Self-Treatment, Oh My!

Q: I recently went to the dentist because I felt things in my mouth weren’t right. I hadn’t seen a dentist for eight years. He wanted to do implants and I thought he just wanted to line his pockets, so I saw another dentist and insisted he make me a partial denture instead. I must say that at the time my teeth were a bit loose, but I thought the partial would strengthen them. As he was making my partial, he said the upper right molars were too loose to use for support, so I had those out. He made the partial and the teeth seemed stronger with it in, so it was a great surprise when this new dentist showed me how loose my teeth are. He gave me a mirror to see and oh my! I thought my bridge that I had done fifteen years ago was going to fall out. He showed me decay had eaten one of the supporting teeth right in two. He asked me if I’d smoked in my life. “Yes” I said, “from about age 14 to age 55.” He said that smoking can dramatically be a factor in losing bone. He showed me that my loose teeth didn’t have any bone around them in the x-rays. He was surprised that despite all the bone loss, I could still have implants. The problem is the expense. I can’t afford implants for the upper and lower. When I asked him about dentures, he said the upper might give me satisfaction but the lower wouldn’t because there’s no suction to hold them in. Couldn’t I just have everything out and try the full dentures? I can’t believe I’m in this state. I’ve done everything to keep my teeth, I just didn’t realize what was happening and no one really told me. What about my idea of dentures?

A: There are literally dozens of reasons why things have gone terribly wrong, ranging from genetics to neglect. When bone loss is as severe as it appears from your history, genetics is often a player in that loss. Implants support bone, so wherever you can have them placed to support your teeth - do it, especially in the lower jaw. An ill-fitting lower set of teeth is not only miserable but increases the rate of bone loss. The implants will support the bone and stop movement of the teeth thus decreasing the forces that increase the rate of bone loss. You might get away without implants in the upper jaw because the bone in the palate is so stable. If you’ve got a nice high palate, you’ll get good support there, but the ridges where the teeth are now will resorb (“dissolve”) fairly quickly. Careful study must be made of your mouth before you go ahead.

If we can help, we’d like to. Call 778-410-2080 for a consultation or visit us today.

Based on actual patient cases

© Calvin Ross Crapo

Victoria Implant Centre 778-410-2080

www.VictoriaImplantCentre.com

A Boatload of Trouble

Q: I just visited the dentist and I’m nervous, confused, and angry. I guess at myself. I’m nearly fifty and I go to the dentist because I have a feeling of sensitivity in one of my teeth – first check-up for a while, and he takes a look and says we need several x-rays. “Ok,” I say. So, after he gets the x-rays, he asks, “How long has it been since you’ve been to the dentist?” I think and say, “Just over a year, I guess.” Then he says, “Did you have cavities that needed fillings?” I say, “No, not that I remember,” and he says, “Has your diet changed, your brushing and flossing?” “I don’t think so,” I say. “Well,” says he, “you’ve got decay in almost every back tooth in your mouth.” Then he says again, “Do you have toothaches?” “No, never,” I say. “Well then,” he says, “we must treat this very seriously and get all the information we can.” “Okay, if we have to,” I say to which he holds back and says, “See that black spot – here and here and here,” pointing to my teeth? “Yeah,” I say – “That’s decay and in some teeth very bad decay.” So, I go through all the dental recording stuff and then he says I have to come back after a few days so he can put together a plan. So, I go back a week later, and he shows me what needs to be done. One of the things I see when he shows me my teeth on an analyser is that my teeth don’t meet in the front – well, I’ve always known that, but he also shows me they need to meet because I’m chipping away my back teeth. He says, “Your bite is off so you’re destroying your teeth. With all that decay, they’re breaking faster.” He also says I need like four root canals and I see that now. Last year – nada! Anyway, he shows me what can be done to fix the teeth and my bite but it’s a boatload of money. I told him, “I don’t want any root canals, take those teeth out.” He says okay and I say, “Doc, I gotta think about this.” He explained it very well, but I’m blown away. He says my teeth can be saved and my bite made right but I’m in shock. What do I do?

A: All right – first, decay happens for a reason and that kind of decay happened for personal reasons; neglect, eating habits, drug intake habits (prescription and/or street), stressful lifestyle (work, finance, relationship), etc. If your tooth decay has gone from no decay to “blow out” decay, then step number one is finding out why and following a strict regimen of health oral/tooth care while having the disease eliminated (i.e., getting your decay removed). Following that, the functional dentistry – “putting the bite right” as it were, will be necessary because weakened teeth (by decay and then large fillings and root canals) do much, much better when the bite is well-balanced. To keep your teeth, you will spend a ‘boatload’ of money but only after you’ve proven to yourself and your dentist you can ensure decay won’t happen to that extent ever again.

If we can help, we’d like to. Call 778-410-2080 for a consultation or visit us today.

Based on actual patient cases

© Calvin Ross Crapo

Victoria Implant Centre 778-410-2080

www.VictoriaImplantCentre.com