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Archives for June 2012

How soon should a bridge be placed?

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I had an extraction done and my dentist placed the bridge immediately. There wasn’t time to place pressure to the site to make sure the blood clots. Do you think this was safe?

Brenda Q. from Ashdown, AR

Brenda,

Sometimes the bleeding stops immediately and there is no need at all to apply pressure.  But even if it didn’t, do you know if your dentist applied gel foam or an astringent? These will stop the bleeding as well. There are other cases when the bleeding just stops in a matter of minutes without needing any pressure at all.

One of the benefits to placing a dental bridge right away is that it will not allow for any movement of your adjacent teeth. When teeth are extracted, the adjacent teeth drift. When teeth move it leads to bite and alignment problems.

This blog is brought to you by Auburn family dentist Dr. Raymond Bolt.

Shouldn’t they try to save the tooth?

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My husband had a root canal treatment. Now it has an abscess and they are wanting to pull the tooth. They haven’t gone back in to see if they missed anything, they’re just going to pull it. On top of that my husband is in tremendous pain and the closest appointment they could give us is two months away. He’s been given no pain medicine or antibiotics. Does this sound right to you?

Carlyn P. from Maryland

Carlyn,

Sometimes a root canal will fail and there is nothing the dentist could have done differently. However, there are some things that concern me about this situation. Bear in mind that I have not examined your husband or seen any x-rays. However, there is almost always the option of going back in to re-do the root canal treatment. Root canal surgery could also possibly save the tooth. What concerns me is that it doesn’t seem like either of these options were mentioned to you. I’m also concerned that it is taking two months to get to your husband’s treatment. Maybe this office is just too busy to give their patient’s the care they need.

This blog is brought to you by Auburn family dentist Dr. Raymond Bolt.