....scheduled for Monday the 13th.

Went back to the oral surgeon today, and he said at this point there is no saving this tooth, despite the incredible sum of money and miserable procedures that have been wasted on it.

The concern now is that because it keeps re-abcessing, if it goes too long untreated or cured or whatever, the infection will go into the jawbone, which would have serious health complications.

They wanted to do it day after tomorrow, but that's Jeff's 21st birthday, so I said *no way*. Then they suggested Friday, but that's *my* birthday, and I don't really want to spend it in the surgeon's chair. So, Monday it is.

Hopefully this will be the last of this suffering. Then I have to get a permanent bridge.

If anyone has any experience with caps and/or bridges, I want to know what to expect. Spare no details please, I'd rather be prepared than surprised.

By Brandy on Tuesday, September 7, 2004 - 10:21 pm:

Caps have never helped my alex we have spent bunches of money on them and he still has to have his teeth taken out in the end because of an abcess(sp)...Good luck Karen i totally hate going to the dentist.

By Karen~moderator on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - 07:42 am:

Brandy, they are removing this tooth, and then supposedly making a bridge, which will cap the tooth in front of, and behind the hole, with a cap (tooth) in between to fill in the space where the tooth was removed. So basically, I suppose it will be 3 caps in a bridge.

I've never had a cap of any sort, and aside from the expense I'm already worrying about if it's painful or not.

By Juju on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - 10:05 am:

Happy Birthday Karen and Jeff! good luck Karen

By Jelygu on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - 10:27 am:

Good luck! and Happy Birthday to you both!

By Tink on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - 11:01 am:

I had my front tooth capped at 7yo when I tripped on the playground and chipped it diagonally in half. I don't know how close to the front your tooth is (doesn't sound like it is in the front) but the biggest hassle was getting the tooth color and shape similar to the others. Really, having the cap won't be painful at all compared to the work it sounds like you have already had done. They will grind down the tooth and do a plaster cast for the mold and then give you a temp. After making sure that it is a comfortable fit, they'll give you a permanent cap and you may need to have that adjusted a bit. At least, that's what they have done with me and my cap. Good luck but I think the worst is already over.

By Palmbchprincess on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - 01:10 pm:

I have a crown in front, and the only pain I felt was the permenant one being put under the gum. When they space it with this little rope it HURT. I had problems with the temp, because I grind my teeth, and kept knocking it loose. Over a year later the permenant one has not had any problems!!

By Cheerio on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - 03:00 pm:

I just had my first tooth extracted last week. It was a root canal I had done over 10 years ago and a problem tooth that kept cracking under the crown. I had two crowns made for it and they wouldn't stay in and then the root finally cracked two weeks ago. I was so fearful of the whole process as the tooth part that was left was below the gumline. When the whole process was over with it, I couldn't believe how simple it was. The filling I had done at the same time took longer and hurt worse! The tooth basically just popped out, he packed the hole with some collagen plug and stitched it up. It hurt for a couple of days and now it's fine. I go back in 4 months for a consult for either an implant or a permanent bridge. My dentist is pushing for the implant since the teeth on either side of it are perfectly fine. He doesn't want to grind two perfectly good teeth down and cap them. I, on the other hand, am freaked out by the whole implant process and having a metal stud in my jaw for months before actually having the "fake" tooth put in. Has anyone ever gone the implant route? Of course, my husband's 20th reunion is next weekend and I will have to perfect my half smile since it's the tooth in front of the molars on the bottom. Good luck and don't be too worried about the extraction.

By Karen~moderator on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - 03:14 pm:

Janet, I know nothing about implants. I wonder if that's a more desirable way to go????

The tooth that is being cut out is the next to last one, upper left side of my mouth. It's a *chewing* tooth, although I haven't been able to chew on that side due to the pain in 9 months now, so what's the difference, right? LOL

I *think* I have a problem with grinding the teeth on either side of it to put a triple crown bridge in. What all is involved in a dental implant???

By Tunnia on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - 03:35 pm:

I am so sorry for you! I have no experience with what you are going through, but I wanted to let you know that I hope the next surgery fixes the problem.

By Feonad on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - 07:19 pm:

I think the implants might be painful for a few months. Please ask around. I think implants might have to settle for 6 months. I really don't know anything about it, but I vaguely remember people telling that about implants. You might have to wait for an implant because you might have an infection near there after the removal.

I just think you need a break from pain. Before you do more pain. Also if the tooth is in the back I may or may not do anything about it.
If it isn't that noticable .... you know...?

As my dentist said, there is nothing like the original.

Caps aren't painful. I don't know about bridges. I think the removalable ones might be a pain and people eventually just stop wearig them if the tooth is in the back.


I don't think a crown is a cap. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

By Feonad on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - 07:23 pm:

discusses risk of dental implant. Says if dental implant is sucessful... IF??? Ahhh!!!

http://md.essortment.com/dentalimplants_rbev.htm


Dential implants

http://www.perio.org/consumer/2m.htm

By Feonad on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - 07:25 pm:

of dental implant surgery are usually the result of dental negligence. If your dentist does not allow the bone and gum to heal they will not take. If you go in with an abscessed or infected tooth and your dentist pulls the tooth and does not wait for the infection to go away, he will push the bacteria into the jaw bone. There have been cases where this has happened and the jaw becomes so infected that it needs to be taken out. This is called osteomyelitis of the jaw and is a horrendous result of an implant surgery gone wrong.


