Now All I Need To Do Is Stop Watching "Air Crash Investigations".

I haven't really outlined the work that I am needing to get done, so in order for you to maybe understand why I am FREAKING OUT just a little bit, I suppose I need to share. On this trip I will be getting 23 teeth extracted, including a couple of wisdom teeth. Hopefully they will be able to place the implants otherwise I may need a bone graft this time, implants next time, I will also have a temporary denture made and fitted so I have no extended time without teeth.

AND I HAVE TO DO THIS NOT UNDER GENERAL ANESTHETIC!!!!!!

In order for me to be even slightly OK about this and not eat Xanax like popcorn and pretend Vodka is water I HAD to speak to someone who had been there before, Global Health Travel put me in touch with a lovely gent we will call "Abraham Ford" - Now I liked this guy after chatting to him, he was cool, but liked him even more for the reasoning of the alias, so much so I'm calling him Abe. He didn't need extractions he got the implant procedure done only.

My first contact with Abe was by email to introduce myself and ask him the most burning question on my mind - Did it hurt? His response "Hurt less than a hangover - call me Sunday after 1pm".

Hurt less than a hangover???? That's impossible.

Sunday, after 1pm finally rolls around and I call. Nice bloke, easy to talk to in short this is what he had to say.

The clinics are very clean and sterile, the staff are fantastic, especially the Thai nurses, he mentioned them a few times, Go Abe ;-P, He told me that he too was nervous before hand and was keen on a GA, and as we all know now, you ain't getting that in Bangkok. He told me that the whole procedure, for him, took less than 50 minutes, he had 4 implants placed and he did not feel a bit of pain, in fact he was surprised at how fast and how painless the procedure was. Abe was fitted with a temporary denture too. A few hours later, 3 and a half I think he said, Mr Ford was eating Crispy Chicken Wings in a pub. He had some minor swelling the next day but he didn't even need to take any of the painkillers they gave him. He went back 12 months later to get the denture attached to the implants.

One of the biggest things that I keep hearing is just how emotional this can be for people. I could hear in Abe's voice how happy he was that he had chosen to get his implants, He told me about the freedom that not having to think about your teeth brings to your life. A few times he mentioned to me that I wouldn't know myself after this. That is what I must keep in focus, its about the end result, its about the quality of my life, its about reclaiming myself and even if it does hurt nothing worthwhile is ever pain free.

Now I know that this whole journey seems to be full of coincidence, but I assure you every single bit of it is true, I need to say this because even I could barely believe this next bit either.

I am trying to save spending money so if I can save $0.50 on a can of coke I will! There is a vending machine on another floor of my office in a kitchen that is shared between my department and another affiliated department. I wander in at the end of a conversation and hear ".....apart for the dental work, my wife and I only spent $1000, everything in Phuket is so cheap" My ears pricked up.....So I say, "I'm sorry, but did you just mention dental work and Thailand?" And indeed he had...

I'm going to call this guy Bob as in "Bob The Builder".

Bob had been to Phuket and had extractions including wisdom teeth, the implanted removable denture that I want and he was standing right in front of me!!!! He let me check them out and he showed me how they worked. It was awesome! He really was so lovely opening up to me like that, some random stranger who walked into his shared tea room.

I'm going to save the gory details of the procedure for when I have mine but Bob couldn't really shed any light on what happens, they propped his mouth open with something, gave him Valium and some sleeping pills then he dropped off to sleep and they woke him when they were done. He too had temporary dentures placed while the implants bonded.

Bob shed tears as he recalled the moment the dentist placed his new dentures, he told me he didn't have the words to express the emotions that he felt after it was all done, he told me it was the best decision I've ever made, I would never regret it. He also warned me to be prepared because this is not only a medical journey it is a life changing emotional one.

I'm so excited. This experience is up there with having babies and getting married. While I'm always going to be a bit nervous, Id be a freak if I wasn't, I am so ready for the next bit of my life they could do it without anything. BRING ON THE JOY I SAY.....

Now I've got the dental phobia a little under control I'm really not great on planes. Better cancel the series record of Air Crash Investigations...