sinus lift | The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

Yesterday, I lamented to Bill that yet another Saturday was about to get away from us with no fun outside of the house. His answer to me was to suggest that we go to downtown Wiesbaden, where the Rheingauer Weinwoche is going on. This annual event started on Friday and will run through August 21st. COVID kind of messed it up in 2020 and 2021, but we attended in 2019 and we went several times last year.

Although we had some rain yesterday, we managed to get to the festival after most of the weather had passed. It was just partly cloudy with some breezes and a few drops from the sky. As usual, the big celebration is going on in the Schlossplatz, and there are dozens of wineries from the Rheingau region represented, along with some food stands and live entertainment.

Bill and I parked at our usual garage at the theater, where we soon noticed that they had a brand new parking system in place. It used to be, when you drove in, a machine would give you a ticket that you’d later feed into the payment machine. It would tell you how much you owed when you reclaimed your car. Now, you just drive in and input your license plate number when you leave. I also noticed that they had designated a bunch of spaces on the first floor for electric vehicles. I guess that’s one reason to get an electric car. You get prime parking spots downtown! 😉

Anyway, it had been awhile we were last in downtown Wiesbaden. We should probably go there a lot more often than we do, because it’s a really nice town… much prettier than downtown Stuttgart is. There is often a lot going on, too.

We walked around the fest, just to see what was available. I stopped at the first WC I saw, noticing that the price of a whiz has gone up to 1 euro. However, you can purchase an all day ticket for four euros, or a family pass for six euros. I ended up going four times and Bill went twice yesterday. Next time we go, we’ll have to get a family ticket. 😀

We stopped at a random wine stand that had plenty of seating and a good view of the festivities. I had a glass of Riesling and listened to a female singer in the distance, but noticed I could also hear a brass band on the other side. I was more in the mood for the brass band, so we left after one glass and went to the other side. Not surprisingly, there wasn’t a lot of seating there, so we went around the corner and sat at another random wine stand that happened to specialize in Sekt.

That other stand was also near a WC, which was very handy for me… so we just sat there and people watched, drank wine, and took some photos. I’m sure we’ll be back again at least once, because just as they did last year, Bill’s co-workers have reserved a table for this coming Friday night. I have a feeling Bill will be ready for a celebration, because on Monday morning, he has to visit a local dentist to have a tooth extracted and start the process for his very first dental implant.

Wednesday, he was at work, eating a gummi bear, and suddenly noticed that there was some rattling in his mouth. He spit out a hunk of gold, which turned out to be a root canaled and crowned molar that he’d had done in 2011 or so. It just sheared right off! He called our usual dentist in Stuttgart, but as usual in August, he had shut down his practice for his annual vacation. Since this was not a situation in which Bill could wait until next week, when Dr. Blair returns, he asked a colleague for a local suggestion. Her dentist turned out to be pretty excellent, too.

He called that dentist’s office and they got him in at 10:30. The oral surgeon– a young German guy who went to school in nearby Mainz– said he couldn’t save the tooth, which had a huge cavity in it under the gold crown. But since the tooth had already been root canaled, the dentist said Bill could wait until Monday to have it extracted without risking infection. Then, perhaps, he might even be able to get the implant put in without having to wait for the tissues to heal first (like I did when I got my implant in 2016). Truthfully, though, I have a feeling he’s going to have to come back later for the implant. They’re probably going to have to do a sinus lift, which will take more time. I had to get one of those, too.

So… not only did we just buy a bunch of new appliances for our house, but now Bill is going to have a big dentist bill. We do have dental insurance, but it’s still going to be pricey work. And when we go back to see Dr. Blair in October for our cleanings, he’s going to be like “WTF”? 😀

Honestly, though, given the number of appointments it takes to get a dental implant, it’s probably a good idea for Bill to have it done locally. If and when my other baby tooth finally gives up the ghost, Dr. Blair can do another implant for me. I know he does excellent work. The one I had done in 2016 is still perfect.

I figure the wine fest will offer Bill some pain relief, after he has his extraction on Monday… I don’t know if we’ll go back today. Bill just brewed a new batch of beer last weekend, so he needs to bottle his brew. My car also needs a spin to keep the new battery functioning. It looks a bit cloudy, too. On the other hand, the wine fest is a lot of fun– there’s also beer and non alcoholic beverages for those who aren’t into wine, as well as plenty of food. We capped off yesterday by having a rare east Sicilian treat called arancini. I noticed them early in the day and was intrigued. They’re deep fried rice balls, covered with bread crumbs and stuffed with mince meat and/or vegetables, mozzarella cheese, peas, and ragu. The ones we had yesterday were delicious and filling!

