Archives for August 2020

A Dentist’s Negligence can Cost Her Teeth

Posted on August 28, 2020 by writeradmin.

I had six Lumineers placed to have a gap closed on my two front teeth. Now, my dentist tells me less than a year later that I have so much bone loss that I need to have my front four teeth extracted and replaced with dental implants. The procedure is going to cost me $11,200 dollars. I paid $4500 for the Lumineers which are now a total loss. I go to the dentist twice a year, but my last x-rays were done three years prior. I do everything I’m supposed to at home. Shouldn’t he have noticed this before giving me an expensive procedure? I asked about a refund on the Lumineers, but he said the best he can do for me is a $1000 credit on the dental implants. I’m so upset about this. Do I have any recourse?

Laura

Dear Laura,

I am not going to waste your time. Your dentist is a disgrace to the profession. Most dentists are caring and ethical, but you ended up with one on the wrong side of things. He’s been negligent with your care. Additionally, he did a major and expensive procedure without the proper diagnostics, which were simple x-rays. They would have been especially more important because of how long it had been since your last x-rays.

You are actually in quite a good position here. Because of his negligence, you don’t have to ask for a refund, you can demand it. Tell him if he refuses this time, he will be hearing from your lawyer. That is actually being generous because I think you would get more than a refund if it were to go to litigation.

About these dental implants. Based on what I know of your dentist thus far, I want you to get a second opinion. If it does turn out you need them, don’t let this dentist anywhere near you. Find a dentist with experience placing them. To put your mind at ease about the possibility of false teeth, dental implants are not like your granny’s false teeth. These are totally secure and are like having healthy, natural teeth back in your mouth.

If there is as much bone loss as your dentist says. Your gum disease and bone loss will have to be addressed. A bone grafting procedure can build back up the bone.

This blog is brought to you by Atlanta Periodontist Dr. David Pumphrey.

I Have a Bump Behind my Tooth

Posted on August 21, 2020 by writeradmin.

I periodically get a bump behind my front tooth. Usually, they go away, but this one has been here for over a two days. Is this nothing to worry about or should I get it seen? My dentist didn’t mention anything last visit, but I’ve never had a bump stay this long before.

Dalton

Dalton,

If I were your dentist, the first thing I’d be looking for is gum disease. What you’ve described sounds like a pimple on your gums which can be an abscess. This is an infection. It can be an infection on your gums from gum disease or one spilling out from an infected tooth.

Sadly, some dentists, more than I care to admit, don’t screen for gum disease. That is the first thing I’d check. If it turns out you are showing signs, I would request a referral to a periodontist. These are gum disease specialists. Often this can sneak up on patients because the signs are invisible at first. If it is allowed to progress too far, it can advance enough that your adult teeth start to come loose. A periodontist can get your gums healthy much faster than a traditional dentist.

If it is a tooth infection, which means decay reached the pulp of your teeth, then the appropriate treatment is to have a root canal done. This cleans all the infected pulp out of the tooth. Often it requires a dental crown as well because the tooth becomes brittle.

Some patients are intimidated by having their gums worked on. This is especially true during gum disease because their gums are tender. If you have any concern or anxiety about this, you can always visit a periodontist who offers dental sedation options. This won’t knock you out, but does completely relax you and you will have a pain-free appointment.

This blog is brought to you by Atlanta Periodontist Dr. David Pumphrey.

Two Different Implant Recommendations

Posted on August 7, 2020 by writeradmin.

I had a bridge replacing all my front upper teeth. They used my canine teeth as the anchor. Eventually, those came loose so they did an upper partial. That felt completely awful so I went back in to see what my options were. They’re suggesting dental implants and to keep the cost down they’ll do mini implants. I wanted to get a second opinion because I haven’t felt like my treatments from them have gone particularly well, so I went to see a different dentist. He has suggested a vastly different treatment plan. He wants to do three full-sized dental implants attached to a bridge. One at each canine and a third one directly between them. This treatment is much more expensive. I want to do the right thing and not just go with the cheapest solution, but also feel like I need a good reason not to go with the cheapest solution. What is your opinion on the two treatment plans?

Megan

Dear Megan,

I”m going to recommend you go with the full-sized dental implants and give you some good reasons why. First, let’s talk about that dental bridge. Putting your canine teeth as the anchor teeth were bound to make them come loose and need to be replaced at some point. I wish they’d have given you a more permanent solution to begin with.

The mini-implants will not hold the crowns they will anchor to it. They are not substantial enough and this procedure will again fail as the bridge did. Once those fail, you will lose bone structure with them. In order to replace the implants, you would need to add a bone grafting procedure for it to replace it with any other implant, whether full-sized or mini.

It sounds like the dentist you currently see tries to be inexpensive, but there is a difference between trying to keep costs down and doing cheap procedures that end up costing your patient more in the long run. I just don’t feel like whomever you are seeing is the best dentist for you at this point.

How the Three Dental Implants will Solve the Problem

If they were to just place two dental implants where your incisors were, there would be too much twisting force on those teeth and you’d eventually lose them. This is why those teeth came loose when they used them for anchoring your dental bridge. It was a failure waiting to happen.

Fortunately, the dentist who gave you a second opinion understands basic engineering principles. This is why he is suggesting a third dental implant in the middle to stabilize the implant bridge. This will protect your outside implants from the twisting forces, giving you a much more stable and secure result.

In your place, I’d go with the second dentist. He has the much more sound treatment plan. You’ll be happier with it in the long run.

This blog is brought to you by Atlanta Periodontist Dr. David Pumphrey.

Is ClearChoice a Safe Option for Me?

Posted on August 3, 2020 by writeradmin.

I am 67 years old and missing quite a few teeth. The rest of them are falling apart. I really wanted to just get rid of them and get dental implants. When I went to see the dentists, they were hesitant to extract teeth I still had. They were willing to replace the missing teeth, at the cost of $62,000. I went to Clear Choice to get another opinion. They were willing to remove all the teeth. They quoted me $53,000, which was still out of my range. When I explained I’m living on the benefits of being a disabled veteran they lowered the price to $23,000. That I can do, but I have heard there are complaints about Clear Choice. Before I move forward, I’d like to make sure it is a safe option. What do you think of them? They’re going to do all-on-four implants.

Percy

Dear Percy,

For the benefit of those who may not be aware, an all-on-4 dental implant procedure (illustrated above) is a dental implant procedure that utilizes angles of the implants to help patients with minor bone loss.

As to the complaints about Clear Choice, those are usually more about their sales tactics than their skills. The dentists they hire tend to be skilled and know what they are doing so I believe you would be safe going to them. The significant drop in price is a tad suspicious to me. If they can offer that much of a discount, how much were they inflating the price? That type of thing bugs me. Profit is fine and important for anyone to succeed in business. But, massive price inflation is bothersome.

I’m curious about the dentist you saw refusing to extract your teeth. If you were 25 years old, I could understand that. The effects of wearing dentures starting that young would be devastating. Facial collapse would definitely set in while they were still young, destroying their lives. However, you are closing in on 70 years old and the teeth aren’t healthy.

If your gut is telling you something isn’t right at Clear Choice, then I would go back to the dentist and tell him that you are determined to have the teeth extracted and would like them to do it and provide you with either all-on-4 dental implants or implant overdentures. Let them know Clear Choice has offered to do it and see if they will come close to matching their offer.

This blog is brought to you by Atlanta Periodontist Dr. David Pumphrey.