Another consideration your dentist must make, and be honest with you about, is if your jaw can hold a titanium post. Not everyone can have implants. Some people who have been missing a lot of teeth for a very long time, dont have enough quality bone that can hold a titanium post. It is a good idea for a dentist to do a CT scan to determine if you are a good candidate for implants. For some reason dentist are finding that implants put in the bottom jaw hold better than those on the top jaw. So take this into consideration if you need a top jaw implant.

By Feonad on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - 07:28 pm:

http://www.uic.edu/depts/doms/dental-implant.html


Karen, I think I would just leave it alone for awhile unless it is extremelly noticable. I know you have been having problems with that since january. ARg!!

By Mommyathome on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - 07:31 pm:

Uggghhh! I *hate* the dentist. Unfortunately, I tend to be in the dentist chair a lot. My "chewing teeth" crack so easily. I've been tempted several times to just have all of my molars pulled and replaced with false teeth. I even talked seriously to my dentist about it one time. He said he wouldn't do it because it could ultimately lead to my jaw deteriorating (sp??) away. I think it's a crock and he just enjoys the thousands of dollars my insurance company keeps paying him every few months.

Anyway, now I'm rambling. I hope your surgery goes well. It will be best to just be rid of that darn tooth! It's a lot of money wasted though isn't it?

By Karen~moderator on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - 07:32 pm:

I think they are different. I spoke for a while with one of the technicians in my regular dentist's office later this afternoon. I called because I wanted a *guestimate* of how much this 3-crown bridge would cost, and I wanted to ask about dental implants.

Apparently you can't just decide you want a dental implant. You have to be a good *candidate* for them. The decision to place a dental implant apparently hinges on many things, including your overall health, bone density/condition of your mouth bones, the specific problems you are having with your teeth, to name a few.

They cost a lot more than my other option, and they take a lot longer as it's done in stages, as Janet said above. And supposedly the whole procedure and outcome is riskier than what the oral surgeon has proposed. The tech said that since he didn't even mention an implant to me indicates that he *probably* doesn't feel it's the right choice for me, but I'm going to ask him about it anyway.

Either way, the tech told me that the bridge would NOT be in in time for my vacation in 2.5 months. She said that with having a tooth pulled, your mouth having time to heal completely, and giving it more time for the gums to contract as much as they are going to following having a tooth cut out, it will take several months before they would start the work for the bridge.

So, based on that, I won't do anything to *fill the hole* till after the first of the year, in which case I might have a measley $500 of the total cost covered by dental insurance. Woo Hoo!

I'm just going to concentrate on getting through the surgery and trying to get my health on track. The tooth is in the back so no one will see the hole anyway.

Thanks for all the replies.

By Feonad on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - 07:32 pm:

More about implants...

http://www.kvia.com/global/story.asp?s=1230514

By Feonad on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - 07:33 pm:

What happens if you do nothing?

By Karen~moderator on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - 08:04 pm:

You mean if you don't get a bridge or anything?? Then your teeth will probably start to move/shift because of the empty space between them. Mine have already done that a bit, apparently I have some bone loss in my mouth, as well as other places. I'm taking extra calcium now 3X daily.

By Karen~moderator on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - 08:05 pm:

Oh - and Feona, the tech at my dentist's office says than in some people, the implants are NOT successful - the bone rejects the screws, or something like that.

By Palmbchprincess on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - 08:08 pm:

Karen, I have notoriously bad teeth, and *almost* all of my molars have been pulled. I've succumbed to the fact that I'll have false teeth by 30, I'm almost certain of it. I have no problem chewing, I haven't had any implants done to replace the teeth. (1 set of molars was pulled pre-braces to make room for my other teeth, and more pulled recently for abcesses) Just focus on surgery, the rest isn't too urgent. Again, good luck!!

By Karen~moderator on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - 08:16 pm:

Crystal, DH and I are both going through this right now. His teeth are much worse than mine, apparently he's had *soft* teeth all his life and they are just breaking off.

This problem for me started with a cavity I didn't realize I had, and the root canal was a 4 month long disaster, which resulted in a piece of dental tool breaking off in the tooth. That's how I ended up with the oral surgery 6-8 weeks ago, to remove that and complete the root canal.

I've got other health problems going on which greatly center around joint/bone deterioration, so I'm thinking the dental implant isn't going to be the way to go for me.

But I will have the 3-crown bridge or something, because I won't be able to stand it if my other teeth start shifting.

I know someone who had to have all her teeth removed and get dentures when she was in her 20's. She apparently had severe gum disease, and after she had her kids (4 of them!) her teeth started falling out. She's a really pretty girl, you'd never know she has false teeth.

By Palmbchprincess on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - 08:17 pm:

I believe they can put a "spacer" in the spot to keep teeth from shifting. I haven't had any shifting problems, but I also haven't had bone loss to consider.

By Pamt on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 - 09:39 pm:

No advice, but so sorry you have to have this done. I'm going in Monday to have 3 old fillings replaced--ugh!