extraction

Got my #14 molar pulled yesterday. It was infected internally and there was nothing else to be done. Over the last week (while on a cruise) I've been popping vicodin like candy and the pain of the infected tooth was barely manageable.

Less than 24 hrs after the surgery i'm basically pain free other than a little tenderness (haven't taken a pain pill since 14 hrs ago, last night at 9pm). Have a big hole in the upper right side of my mouth. Am eating soft foods (apple sauce, pudding, even had some scrambled eggs just now).

Followup apt Monday Aug 30th at 1pm to see how things are healing.

Not sure what's next. Options are
1. do nothing, have a blank spot. its far enough back not to be a cosmetic issue, but it will probably be missed from a chewing standpoint long term. Will have to see.
2. get a bridge. this involves drilling down/crowning the adjacent teeth and making a 3 piece "crown" that crowns the two real teeth with a bridge between. This is the 'officially recognized' (ie what my current insurance will pay for) treatment. I'm fundamentally opposed to destroying 2 healthy teeth and creating a flossing nightmare. Will choose #1 before I go this way.
3. get an implant. this is the "cadillac" solution and not paid for by dental insurance. strangely, the oral surgeon (Dr Richard Fugler in Lake Jackson, who so far I've been quite impressed with) and his staff inform me that my medical insurance will cover the placement of the implant screw (this is the "surgical" procecdure). Then a regular dentist basically does a normal crown, which might be covered by the dental ins. Not sure of all that. But you cant get the implant done for min 4 months (so mid Dec earliest). So I have some time to decide what I want to do.

Decisions, decisions.