Archive for March, 2010

What specialist should I consult with about dental implants?

Friday, March 12th, 2010

I had every intent to attend a seminar here locally to learn about Clear Choice dental implants, but I now hesitate to even consider this procedure after reading some about Clear Choice on a blog, where they had a number of consumer complaints. I am a senior and money is tight and certainly do not want to waste it if this is not an above board ethical clinic. What do you think I should do?
- Maggie from Kansas

I have heard some things about Clear Choice that make me skeptical about their operation. I wouldn’t say to not go there, but I would say definitely to get a second opinion. Every person that I have heard who has gotten a treatment plan from Clear Choice has had the same treatment plan – extract all of the remaining teeth and do all on four dental implants. This seems very peculiar to me, because there are a wide variety of implant denture options, and my belief is that the treatment plan should be customized to give the best result for the individual patient. It seems to me that they have a one-size-fits-all approach.

There is a consensus among dentists who are experts in dental implants that you should consult first with the restorative dentist – the general dentist – and not the oral surgeon. The reason is that the implants need to be placed to meet the restorative treatment plan, and not the other way around. So my advice would be to find a general dentist in your community who does a lot of dental implants and get an opinion from him or her. Look for a dentist with strong dental implant credentials, such as training at the Misch Institute or membership in the International Congress of Oral Implantologists. A good restorative implant dentist will have a strong working relationship with an excellent oral surgeon and will provide you the highest level of care.

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Lower front teeth are loose and I’m worried.

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

I am a diabetic and one of my front teeth is loose and one side tooth is loose. I want to know what I can do to get them back tight. I have a gap in the middle and I want to save my teeth.
- Ora from Texas

Ora,
It sounds like you have advanced periodontal disease (gum disease), and if your teeth are as loose as it seems, it may be too late to do anything to save them. When they start to wobble, the bone support is usually almost entirely gone. But you can check with your dentist and see what can be done. And if you have been going to the dentist regularly and he or she hasn’t told you about your serious gum disease, I would find a dentist who is more tuned in to this issue. This is a chronic disease that takes years to develop.

The other possibility for teeth that are very mobile is some kind of serious traumatic injury, like being hit in the face.

When you have diabetes, you are especially susceptible to gum disease. A conscientious dentist will carefully screen all patients for gum disease, and for the majority of patients over 40 who have some form of gum disease, will recommend some course of action to deal with it and help control it.

If you end up losing these teeth, you will need a carefully worked out treatment plan to replace them. Usually, when two teeth are as loose as you seem to be saying, the adjacent teeth are also quite weak. This limits your options for solving the problem. Bridgework or even removable partial dentures will put additional stress on the remaining teeth, which won’t help them. The sooner you start treatment, the better off you are.

Posted in Gum Disease | No Comments »