Archives for May 2021

Porcelain Veneers versus Invisalign

Posted on May 31, 2021 by writeradmin.

I’m a little confused. I heard that porcelain veneers could straighten teeth for you. I have one tooth in the front that barely crosses over the other. I wanted to get porcelain veneers to fix that and make my teeth look whiter and a bit longer because I grind them. My dentist said he wants me to get Invisalign first and then the porcelain veneers and teeth whitening. I’m confused. Don’t porcelain veneers handle all of that?

Joyce

Dear Joyce,

I’m glad you wrote. Let’s start with the teeth whitening. Getting teeth whitening done is fairly standard procedure, but often you can have it done just on the bottom arch of your teeth. You probably don’t want to spend the money to have porcelain veneers placed on the bottom teeth, but you will want them to blend in with the upper teeth. As to whether or not you will need to whiten the top arch as well, that will depend on how many veneers you plan on getting. Most smiles are around eight to ten teeth wide. If you don’t plan on getting enough veneers to cover all the visible teeth when you smile, then I would whiten.

The Invisalign, however, is a completely different story. Based on what you described, this should not be necessary at all. An experienced cosmetic dentist can make those two teeth look completely straight and perfectly in line with one another. That being said, I would not push this dentist into doing it. He or she is obviously uncomfortable with his ability to do so. You would be better served having another dentist do the veneers so they can be done right. It is never a good idea to push a dentist out of their comfort zone. The results are rarely what you would hope for.

I want to address one other thing. You mentioned grinding your teeth. Make sure you get a night guard to wear while you are sleeping. Porcelain veneers are very strong, but they will be damaged by the grinding, as will your bottom teeth. In fact, those can be ground down to little nubs which will require you to have dental crowns placed on each of them. A night guard will protect them from the grinding.

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

Does My Daughter Need Anesthesia for Impacted Wisdom Teeth?

Posted on May 30, 2021 by writeradmin.

I have a 20 year old daughter who has two impacted wisdom teeth. I don’t want this to be a situation where there ends up being complications and her ending up in terrible pain during the procedure. I was thinking because the tooth is impacted we should do the procedure in a hospital under general anesthesia. My dentist insists that sedation with him is all she’ll need, but it occurred to me that maybe he is only saying this because he wanted the money for the procedure and the sedation. Will my daughter be safe and comfortable no matter which type of sedation we use?

Madeline

Dear Madeline,

I can tell you care about your daughter very much and want the best and safest option for her. Because your daughter is twenty years old, the bone where her wisdom tooth is impacted is quite pliable. It would be unlikely there would be any complication to worry about. Impacted wisdom teeth are rather common to extract and she should be just fine with the dental sedation.

I am certain your dentist will be suggesting this as well, but I am going to suggest you have your daughter get oral conscious sedation. She will take a simple pill. However that pill is so strong that you will need to drive her to and from her dental appointment as well as stay with her for a few hours after her appointment, at the very least until she is lucid and steady on her feet. You will be happy to know that she will be completely at rest during the procedure.

I was curious about your concern that your dentist was just trying to get the money from the sedation. Has your dentist given you any reason in the past to doubt his integrity. I would find it most heinous if a dentist tried to talk you into a procedure that could put your daughter in discomfort unnecessarily. If you truly feel he is capable of that, I suggest finding another dentist pronto.

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

Dentist Placed an Implant Knowing it Would Fail

Posted on May 17, 2021 by writeradmin.

I am a tad frustrated and need some advice. Before my dental implant procedure, my dentist told me that I was good to go and an excellent candidate for dental implants. Then, when the procedure finished he completely changed his story. He told me once he got in that he realized I did not have enough bone to make the implants viable. He placed the implant anyway, though. I have a few questions. One, shouldn’t he have known this before the surgery? Two, why would he place the implant knowing it will fail? Three, once it fails, what do I do?

Emily

Dear Emily,

I am frustrated on your behalf. Let’s answer these questions one by one. First, yes, he should have known that you did not have enough bone support. Either he did not do enough diagnostics to know what you were dealing with or he did not know how to read the diagnostics. Either one does not make him a great dentist. Second, no, he should not have placed a dental implant knowing it would fail. That was unethical. My opinion is that what he has done is malpractice. Do not just ask for a refund. My suggestion is that you tell him that instead of giving you a refund that he pay for this to be repaired. But, make sure it is with a dentist of your choosing.

One of the reasons for this is you will need an additional procedure in order to make this work. When your dental implant fails, you will need to have some bone grating done in order to place the implant again, they will need to do a bone grafting procedure. You already did not have a lot of bone according to your dentist. Once the implant fails, it will take some of the bone with it. You will need to build that bone back up, which will require a bone grafting procedure.

The good news is once you have that procedure done and the healing has time, you actually will be a good candidate for dental implants. You picked the best tooth replacement option. Again, I am sorry for how your dentist handled it.

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