Thanks for the post. Great to hear that she is home and doing well. Yes, it is a little scarry at first. I would not look at the hole or even put my tongue up there to investigate for the longest time. I did quickly learn how to take the obturator out and always looked forward to taking it out at night. One thing that they did not stress enough, was to do mouth exercises. It is a must. Within three to four weeks I could not open my mouth wide enough to get the obturator in and out easily. Then I began getting scared. They ordered me a Thera-bite and it started improving. Feel free to send a message if you have questions,