The Elephant in the Room!
Question:
I’m in my first years of retirement. It’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. I’ve worked all my life so reordering my priorities has been big! I’m doing volunteer work which I find enjoyable. I’m more in the public eye than I’ve ever been. My concern is my teeth. Quite frankly they’re not a pretty thing to behold. Several weeks ago, I went to the dentist and yes, I’m a guy and yes, it’s been years. So, I told the doc I needed to look like I was on T.V. He was very thorough, took pictures, x-rays and molds of my teeth. I knew I had some bad teeth too, so I thought I’d ask him how that would affect my general health. After he looked at everything, he told me what it would take to make me “camera ready”. I guess I really had no idea how much crowns and root canals and implants cost. He showed me the diseased areas of my mouth and it was clear I’ve got some bad areas. He showed me several different options – one where I kept most of my teeth and also used implants for crowns. When he told me the cost I guess I lost my focus on the other three options, where I even had dentures with implants explained to me. He said most of my teeth were strong enough to be kept and crowned, but everything seemed just out of my range. I’ve got two bad molars that need pulling, so I guess I need to get that done for health sake but I’m not sure how to proceed.
Answer:
Sometimes there is an elephant in the room and you’re asked to eat him at one sitting. In your case, you’ve been “reordering your priorities”. That’s good because purpose is the mother of accomplishment and self worth. The first step is to get the disease under control. When those two teeth come out, make sure a gone graft is placed so that in future years you’ll be able to use that area for an implant or two.
Next, have all the fillings done so decay is under control and make sure the hygienist not only gets your teeth clean but shows you how to effectively keep them clean. Spend time daily making sure you do what she/he has shown you. Your bill will be much smaller and maybe you can make payments till your dental health is stable. Once that’s under control, you’ll be able to tackle the next priority – which may indeed be making the teeth brighter and more presentable. Remember, it’s not only a single facet of our personality that makes us. A kindly smile, a caring attitude and solid performance will make up for teeth that aren’t perhaps camera ready. Feeling healthy and good about yourself, shows in ways a mirror can’t detect.
If we can help, we’d like to. Call 778-410-2080 for a consultation.
Based on actual patient cases.