Archives for January 2021

Too Young for Partial Dentures

Posted on January 18, 2021 by writeradmin.

I have quite a few teeth that need work. Many are chipped. I know there are stains. I also have several teeth with cavities. I want to fix my teeth or at least find a permanent replacement for the ones that can’t be saved but all my dentist wants to do is extract them and put in partial dentures. I am only 32 years old, which too young for partial dentures. Do I have options?

Kimberly

Dear Kimberly,

While you have options, they may not be with this dentist. Every dentist is different. Some work hard to save teeth. Others just want to do the easy procedures and take the money. The one good thing you have going for you is your dentist didn’t try to do procedures he wasn’t comfortable with. When this happens, the results are usually an absolute disaster for the patient.

Your first order of business is to find a dentist who is willing to work with you. For your cavities, there are dental fillings and dental crowns (if the decay is too large for a filling). For chipped teeth, there is dental bonding, but that does take a dentist comfortable with cosmetic procedures.

As for teeth that can’t be saved. Your best solution is a dental implant. These are permanent tooth replacements and are much better than any type of denture. Like cosmetic procedures, however, it is important you find a dentist who has invested in post-doctoral training in these type of procedures. Neither of them are recognized specialties, so it is up to the dentist how much training they get in them.

This blog is brought to you by Decatur, AL Dentists Drs. Drake and Wallace.

Infection from Wisdom Tooth Returned

Posted on January 5, 2021 by writeradmin.

I had a wisdom tooth that was hurting and went to see my dentist. He said it was infected and sent me to some kind of specialist. He told me all the wisdom teeth needed to be removed, but can’t do it for a couple of months. He did prescribe me an antibiotic but that is gone. Now the tooth is hurting again. Does this mean the tooth infection is back? What do I do?

Erin

Dear Erin,

Yes, your infection has returned. You don’t want to leave this until your appointment. Your jaw is very close to your brain. If the infection reaches there, a dental emergency turns into a life-threatening emergency. One thing you can do is call the dentist and ask him to write you another prescription. It should last from now until a few days after your extractions. He shouldn’t have a problem with that.

Even if your symptoms go away again keep taking the antibiotics. A tooth infection is only solved by the infected tissue being removed. You are on your way to doing that, but too many people make the mistake of thinking when symptoms are removed, so is the infection. The antibiotics are there to hold back the infection, not cure it.

You didn’t mention your age. That is an important factor in wisdom tooth removal. The ideal time for them to be removed is your late teens to early twenties. The older you get beyond that the higher risk you are for complications. Make sure if you are in a high-risk category, your dentist goes over all the risks with you.

This blog is brought to you by Decatur, AL Dentists Drs. Drake and Wallace.

Zoom Whitening and White Spots

Posted on January 4, 2021 by writeradmin.

When my daughter had her braces taken off, there were white spots on her teeth. We were looking for a quick way to fix them. Our dentist suggested teeth whitening and told us that Zoom would be the fastest. She didn’t have a Zoom machine but recommended to us someone she knew who did. We went ahead with it, but the spots didn’t go away. Her teeth are whiter, but still uneven. What went wrong?

Gabby L.

Dear Gabby,

Uneven tooth color, including white spots, are usually made worse by teeth whitening, which includes the fast-acting Zoom Whitening. So why did your dentist recommend it? The only real explanation is your dentist has a fundamental misunderstanding of how teeth whitening works.

This is one of the big issues with cosmetic dentistry not being a recognized specialty, but also not being taught in dental school. Teeth whitening will whiten your teeth, or in this case your daughter’s teeth, evenly. So, because her teeth were uneven in color before the whitening, they will be uneven after the whitening.

The Solution to White Spots After Braces

First, it helps to know the cause of these white spots to begin with. This is something your dentist should know about. The white spots are a sign of decalcification. Think of them as pre-cavities. It is pretty common after braces when a patient didn’t quite get everything brushed the way they needed to during their orthodontic treatment. To be fair, getting the area around all those wires and brackets clean is pretty tough. This is why we often recommend Invisalign to teens who are responsible enough to keep up with their aligners. Because they are removable, it is much easier for patients to brush and floss their teeth, making it much less likely they will develop white spots.

The best solution for this is to have the white spots carefully ground off and then replaced with composite tooth bonding. However, don’t let your dentist talk you into letting her try this herself. It is a much more advanced procedure than teeth whitening and she was clueless about that. Whoever you are considering to do it, ask to see before and after pictures of bonding cases they have done so you can make sure you love their results before letting them work on your daughter’s case.

This blog is brought to you by Decatur, AL Dentists Drs. Drake and Wallace.