Archives for April 2020

Is My Dentist Just Trying to Scare Me?

Posted on April 23, 2020 by writeradmin.

I have an abscessed tooth on one of my upper teeth. I called my dentist and asked for antibiotics, but he said he wants me to come in instead. I told him I didn’t want to go anywhere until after the quarantine. He proceeded to tell me he could give me one prescription of antibiotics, but after they run out the infection will return and, if I don’t get it treated, will spread to my brain.

I know most governors have closed dental offices because of COVID-19, except for dental emergencies. Is this just my dentist trying to scare me so he can get some business? I’m sure he needs the business and I understand he’s likely struggling financially, but I don’t want to risk getting this virus so he can make some money.

Mark

Dear Mark,

This isn’t your dentist’s way of trying to get money. He is trying to protect you though. Dental infections are a bit different in that antibiotics alone are not enough. At some point, the pulp of your tooth dies, which prohibits blood flow from reaching the infected tissue.

Your tooth will start to feel better for a bit, but then once the antibiotic runs out, it will return. While that doesn’t guarantee it will spread to your brain, I can pretty much guarantee it will spread. Your jaw is close, not just to your brain, but also your heart and lungs. Any one of those can become life-threatening quickly. That’s just one of the reasons a tooth infection is considered a dental emergency and why even during quarantine it is an allowed treatment.

To treat an infected tooth a dentist has to get in there and physically remove the infected pulp. This can be done in one of two ways. First, he can do a root canal treatment. Second, he can do a tooth extraction.

It is always better to save a tooth, if at all possible. If not, then you have to add the additional procedure and expense of replacing the tooth. If it turns out your tooth can’t be saved and it does have to be extracted, ask your dentist how experienced he is in dental implants. It is by far the best tooth replacement option available. However, it is an advanced procedure and requires a dentist to have significant post-doctoral training.

I know you’re worried about Coronavirus, but I can assure you that your dentist doesn’t want it any more than you do. He’ll take every available precaution for the protection of you, his staff, and himself.

This blog is brought to you by New Orleans Dentist Dr. Duane Delaune.

I Can’t Keep My Denture In Any Longer

Posted on April 6, 2020 by writeradmin.

I have had dentures for over twenty years. Several years ago, they started becoming tricky to keep in. Now they are not staying in at all. What do I do?

Cary

Dear Cary,

The Results of Facial Collapse

When your teeth are removed, your body recognized that. Its job is to be as efficient as possible with your body’s resources. Because of that, once you no longer have any tooth roots, your body interprets that as no longer needing a jawbone to keep those roots in place. As a result, it will resorb the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere in your body. This has the result of slowly shrinking your jawbone. Hopefully, your dentist warned you about this before you decided on dentures instead of your other options.

Where you are in this process is known as facial collapse. You now no longer have enough jawbone left to retain your dentures. Unfortunately, just getting new dentures won’t help. You are going to have to have some bone grafting done to build that back up. Once that happens, you have two choices.

Your first choice is to get dentures again. Just bear in mind that you are going to go back through the cycle of losing your jawbone again. Your second choice is to get implant-supported dentures.

How Implant Supported Dentures Prevent Facial Collapse

Implant overdentures work by having four to six dental implants in your jaw and then anchor your dentures to the implants. Having the implants in your jaw serves as prosthetic roots. Your body interprets that as having teeth and leaves your jaw intact.

Not only that, you will find all the problems you had with removable dentures disappear. There is no more slipping. Additionally, you will find your chewing capacity goes up significantly. This is because even your best fitting dentures will reduce your chewing capacity by at least 50%. You’ll be so excited to be able to eat whatever you want again.

This blog is brought to you by New Orleans Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Duane Delaune.

Damage After Crest Whitestrips

Posted on April 1, 2020 by writeradmin.

I had a damaged tooth from years ago that has always been a bit darker than my other teeth. It’s always embarrassed me about my smile. I recently talked to my dentist about it and asked if tooth whitening would be a good idea. He doesn’t offer that service but said that Crest Whitestrips work. After about a week my teeth became sensitive. I went back and he said he thinks I need a root canal treatment. I don’t know why it would. Do you think I need a second opinion? Also, if Crest Whitestrips won’t work for me should I try another dentist who does do teeth whitening?

Calli

Dear Calli,

Teeth whitening trays

Your dentist showed a fundamental lack of understanding about teeth whitening. I’m glad to hear he doesn’t offer the procedure because he’d do one of the simplest cosmetic procedures ever wrong. No matter what type of teeth whitening you do, it will whiten the teeth evenly. So even if this darker tooth got whiter, so would all the other teeth around it. Therefore, the tooth would still be darker than the rest of them.

In this situation, you would need dental bonding or a porcelain veneer. Either one of these procedures would require an expert cosmetic dentist. Your dentist doesn’t qualify. Before we go onto finding an expert cosmetic dentist I want to address your immediate issue.

I would get a second opinion before getting a root canal treatment. Crest Whitestrips aren’t very strong. They do whiten, but it would take a significant number of boxes to match what you would get with a dentist. Even then, you would only have your first six teeth get whitened because that is all the strips will reach. I would be surprised if it caused you to need a root canal treatment. That doesn’t mean you didn’t have something else going on.

Bottom line. Get a second opinion. After that is dealt with, if you decide you want to get that tooth fixed cosmetically, I suggest you go to the mynewsmile.com website. They recommend expert cosmetic dentists by zip code. So you should be able to find one in your area.

This blog is brought to you by New Orleans Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Duane Delaune.