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Archives for September 2018

Mother’s Teeth are Just Falling Out

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I need some help. My 87-year-old mother needs an affordable solution. She’s recently had two teeth just fall out. I’m guessing her teeth are in bad shape. We need to replace the missing teeth. Are bridges a good option?

Kate

Dear Kate,

Partial denture

I’m sorry for what your mother is going through. If her teeth are just falling out, it means she has very advanced gum disease. This needs to be dealt with right away or she’ll loose all of her teeth. Sadly, a dental bridge will not be a good solution for her. With her advanced gum disease, the remaining teeth are not strong enough.

My suggestion is you get her gums treated in order to save as many teeth as possible. I hope you can at least save some. The ideal solution for missing teeth is to replace them with dental implants. But, you asked for affordable dental solutions. A full set of dental implants can cost between 20-40 thousand dollars.

Your mother will need dentures for her missing teeth. Hopefully, you can get her some like the one pictured above which leaves space for some remaining teeth.

Why I Don’t Normally Recommend “Affordable” Dentures

In your mother’s case, because of her advanced age, dentures are a good solution. But, for a younger patient, it’s disastrous.

Your body begins resorbing the jawbone after your teeth are removed. After ten+ years, there’s not enough jawbone left to even support dentures. You’ll spend the remainder of your days on a liquid diet of sorts, unless you get bone grafting done. Then, of course, you’ll also have to get the dentures re-done to fit. You’ll be good to go for about another ten years, then you’re right back to square one.

This is one of those cases where affordable isn’t in a patient’s best interest. Your mother being an exception.

This blog is brought to you by Auburn, AL Dentist Dr. Raymond Bolt.

Is a Gum Pimple a Dental Emergency?

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I have had a tooth which has been in pain. I’ve kind of ignored it because I’m a bit low on funds. The pain stopped for a bit so I thought I was in the clear. This morning, though, the pain started up again with a vengeance and now there’s a pimple on my gums. My husband said this is a dental emergency. I think he’s overblowing things. Can’t I just take some pain medicine and try to ride it out?

Simone

Dear Simone,

illustration of an infected tooth

A pimple on the gum means you have an abcessed tooth

You’ll want to mark this down because from what I’ve heard husbands aren’t often right, but this time yours is. I’m sure he’ll celebrate later. It’s lucky for you he was too. A pimple on your gums means you have an abscessed tooth— an infection.

Without treatment, this will spread and could settle in your organs. Then, you’d not only have a dental emergency but a medical one as well. Think about how close your jaw is to your heart and brain. Things like this can quickly turn life-threatening. Believe it or not, people still die from tooth infections.

Your dentist needs to get in there and physically remove the infected pulp. This requires a root canal treatment, but it can save your tooth as well as your health.

Your dentist likely has an emergency protocol for situations like yours. Call his office and let him know what’s going on.

Affording an Emergency Dentist

I know you were worried about money. In future, you should know there are affordable dentists out there who will work with you financially. They’d rather have you get the treatment you need and pay things out than to ignore necessary treatment and face what you’re facing now.

Truthfully, getting regular dental care saves you money. It’s much more affordable to get regular cleanings than it is to avoid them and end up needing an expensive dental crown because of decay. Even worse, would be to wait so long that the tooth needs to be extracted and replaced. that would cost you thousands of dollars.

This blog is brought to you by Auburn AL, Family Dentist Dr. Raymond Bolt.