Things are looking up.

Ok. So yes, the screw DID come loose.
But the good news is it was just the "healing cap" part of the screw. ???
The oral surgeon apologized profusely. Honestly, I was so excited the whole damn thing hadn't fallen out of my head and that my dental implant cycle had not, in fact, been cancelled that I was hardly bothered by the novocain injections and gum slicing that was going on...so much so I'm just now realizing that the oral surgeon actually said to me, "I'm not sure why this happened. Sometimes these things just happen. I'm so sorry. It shouldn't happen. It probably won't happen again...yadda yadda yadda." Which just confirms that I DO have the corner on the market for this medical explanation. If only I could turn this into to cash somehow. hmmm.

I left the dental office and went to therapy and had to talk about how this thing that didn't actually happen ruined my weekend.

Wait, I forgot to tell you...the oral surgeon didn't charge me a penny.
Imagine that.