Decay, Discoloration, Crowding and Cracked Teeth, I’ve got it All - HELP?

Q: When I was about eight or nine I had teeth coming in every which way. It seemed like I had a double row of teeth. Some were behind and others way out front. My parents were told I had extra large teeth and I would need a lot of teeth pulled and then braces. On the bottom, I had three or four pulled and on the top I had four pulled. The braces were put on and I had braces for about three or four years. They got the teeth pretty straight but there were gaps left on top. Food sometimes gets trapped but I’ve learned to jar it loose and it doesn’t bother. That was many years ago and now there’s been some relapse with crowding. It’s worse on the bottom than the top. On the top I’m noticing discoloration and cavities. The fillings in the back teeth are breaking down or eroding so that food gets stuck when I chew. As the grooves that were once fillings get deeper it feels like everything jams into the tooth. I was told I was doing a lot of damage on the back teeth and I was grinding them badly but I don’t know when that happens. I had several back teeth (mostly the lower molars) filled a couple of times in the last few years. One broke off and the dentist filled it but left it feeling like a lump. Anyway, what do I need to do? I’ve got crowding, decay, discoloration and occasional breaking of my teeth. It feels like I’m falling apart and I can’t get one thing fixed before another problem pops up, it’s frustrating! Please advise!

A: Prioritization of your complexities will be important. Whether the wearing or grinding your teeth happens at night or day or when you chew your food it makes no difference. The proper balance of your bite and chewing forces will be necessary. If the crowding of your lower front teeth is not extreme, then tooth alignment will straighten your teeth so they fit precisely against the upper front teeth. This will lead to less wear and breakage will be non-existent. As a bonus your teeth won’t relapse into more crowding. In this process discoloration, decay, crowding and break down will be resolved but before anything is done in your mouth a careful examination, diagnosis and three-dimensional workup should be done and shown to you so that your questions will be answered. The solution I suggested will involve crowning your teeth for proper length, angulation and position. They will also mesh and chew in a manner that is harmonious with your masticory muscles and joints.

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

Back to the column

What Did I See?

Q: I’ve had my share of problems with my teeth all my life. Though I’ve got most of them, I still have spaces that need to be filled in. I’ve been interested in implants for many years so I’ve made a point of searching on the internet. What I want is something that is ready to go without a lot of healing time. I’ve seen dentists from here to Mexico and nobody seems to be doing it like I’ve seen on the internet. I had x-rays done and I was told that I’d have to get a graft in my sinus before implants because I had so little bone. I need three implants but they said I only had about 1/8 of an inch of bone before my sinus gets in the way. I saw on YouTube where a guy was putting in an implant and he just made a hole up into the sinus…I guess, then he injected something and put the implant in at the same time. He didn’t even slice open the gums to do that. He said it was a sinus lift. It looked real slick so I thought I’d get something like that but nobody seems to be doing that. I’ve also got a bad tooth that needs to come out. It’s on my lower right side and is really swollen. It’s been like that off and on for the last six months. Sometimes it hurts, other times I just know it’s there. I don’t want to get a graft, wait six months then get an implant, wait six months and then get a tooth. That’s what my wife did.

A: Implants in dentistry, the technology of placing them, combined with our understanding of healing and then bringing them into biting function, has progressed dramatically in the past twenty-five years. Placing implants into the sinus requires that bone either goes in first and heals before the implants are placed or if there is enough stabilizing bone one can lift the sinus membrane, place bone, then follow the bone graft with the implant. This is what you saw. A hole is made for the implant. Through this hole technology is used to create a space under the sinus membrane. Bone is introduced through this hole and the implant is then secured. It needs about 5/16 of an inch of your own bone. In your case a sinus graft is necessary. In this procedure, your gums need to be displaced, a window created in the sinus and the sinus membrane displaced for the addition of the bone. About six to eight months is needed for good hard bone to form so that implants can be well anchored. Implants can be put into fresh extraction sockets if the bone is completely intact. With infection, it is likely your socket will need grafting first.

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

Back to the column