Visits to the Dentist

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

My dentist is the guy that does everything in my mouth.

may I suggest you revise this?

[Racerbvd]

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by DonDavis

In my ham-fisted way, this is what I was implying.

My dentist came to my shop today to BS (P car pal) and I told him about this cleaning thread and he said while laughing "Man, you dudes got too much time on your hands".

I asked him if his hygienist is better than him at cleaning. He says "Hell yes". Then I ask if a periodontist can clean better than him. Pauses and says "Yep".

Adds, "I know how to do a great job, it would just take too much time."

[DonDavis]

‘zactly.

I install, maintain and repair CT scanners, PET scanners and Nuclear Medicine systems.
I also do all my own maintenance on my vehicles.

Folks ask why I don’t service vehicles for a living. While I know I could do that, it’d just take me too long to fix cars cuz my OCD demands I do stuff correctly.

Fine for medical devices, but it’d kill me to skip stuff that was needed but declined by the owner.

[stevej37]

A pic of the 'hot hygienest' would have been better.

Originally Posted by Racerbvd

[livi]

I have not been to a dentist for thirty years. I have never experienced any problems with my teeth so why bother. I have always wondered why most people have a check up with their dentist regularly but as far as the rest of the body, they will only go to the doctors if they experience health issues.

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by livi

I have not been to a dentist for thirty years.

You are lucky.

I had a several year break from cleanings and it was wonderful to get the plaque knocked off so I could feel I had individual bottom front teeth with my tongue.

[RNajarian]

Originally Posted by livi

I have not been to a dentist for thirty years. I have never experienced any problems with my teeth so why bother. I have always wondered why most people have a check up with their dentist regularly but as far as the rest of the body, they will only go to the doctors if they experience health issues.

An Ounce of Prevention is worth a Pound of Cure. . .

You cannot always see cavities (caries) clinically until it is too late. The X rays below show obvious cavities which may NOT be detectable by merely visual examination.

[livi]

Valid arguments. I guess I put my faith in hereditary factors. My grandfather died at 96 years old without never having had a single cavity.

[RNajarian]

Diet and home care do have a lot to do with it.

[stevej37]

Ok...a quick question because we have at least two or more dentists on this thread.

I had an abscessed tooth that showed up as a major swelling of the nearby gum.
It diminished, but my dentist wanted to do a root canal to fix it.
The swelling went completely away and has been gone for 3 years now.

My dentist claims..even though the evidence is gone, and it's been 3 years..it is still there. He said "abscesses never go away"

I have a hard time saying yes to a root canal when I have no pain or signs of trouble.
What do you think? Should I just say 'yes' to the root canal? (He's not sure of which tooth it's under (from the x-rays)..so he is saying it might involve two teeth)

After three years...I am leaning towards not doing it.

[RNajarian]

The first thing I would like to see are X Rays. Ideally one before the problem, one during the problem and one now.

Abscesses can be called by a few things;

1) Periapical Abcess (Root Canal issue)
2) Cracked tooth
3) Periodontal Disease
4) Some type of pathology

Obviously an infection is not normal. Having not seen the swelling hard to say, I would like to see the x-rays.

I’ve seen infections/swellings based on a popcorn husk irritating the gingiva which resolved after it was removed.

If there was a periapical abcess initially I doubt it has resolved by itself

[RWebb]

my dog gets along fine with Oravet chews - I might try those...

[stevej37]

^^^RN
There were no x-rays before. The abcess showed up first as looking like I had a chaw of tobacco in my mouth (from the outside)...but I don't chew.
Your popcorn theory makes sense...I'm a popcorn addict.
I have had x-rays since. They do that every year or so. He has never mentioned seeing it anymore.
Next time there...I'll ask about that.

Thanks for your answer...When I'm at the dentist, I should ask more questions....but usually in a hurry to get out. Just like at the Dr. Office.

[RNajarian]

No problem, next time you go ask to see the X Ray the day of the infection and a current one, have him compare, is there bone loss? Is something out of place?

[stevej37]

^^^ OK...thanks for the advice.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I go to the dentist regularly because they can clean my teeth way better than I can. Otherwise I’m not doing any of the recommended BS upsell stuff that some dentists offer as means to make more money. I currently go to an old school dentist after my previous old school dentist retired, but now this dude is going to retire too so I might be starting over. I have had several very bad dentists that tried to sell me and my family a bunch of unnecessary BS that magically disappeared once I changed dentists. An “urgent” crown that I declined that hasn’t been mentioned ever again by another dentist, and that was probably 13 years ago. But he had to pay for that new Mooney somehow. The best was the dentist that offered a therapy dog.....lol. I knew we wouldn’t last at that place.

[Nickshu]

Originally Posted by stevej37

Ok...a quick question because we have at least two or more dentists on this thread.

I had an abscessed tooth that showed up as a major swelling of the nearby gum.
It diminished, but my dentist wanted to do a root canal to fix it.
The swelling went completely away and has been gone for 3 years now.

My dentist claims..even though the evidence is gone, and it's been 3 years..it is still there. He said "abscesses never go away"

I have a hard time saying yes to a root canal when I have no pain or signs of trouble.
What do you think? Should I just say 'yes' to the root canal? (He's not sure of which tooth it's under (from the x-rays)..so he is saying it might involve two teeth)

After three years...I am leaning towards not doing it.

Generally what happens there is the nerve/artery/vein inside the tooth is in a "pulpitis" state which causes pain due to inflammation around the still living nerve. If treatment is delayed the associated swelling eventually causes the nerve to die off and become what we refer to as "pulpal necrosis". When this happens the pain goes away, but disease is still present, and the inside of the tooth is filled with now dead tissue. The body then recognizes this as foreign/dead tissue inside body and slowly abscesses the tooth. Sometimes these abscesses never cause pain, as the nerve itself is dead, and they only way they can cause pain is by generating pressure within themselves on the surrounding bone and periodontal ligament. Often they find a path of drainage and fester along for years as a chronic infection until someone catches it on an xray or finds the drainage during a clinical exam. Nowadays we use cone beam CT scans to evaluate any possible abscess that may not show up on a 2 dimensional xray. You would be amazed how many I find on a regular basis.

It would be worth a visit to your dentist to reevaluate this area to see what the status is and if the above is what happened or not.

[stevej37]

^^^ Are you saying that the abcess is still active? Should I be concerned..even though there is no swelling or discharge after three years?
Thanks for any replies.

[A930Rocket]

I have had 3 root canals. The first two were my front and front right. Easy and no pain.

The front right got infected 20 years later and I got another root canal. I about jumped out of my chair, the pain was so bad.

The next time I had a tooth second front right just up and die. Instead of a root canal, they went through the gum. If I have my choice, it’ll be this way every time going forward. Super easy and no paint. 🙏🏽🙌🏽