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Sedation Dentistry

Why can’t I get numb?

I’ve been to the dentist twice to get a procedure done, but he hasn’t been able to get me numb.  We end up abandoning the procedure.  What’s the deal?

Danny B. – New Jersey

Danny,

It’s possible that you have some form of dental anxiety, even without realizing it.  That can cause your body to burn up the anesthetic before it has a chance to really take effect.

Sometimes using something as simple as nitrous oxide will relax you enough for the numbing medicine to take effect.  If that doesn’t work, you’ll need a stronger type of dental sedation.

I would go to a sedation dentist and let them know what is going on. You will likely have your first completely pain free dental appointment, which should really help with that anxiety.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

Affordable Dentistry

I can’t afford my teeth

I saved up for what seems like forever to get my teeth cleaned, and now the dentist is telling me that I need a lot of work done.  It’s going to cost thousands.  Would it be better just to get rid of my teeth?

Amanda W. – Louisana

Amanda,

I know you’re frustrated. I know you’re in a panic about the cost, but getting rid of your teeth when it is unneccesary is a bad idea.  You didn’t mention what was wrong with your teeth, but I’m guessing you’re not in pain or you wouldn’t have been saving up just for a cleaning.

Before you do anything, I want you to get a second opinion. I find it hard to believe you need that much work if your teeth haven’t been bothering you.

Next, I want you to understand that, if you do need some work, there are affordable dental care options. Talk to some dentists about your situation. Many of them will be willing to work with you.

Getting rid of your teeth will cause more problems AND be more expensive.  You’ll need to replace your teeth (if you don’t want to live off of mashed potatoes) and that can be very expensive.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

Dental Emergency

Is a gum pimple a problem?

`My husband was messing with his mouth, saying it hurts. I looked at it and he has a pimple on his gums.  We popped it and got out all the goop, but it keeps coming back.  Is this something dental?

Helen M. – Washington

Helen,

Yes, this is something dental.  It sounds to me like he has a dental abscess. This can get serious and your husband needs to see an emergency dentist or get an emergency appointment with his existing detnist if he has one.

An abscess means his tooth is infected. That infection will spread.  It can become a serious issue quickly.  Your mouth is close to your brain and that is one of the LAST places you’d want an infection to spread to.

This isn’t something that can be fixed with just antibiotics.  The dentist will have to get in there and physically remove the infected tissue.

Don’t let him put off being seen.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

CEREC crowns

Intereting Yahoo question on CEREC crowns.

I recently came across a question about CEREC crowns on yahoo that I thought was interesting.

I recently had a Cerec crown put in. I was told how great this was and that they go in take a picture that make a 3d image of the tooth and they send it to the mill that makes it. My understanding was that it was supposed to make this perfect fitting crown.
Well I ended up in the dental chair for about 3 hours. She said she had to pic a generic image from the database because my tooth was so damaged or in bad shape. This seemed odd to me and didn’t make since due to what I was told before. The crown did not fit when it was created. I noticed a lot of red area on the sides on the screen and she was doing a lot of hand manipulation to the 3d model. The crown didn’t filt. She had to hand grind the sides and a lot off the top. It seemed like it really sat up very high. As if it was made way to high. She had to do a lot of grinding to it so it felt natural. It seems like it’s a alittle lower then the surrounding teeth and doesn’t seem to have that natural tooth look. Almost looks a little too smooth. It is also a little wider on the outside at the base then the rest of my teeth. I would have assumed it would been pretty even. Also it seems a little sensitive. I don’t know if that’s normal for a period of time or not. Its been almost a week. It just don’t feel strong. I wonder if it is not seated in properly.
Now when I went to the Cerec site. It seemed as if it was supposed to be a nearl perfect fit. Would pnly take a fraction of the time. And only minor modification if any. I also sen the image of how it looks when they take the image. My tooth looked identical to this, so Im a little concerned why she is saying it was because the tooth was in bad shape as to why they couldn’t fit it right or get a proper model of it. It looks from the site that they could make a copy of the top tooth to know how it would fit. My understanding was this was what they did. But they only took a image of the prepared tooth which again looked like the images in their flash presentation. Did she do something wrong and is trying to cover it up? What about the sensitivity and such?

Here are my thoughts….

This patient definitely needs to see another dentist to have it checked.  A lot can go wrong with a dental crown and I’m afraid this one has some serious problems.  If indeed the crown needs to be replaced, then he dentist the caused the problem in the first place, should pay for the replacement and any other repairs that need to be attended to.

There is something that puzzles me.  This patient said that their dentist had to take a generic image from the database because their tooth was in “such bad shape”.

The CEREC crown system is made to deal with teeth that are in bad shape. Teeth that are in good shape don’t need crowns. The software asks the dentist to input which tooth is being crowned. It in turn gives the dentist a starting point for designing the crown, showing him or her what the tooth is supposed to.  The dentist is also given the images of the surrounding teeth and  opposing teeth. This gives the dentist all the information needed to fit the crown perfectly. Clearly, this dentist didn’t know what they were doing.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

Sedation Dentistry

Dental procedure for alzheimer patient

My mother has alzheimers. She can be quite difficult at times.  Today she was screaming about her mouth hurting. When I finally got her asleep, I peeked inside her mouth.  There is a huge cavity and what looks like an abscess based on what I infer from the articles I looked up online. I know she needs to see a dentist, but I have no idea how to actually get her to let the dentist treat her.  Are there dentists who specialize in alzheimer patients?

