Archives for June 2021

Smelling My Husband’s Implants

Posted on June 30, 2021 by writeradmin.

My husband is in the middle of the all-on-4 dental implant procedure. I have horrible metal and chemical sensitivities. I’m pretty sure I am having a reaction to his dental implants. Right now, he only has the temporary acrylic ones and titanium posts. Here’s the thing, I can smell rubber on his breath. It’s awful. I can barely sleep with him at this point. I spoke to the oral surgeon and he said titanium is really the only option for him. However, I have the feeling that he’s one of those doctors who only checks off boxes and never even considers alternatives. Do you have any suggestions? I’m thinking he should switch out the implants for zirconia.

Karen

Dear Karen,

I would be very surprised if it were his titanium implants that you were smelling. They are very inert. It is possible that you are smelling the acrylic. I would ask the dentist if you can smell them to see if that matches the smell you are being plagued with. I don’t think that will be it either, but I cannot think of any other material currently in his mouth that would give off a smell.

The most likely scenario is that he’s having trouble getting everything cleaned out when he brushes his teeth. If food and other bacteria are getting trapped, it will leave a strong smell, though I have never heard it described like rubber before. If that is the case, something like a Waterpik could help get the debris out from those tricky crevices.

While it may be true that your particular oral surgeon is a “standard” only kind of doctor, I don’t think you’ll want your husband to switch dental implants at this point. it would mean a lot of unnecessary surgery for him. First, they would have to remove his current dental implants, then he would need to have some bone grafting done, which requires a period of healing. After the bone grafting is done, then he would have to have another implant surgery to place the zirconia implants. That is a lot of surgery and a lot of risks that will very likely produce the same results he has with the titanium implants. While zirconia is metal-free, it actually has the same allergy/sensitivity risk as titanium because of how biocompatible they both are.

I would stick with what he has and see if the Waterpik helps.

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

Costa Rica or Clear Choice for My Dental Implants?

Posted on June 14, 2021 by writeradmin.

I want to get dental implants for a few teeth I have missing. I’ve been to a dentist and he quoted me a large amount of money for four dental implants. Next, I went to Clear Choice Dental Implant Center and they want to remove the whole arch and do an All-on-Four Dental Implants procedure. The price was close to what my dentist quoted me. When I told them I could get just the four dental implants I need without taking out all my other teeth for the same price, they came down by $15,000! I was stunned. There are two things that worry me. First, I would have to take out the rest of my teeth and that sort of bugs me. Second, I have heard that Clear Choice is not very good at following up so patients are just left on their own. Another friend of mine went to Costa Rica to have some medical procedure done. She wanted a tubal ligation reversed. In the U.S., they considered her too old to do that, but she had it done in Costa Rica no problem and for a lot cheaper than here. I was thinking it might be possible to do my dental implants there. Do you know of people who have gone to Costa Rica for dental work? Did it turn out okay?

Angie

Dear Angie,

All on Four Dental Implants

I’m very glad you wrote. Let’s start with Clear Choice. They are a dental chain and while their dentists tend to be good, skilled dentists, their corporate model leads them to a one-size fits all category. Their go-to procedure is the all on 4, as you have discovered by their recommendation to you. The all-on-4 dental implant procedure is really designed for people who have lost all their teeth, but do not have enough bone structure for them to get implant overdentures. This does not sound like you fit that category. You have healthy teeth and the best thing you can do for them is keep all the healthy teeth that are possible for you. Plus, with this procedure, if one dental implant fails, the whole unit has to be redone. You cannot simply replace the one with the problem. I am not going to recommend them to you.

That brings us to Costa Rica. Dental tourism is a growing industry. When you are dealing with simple procedures and they go well, it can be a way to save some money, but there are risks. Many of these countries do not have the same legal requirements and standards that we have for our medical practitioners and supplies. As an example, many of these countries have no laws about sterilizing their equipment. It is up to the dentist if and how often he does that. There have been many people who traveled out of the country for dental care only to end up with an infection.

When you factor in that dental implants are one of the most advanced procedures around, you need to be even more cautious. If something goes wrong, the consequences are not as simple as fixing a faulty dental crown. Complications with dental implants can have serious repercussions, such as losing part of your jaw, perforating your sinus cavity, landing on nerve endings that leave in you tremendous pain, and many more. Plus, if you were worried about the lack of follow-up care you would get with Clear Choice, what type of follow-up do you think you will get from another country?

Your best and safest option is to go to a private dentist with post-doctoral training in dental implants and let him provide you with the quality work you should have and the post-operative care you need. Think of dental implants not just as a way to get some quality teeth, but also an investment in your quality of life.

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

Is a Tooth Infection Dangerous?

Posted on June 3, 2021 by writeradmin.

I have a weird problem and am not sure how to handle it. I had a back molar that broke. This tooth lies just in front of my wisdom tooth. Since it broke, my chin has been in massive amounts of pain. Now my sinus and nose area hurt. I had been taking an antibiotic, but it ran out. Now it feels worse than ever. I am not sure why a broken tooth would hurt so much, but I do believe that tooth is the source of all my problems. Someone told me today that this could be dangerous. I am in pain, but I think dangerous may be an overreaction. However, I am not so stupid as to be unwilling to double check. So, is it dangerous?

Thomas

Dear Thomas,

I am glad you were wise enough to double check and did not let pride stand in your way. Your acquaintance was correct. This is a dangerous situation. Your back molar is infected and that infection is spreading. While you tried antibiotics, and those work on other types of infections, it did not help with your dental infection. There is a reason for that.

While antibiotics can temporarily hold a tooth infection at bay, the only way to truly rid yourself of the infection is for your dentist to get in there and physically remove the infected tissue. You may be wondering why this is such an urgent situation. That is because the infection will continue to spread until properly treated. Yours has already begun to do so. If you think about how close your jaw is to your heart, brain, and lungs, you can see what these are considered dental emergencies.

This is what you need to have done now. There are two ways to handle this. The first is with a root canal treatment. This is where a dentist will go in and remove all the pulp in an infected tooth, then place a dental crown over the tooth to protect it as it gets more brittle. If the tooth is too far gone to save, then the only thing to do is to have the tooth extracted.

It is important when a tooth is removed that it is also replaced. Without that, the other teeth will begin to shift or tip into the empty spot, which will lead to your bite being thrown off. In some cases, this can cause TMJ Disorder to develop, leaving you in pain. If you need to replace a tooth, the best option is a dental implant. This is the most like having a healthy natural tooth again.

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