Here are some photos from our excursion…

I do love this about living in Germany… There’s always some kind of fun or interesting activity going on, and the vast majority of people are well-behaved. Yes, the police were there, and there was security, but I saw little need for them to intervene. The same isn’t necessarily true at events in the United States. So, I’m grateful to live here… and raise yet another toast to the annual wine festival week in Wiesbaden!

I got up early this morning, as usual, and did my regular Tuesday morning cleaning. Bill heard the shower running and wondered if something was wrong. I told him I was cleaning it, which is my usual Tuesday chore. I added that I needed to do something to be useful.

Bill said, “You don’t have to do that.”

“If I don’t do it, who will?” I asked. “It won’t get done if I don’t do it.”

Bill said, “I can do it.”

I said, “No, I have to do something useful. You don’t have to earn all the money AND do the housework.”

So he went downstairs and made me a nice breakfast. I told him I wanted something substantial because I didn’t know when I’d be up to eating once the procedure was finished. We had eggs, biscuits, bacon, and grits, along with juice and coffee.

Then we went to the dentist, where I was given two Ativan tablets about an hour before the procedure started. They were glad I’d had breakfast because the Ativan supposedly causes upset if it’s taken on an empty stomach. I had been expecting Valium, but I guess Ativan was considered a better drug for this particular procedure.

The Ativan made me feel very calm. Not high or silly, but just very even keeled and calm. Dr. Blair took an x-ray of my mouth, then led me into an exam room, where he started shooting me up with numbing agents. That was a rather uncomfortable part of the experience, because a couple of the shots were in my palate and they hurt. Once I was numb, the assistant put a large blue drape with a hole in it over my face, positioning it so my nose and mouth were exposed. They offered me a blanket if I wanted it. They also offered to make the hole in the drape larger so I could see more. I kept my eyes closed for most of the procedure, which took about an hour or so.

Because the tooth being replaced was in an upper area near my sinus, Dr. Blair had to do a sinus lift, which involves, cutting into the gum and raising the bottom of the sinus so that the implant post has more room. Since no bone was taken from my body, my guess is that Dr. Blair used some kind of bone graft material to build up the bone in the area where the implant is going. I was thinking he was going to place the implant today, but I honestly don’t know if he did. He did use a drill, which was very noisy and rather unpleasant as it made a hole in my bone. There were a couple of times when it felt like he was screwing something in, but I didn’t ask him what he did. I’m sure he’ll tell me what’s next when we get the stitches taken out.

At one point, I had some trouble managing all the crap in my mouth and I had to sit up and catch my breath. I had started gagging and was afraid I was going to be sick. Dr. Blair said it was because my nose was partially numb and couldn’t feel the air coming through it. He and his assistant kept telling me to breathe through my nose. I had to sit up and spit out some blood, despite the assistant’s attempts at suction.

There was a little more drilling and then I could feel Dr. Blair placing sutures. This was the first time I’ve ever had stitches of any kind, so that was a strange experience. I could feel the thread against my nose, but not him placing them in my gum tissue. Finally, he was finished and I had another panoramic x-ray taken. He asked how the Ativan was for me. I said it made me feel fine. Very calm and not nervous at all, yet not euphoric or anything. He indicated that he doesn’t use it very often in his practice. I guess many Germans are more stoic than we Americans are.

Bill and I went into his office and Dr. Blair gave us detailed post op instructions, along with prescriptions for 600 milligram ibuprofen, antibiotics, and a mouth rinse. He advised me to use cold packs and look out for excessive swelling and bleeding. I go back next week to have the stitches removed.

Bill had the car prepared with a pillow. He helped me into the car, ignoring all the people lurking for our spot, strapped me in, and drove me home. I went to bed and slept for a good portion of the afternoon after waking up for some soup and water. The dogs slept with me.

I’m now up and feeling a little groggy and there’s minimal discomfort where the work was done. Otherwise, I’m feeling pretty functional. I’m glad I had Bill with me, but I have a feeling that if I’d had to, I could have made it most of the way home via train. The worst part about today’s procedure was the noise of the drill and the feeling that I was going to gag. Dr. Blair and his assistant handled it well, though. I’m feeling somewhat better than I expected.

I like Dr. Blair. He’s a very nice man and treated me with a lot of kindness, concern, and compassion. When he mails us the bill, maybe I’ll feel less magnanimous.

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Tag Archives: sinus lift

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