to expand my bone? and there was loud hammering? the line in the center of my bone is where he hammered:

and in that hammered center, he drilled two holes. and in those two holes, he fit my two titanium rods:

then, he gave me a bone graft and stitched me up:

after a week of recovery, the stitches were removed:

i'm currently waiting until all the swelling has gone down and i'll be fitted for a temporary set of teeth while i wait. after 6 months of waiting, i'll have my permanent crowns! dental implants have a success rate of over a 90%. here's hoping i'm definitely in that winning percentage!