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Diagnosed with Ameloblastoma

Head & Neck Cancer | Last Active: Oct 28 6:03pm | Replies (227)

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@kkd

That is correct, Tom, it was very rough. My dad went through very big spine surgery 2 times last year while this was happening, had to deal with that too. Unfortunately, the tumor grew that big because it had enough space in sinus area (Maxilla) and I did not go to dentist until I had tooth pain. Kaiser Oral/Maxillofacial Pain doctor said that it was due to TMJ that I was getting that pain after reviewing my MRI last year, he gave me mouth guard to wear in the night so I don't grind/chew on my teeth in sleep. It actually helped with my pain, but I found 4th loose tooth even after wearing that. Filed a complaint with Kaiser earlier this year even after I left them, after I came to know about the tumor, and they decided that I did not give all my symptoms to the doctor so they did not do MRI or look for other areas other than where I reported the pain (near my ear).

If it was detected when my dentist discovered 2 loose teeth in Jan 2022, I wouldn't have to go through all this. But we never know what the condition was back then, it was just a guess. We cannot reverse any of that, I am gaining energy back, slowly recovering from radiation side effects, started eating some soft solid foods.

What type of conservative surgery did they do in 2007 for you that it came back after 16 years? Please let me know if DM is better for this type of questions. I found this discussion forum helpful for me, so shared all my details here for others to know & learn as well.

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Replies to "That is correct, Tom, it was very rough. My dad went through very big spine surgery..."

@kkd In 2007, they basically carved away as much jaw bone as they could (and two teeth) while leaving enough along the bottom of the jawbone to regrow/reconstruct. The bone mostly regrew, the nerve recovered over months - then I had a small bone transplant from far back in my jaw. Then dental implants.

If @therock or anyone else had maxillary, I either missed that detail or forgot.