The Dental Apocalypse weekend and falling apart piece by piece.

[harley]

I went into the dentist yesterday and got work done, resulting in two temporary crowns. The permanent ones will take a couple of weeks. So tonight I after dinner I ran my tongue across one of the crowns and it feels like half of it is gone. I didn't eat anything hard or sticky, and must have just swallowed the piece without noticing. I've got a call in to the dentist to see if they can fix me up before the weekend.

[sengsational]

Don't call the dentist too soon, he might want to reglue that "lost" crown

[rayinpenn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemo2 Yesterday, while eating a sandwich, a molar dental crown snapped off at gum level......have an 8:00 a.m. appointment tomorrow with the dentist to find out what my options are. Ain't old age grand?

Brother you have my sympathy I write this with a sore mouth from Monday's extraction and implant. I keep checking to make sure nothing else will fall off this old body.

[athena53]

You have my sympathies. My first dental implants were from two unrelated incidents: decay under a crown that was too extensive to repair once it was found, and (I think) another crown breaking off a couple of weeks later. Bad luck but good timing since I had them done at the same time, but no discount.

Since getting the first implants I've been religious about 4X/yearly professional cleanings, brushing, flossing and using a WaterPik. I also have a bite guard I use at night which seems to have drastically reduced breaking/cracking crowns. Still, I've got a mouth full of old dental work and one bridge likely to go at some point. That could leave me on the hook for 2 implants again, which happened in 2014; one to replace the decayed tooth holding up the bridge plus one to go into the gap the bridge covered. My planned withdrawals from savings every year include some unanticipated, "oh, crap!" items and this would fall into that category.

Given my overall health (so far I'm signed up for a 35-mile charity bike ride and a sprint triathlon this year, with more to come), I can't complain.

[Bamaman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harley I went into the dentist yesterday and got work done, resulting in two temporary crowns. The permanent ones will take a couple of weeks. So tonight I after dinner I ran my tongue across one of the crowns and it feels like half of it is gone. I didn't eat anything hard or sticky, and must have just swallowed the piece without noticing. I've got a call in to the dentist to see if they can fix me up before the weekend.

You may be out of luck. We all know dentists no longer work on Fridays, and that's when the most serious problems, like serious toothaches, happen. Pain never comes Mon-Thur.

I found a dentist that has a CNC machine that carves crowns out of a solid porcelain chunk in 6 minutes. She scans the mouth in 3D, and makes electronic adjustments before she starts the machine. I can be in and out and not have to come back 2 weeks later. Best news is that she's $100 cheaper than my regular dentist since the procedure takes less time.

[Nemo2]

Back from the dentist...he removed the molar root, (and I currently have a wad of gauze in my mouth)........options are a bridge, an implant, or because it's the middle molar and unseen and will barely affect chewing or anything else, fuhgeddaboutit.

No need for an instant decision.

[zinger1457]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemo2 Back from the dentist...he removed the molar root, (and I currently have a wad of gauze in my mouth)........options are a bridge, an implant, or because it's the middle molar and unseen and will barely affect chewing or anything else, fuhgeddaboutit.

I just went through something similar with the same options. There were two bridge options, a single tooth removal bridge and a permanent three tooth bridge that attaches to crowns on the two adjacent teeth. I went with the removable bridge and it was a mistake IMO. No pain, just don't like the way it feels with the metal clamps so I end up leaving it out most of the time. I'm now looking at the other two options but leaning towards the implant. I was told that one of the problems with doing nothing is that it could cause your other teeth to shift over time.

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zinger1457 I just went through something similar with the same options. There were two bridge options, a single tooth removal bridge and a permanent three tooth bridge that attaches to crowns on the two adjacent teeth. I went with the removable bridge and it was a mistake IMO. No pain, just don't like the way it feels with the metal clamps so I end up leaving it out most of the time. I'm now looking at the other two options but leaning towards the implant.

Luckily I don't have, (yet, anyway), crowns on the adjacent teeth, and they appear to be in pretty good shape, (at the moment)........and, as a gagger, I think a removable bridge would be a Royal PITA for me, (Yeah, I know, that's not where the bridge goes ), so I'm, (but it's only been an hour), leaning towards doing nothing.

(DW says it's unnoticeable unless I leap out from the depths to take a bite of the the hull of Quint's Orca.)

[harley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman You may be out of luck. We all know dentists no longer work on Fridays, and that's when the most serious problems, like serious toothaches, happen. Pain never comes Mon-Thur. I found a dentist that has a CNC machine that carves crowns out of a solid porcelain chunk in 6 minutes. She scans the mouth in 3D, and makes electronic adjustments before she starts the machine. I can be in and out and not have to come back 2 weeks later. Best news is that she's $100 cheaper than my regular dentist since the procedure takes less time.