Amy S. – Boston

Amy,

There isn’t a specialization for alzheimer patients, but many dentist have treated them.  If I were in your position, I would go to a dentist who does sedation dentistry.  That can make the appointment trouble free for you, your mother, and the dentist.

There are different levels of sedation. Not all dentists who use sedation use all the types, so you’ll have to call around.  My suggestion would be to find someone who uses oral conscious sedation.  It’s a lot stronger than nitrous oxide.

You’ll give her a pill before her appointment and she’ll be completely relaxed. I mean completely relaxed.  Even people without alzheimers often don’t even remember the procedure.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

Affordable Dentistry

I need help

I joined a club at school that my dad told me not to.  Something happened while I was there and I ended up getting a front tooth knocked out.  When I went home and explained to my dad what happened, he said that he doesn’t have money for the dentist. I disobeyed so the tooth is my problem.  I’m only twelve and don’t have a way of making enough money for the dentist.  I have about $7 I made in babysitting, but that is it.  What do I do? I don’t want to live my life with one of my front teeth missing. I’m so ugly. It’s too embarassing.

Bella K. – Oregon

Bella,

I’m very sorry for what you’re going through.  I want you to know that even though you feel ugly because one of your teeth is missing, that doesn’t mean you are ugly.

Let’s try to get you some help.  Because you’re a minor, one of your parents will need to consent to treatment.  There’s good news too.  Dentists become dentists because they like helping people.  I bet if you called around and explained your sitution, there will be at least one willing to work with you to get treatment.

I’d start by doing a Google search for affordable dentist. Then talk with them until you find one you’re comfortable with.

There are levels of treatment. Maybe at first, you can get a temporary treatment like a removable partial denture until you can afford one the better (but priceier) treatments.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

Dental Emergency

Preventing dental emergencies in children

I saw on article on Facebook about a little girl in the UK who had to have 16 teeth pulled. It seemed like it was a kind of emergency situation. Is there a way to prevent this kind of thing from happnening, or was it a fluke situation?

Gillian A. – Baltimore, MD

Gillian,

This was a unique situation. In this particular case, the decay was caused by the mother allowing the child to have a bottle round the clock.  This will cause significant decay.

I’m not quite sure how it took the parents so long to notice something was wrong, because the article seems to indicate that the little girl was taking hours to eat her breakfast because of the pain. It must have been intollerable for the poor thing.

These kind of dental emergencies are easily prevented by taking a few simple steps:

First, begin taking your children for check up s as soon as their teeth come in.

Second, DO NOT let a child have a bottle as much as they want.  Especially don’t let them sleep with one.  The formula will pool around the teeth and gums and cause decay.

Finally, keep a look on their teeth to make sure nothing is going on with them.

These simple steps, can usually prevent a dental emergency in children.  Of course, there is always a losing battle with a light saber or a fight on the playground to worry about. But, short of that….

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

CEREC crowns

Cleaning CEREC crowns

I had a lot of damaged amalgam fillings nad my teeth degraded further. As a result I needed crowns.  I opted for CEREC ones to save on appointment time. My two rear molars continually trap food. Sometimes floss helps, but not always.  Is there a different method with crowns for getting food out?

Jen H. – Little Rock

Jen,

Dental floss holders can sometimes help you reach places that are tougher to without them, but that is not really your problem.  Go back to your dentist and let him or her know what is going on.  The margins to your CEREC crowns were left open on your crown.

If that’s not repaired your going to end up getting decay under there. If that happens, your crowns will have to be re-done at your expense.

If you go back now and your dentist fixes the mistake (at his own expense), you’ll be much happier.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

 

Sedation Dentistry

Special needs child needs a dentist

I have a son who is special needs-severely special needs.  He will let me touch him and no one else.  Even with me it’s not a guarantee that he’s not going to fly into a panic and disappear into his private world.  I try to help him clean his teeth as best I can, but you can imagine that isn’t easy.  Now I’ve noticed what I think is a cavity starting on one of his teeth. I don’t know what to do and  I don’t think he’ll respond well to a dentist.  I’m desperate. Any advice?

Melissa B. – Conway, AR

Melissa,

You’re in an incredibly difficult situation.  I’m sure you feel stressed all the time, not to mention the pain when you can’t hold your son.  I want to take one worry off your shoulders. There is a way you can get your son the treatment he needs.

I would get a pediatric dentist who is also a sedation dentist. Your son can be given a pill to take before his appointment that will make him oblivious to what is going on around him.  It will completely relax him and they your dentist will be able to do whatever procedure is necessary.

There are other types of sedation too, such as I.V., but a needle might be harder for your son that a pill.  I would schedule an apppointment with the dentist and give him a full picture of what your son is like. Pediatric dentists are generally good with these kinds of situations.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.

Affordable Dentistry

Are there good affordable dentists?

I went to a new dentist who had much cheaper prices than some of the others in my area. I found out quickly why his prices were so much less. He had terrible hygiene and equally terrible personality.  I didn’t know if his odor or his breath. Is there a way to get an affordable dentist that doesn’t smell like bathing is optional?

Kelly K. – California

Kelly,

Wow.  I’m hoping his clinical cleanliness isn’t as bad as his personal hygiene.  Don’t despair.  There are plenty of affordable dentists around that know how to regularly brush their teeth.

You want to distinguish between an affordable dentist and a cheap dentist.  An affordable dentist does quality work and finds ways to make the procedures do-able on a budget.

A cheap dentist is generally either unskilled and needs to lower his prices to draw people in, or he has low prices because he uses poor quality materials in order to lower his bottom line.  Either way, you won’t like it.

This blog is brought to you by Gilbert Dentist Dr. Matt Roper.