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Archives for May 2019

Dental Implant Versus Dental Bridge

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I need to replace a tooth. My dentist has given me two choices. I can either get a dental implant or a dental bridge. I’m having a hard time deciding. He said the dental implant is better but it does mean surgery. Can you help me understand the benefit to surgery?

Malcolm

Dear Malcolm,

dental implant versus bridge

It’s always important to understand the pros and cons of every option. I don’t know how much your dentist explained to you so I’m going to go over the procedures.

With a dental bridge, The two adjacent teeth will be crowned and a false tooth suspended between the two of them. They are bonded on. The downsides are twofold. One, you have to grind down the structure of healthy teeth. Two, if one part of the bridge fails, the whole thing has to be replaced. The upside is no surgery.

With a dental implant, a prosthetic tooth root is surgically placed into your jawbone. You are given some time to heal and for the bone to integrate with the implant. Then, a dental crown is placed on top. Its upsides are numerous but can be summarized by the fact that it is like having a healthy natural tooth in your mouth again. Its downside is you need some minor surgery.

Cosmetic Considerations with Tooth Replacement Options

The color of tooth replacement options can be made any color you want. However, whatever color you end up with is permanent. If you’ve ever considered whitening your teeth, the time to do that is before you have the replacement tooth made.

If you decide to have teeth whitening done later, your natural teeth will whiten, but the cosmetic work will not. In order to get them to match, the crown or bridge will have to be re-made to the new color.

Doing everything ahead of time saves you a significant amount of money.

This blog is brought to you by Lexington, KY Dentist Dr. John Weaver.

Pediatric Dental Filling Keeps Falling Out

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I took my daughter to see the dentist a couple of months ago. I was a bit surprised when he said my daughter had three cavities. I’m very diligent with her dental care and even brush after her if I don’t think she’s been through enough. However, I agreed to the fillings as long as he did the white fillings. He didn’t have a problem with that. Unfortunately, every one of the fillings has fallen out…twice! I don’t know if this dentist knows what he’s doing. Should I go elsewhere? We’re a small area and not many dentists do white fillings out here.

Miranda

Dear Miranda,

Little girl smiling in a pediatric dental chair

Based on what you’ve said, I think it’s possible that your dentist did the white fillings just to make you happy but isn’t as experienced with them as with the amalgam fillings. Their bonding methods are completely different. Without adequate experience with then, he may not realize how important it is they stay dry during the bonding process.

If any moisture gets under the filling it breaks the bond. With children especially, this can be challenging. They are wiggly and move their tongues quite a bit. There are methods a dentist can use with children to help keep it dry but he may not be aware of these. Additionally, even with those methods, some children just have trouble cooperating with this particular procedure.

Helping Wiggly Children Get White Fillings

Don’t feel bad if your daughter is one of the wiggly ones. Children are supposed to be wiggly. It’s part of their charm. However, medical procedures sometimes require them to be still. In that case, many dentists will suggest some form of dental sedation. Even a mild sedation, such as nitrous oxide, can put a little one to sleep allowing the dentist to get straight on with the work at hand.

As far as seeing another dentist, you could look for a mercury-free dentist and see if they work with children. A general dentist is qualified to work with children, so you wouldn’t necessarily have to see another pediatric dentist. Each of them did a pediatric rotation. You would want to make sure they enjoy children though. This way your daughter is more likely to have a positive experience.

This blog is brought to you by Lexington, KY Dentist Dr. John Weaver.