Nope, it worked out OK. They saw me at 10 this morning and got the new temporary crown in. Hopefully it will last through the weekend.

My dentist up north also has the same day crown system. I've only had one experience with it, and it wasn't that great. The crown never fit quite right, and I ended up getting it replaced. I can't make a judgement on the system based on a single experience, but I know I like what I get with the two week turnaround in my southern dentist, so I'll stick with that whenever possible. Hopefully I won't need to do either anymore after this one.

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rayinpenn Brother you have my sympathy I write this with a sore mouth from Monday's extraction and implant. I keep checking to make sure nothing else will fall off this old body.

Dentist insisted on giving me a script for Tylenol 3, (which I haven't bothered to fill)....DW just asked how I was feeling.......said that, a few times, I've had to tell the gum discomfort to get in line behind all the other aches & pains, and to wait for its damn turn.

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemo2 a few times, I've had to tell the gum discomfort to get in line behind all the other aches & pains, and to wait for its damn turn.

Great line!
Thanks for that; I'll be using it.

[JoeWras]

Every time I read this thread, there is a "Polygrip" ad on the right with some lady chewing on a bone.

Hilarious!

[W2R]

I'm seeing my dentist yet again tomorrow about a problem tooth, and fully expect he will tell me that I have to get yet another implant.

He has been knocking himself out, trying to save the tooth (a lower back molar), but it's not working. He says no charge for his efforts if I end up having to have an implant. I like that he is at least trying to save it.

[audreyh1]

Best forum thread title yet!

[target2019]

When my crown/filling mess broke off at root, I went back and forth about implant/no implant. When I decided implant, dentist sent me to oral surgeon. This guy had a two-stage process, meaning extraction/bone graft, then implant about 3 months later. I had no problems whatsoever. I went for two rounds of conscious sedation, one each visit. Cost more, but what a nice sleep.

Dentist will do the restoration, but has dropped the ball on the insurance pre-estimate twice.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by target2019 When my crown/filling mess broke off at root, I went back and forth about implant/no implant. When I decided implant, dentist sent me to oral surgeon.

I had that happen in December, 1999. A tooth broke off at the gumline, leaving the root but not much else. My dentist did the other procedure of putting in posts and building a tooth around them. That lasted for almost 13 years, but then I had to have an implant done on that same tooth anyway. So your decision sounds like a good one to me.

As for my recent problem tooth, my dentist referred me to the oral surgeon. I'll be seeing him Wednesday and expect to be getting the tooth extracted in preparation for yet another implant.

[Fedup]

This thread reminds me what I did this weekend as I was chewing on peanut brittle on my front teeth then I realized I had broken one front tooth by doing the exact same thing years ago, so I decided it's best to chew on my back grinders.
I don't want the hassle to have to go back and forth to have it fix again. This time he may suggest implant.

[target2019]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R I had that happen in December, 1999. A tooth broke off at the gumline, leaving the root but not much else. My dentist did the other procedure of putting in posts and building a tooth around them. That lasted for almost 13 years, but then I had to have an implant done on that same tooth anyway. So your decision sounds like a good one to me. As for my recent problem tooth, my dentist referred me to the oral surgeon. I'll be seeing him Wednesday and expect to be getting the tooth extracted in preparation for yet another implant.

I believe my broken tooth had root canal that was quite old, and filling. So it made no sense to do anything else.

The oral surgeon I went to was fun to work with. He was helpful in explaining which way to go. It really helped having conscious sedation minutes after I saw him.

Ask about bone graft at time of extraction. It worked very well, just had to go a few months with flapper as it healed. Then back for the implant.

One place I went to for a second opinion was a very high price. They were going to do everything at once. The price was driven up by full sedation, which was not reimbursable at all.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by target2019 I believe my broken tooth had root canal that was quite old, and filling. So it made no sense to do anything else. The oral surgeon I went to was fun to work with. He was helpful in explaining which way to go. It really helped having conscious sedation minutes after I saw him. Ask about bone graft at time of extraction. It worked very well, just had to go a few months with flapper as it healed. Then back for the implant. One place I went to for a second opinion was a very high price. They were going to do everything at once. The price was driven up by full sedation, which was not reimbursable at all.

My oral surgeon likes to do a bone graft at the time of extraction, too. Then I have to wait months before the actual implant is done, and then eventually go back to my dentist to get the crown. Waiting is no fun, but it does help to spread out the expense over a long time so it isn't such a financial blow. My oral surgeon uses lots of Novacaine and I usually ask him for laughing gas, too. This will be my third implant. My dentist thinks the tooth is probably badly cracked (underneath its forty year old gold crown) because the pain comes and goes and root canals done through the crown did not help. I will be glad to be done with this painful tooth.

[Nemo2]

I was reading about bone grafts for implants, this is (relatively) major stuff.