Ask the Dental student....Q's, fears, concerns, hopefully answered.

[The4Aces]

i never floss and my dentist says ill get gingavitus or what ever. is this true?

Also my gums are really puffy my dentist says its because i breath with my mouth open when i sleep. is this true?

[JihadOnTheRiver]

Is swallowing a load bad for your gums?

[ddss6_99]

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porcelain veneers, are they really that great? What are some advantages and disadvantages?

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Not that great.

I havent had much experience with them. I only know that Ive heard that these dentists who do them for the makeover shows often do shoddy work b/c of cutting corners. I also dont think they are the be all end all esthetic solution that people seem to think they are. They can cause trauma to the teeth and the longevity of the restorations is still of concern. Eventually all those teeth that have full porcelain veneers may need to be crowned. An often better solution to anterior esthetics could be a more conservative (and cheaper) bleaching + composite resin bonding approach (also called veneers.)

Ill do some research and get back to you with more definitive +/-s of full porc veneers.

-JP

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Thanks for the info. I'm going for a consultation in a month or so to decide whether porc veneers or bonding would be the best option. So if given the choice you'd reccomend bonding?

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I let a friend talk me into veneers and it was probably one of the biggest mistakes of my life.

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What happened that made it the worst mistake of your life?

[ginko]

Hey JMP. I was curious if you know how much implants cost. I am missing two upper front teeth because of my poor genetics and it looks really bad. I have the two very front ones there, but the next ones back on both sides are missing so I have these incredible gaps. Or is this something you don't know much about?

[spamuell]

This is an orthodontsitry question, hopefully you can help.

For a few years a while ago I had fixed braces on my bottom teeth (train tracks is what we called them in the UK if you know what they are). Anyway I got those off and the orthodontist put a metal wire behind the front few of my bottom teeth (like http://www.saxdearing.co.nz/Ll.jpg). This was probably, I don't know, 18 months ago.

For reasons that I can't be bothered to go into, I despise and fear my orthodontist. I haven't gone back there since he put the wire in because I hate him so much and he causes me so much pain, and is so callous about it. I have nothing at all against dentistry and realise that sometimes pain is inevitable and in the long run necessary, but this particular man is a complete dick, I've spoken to others who have him and we feel he hurts his patients more than is necessary and is basically negligent.

So, I haven't gone back to him and have this wire behind my teeth. It doesn't bother me too much but I don't suppose I can keep it there for the rest of my life.

Is there any way for me to remove the wire myself or do I have to go back to an orthodontist? I'm not going to the same one again if I can avoid it, but I'm not entirely sure I can for bureacratic reasons about me now being 19 so having to pay for treatment if I start it again with someone new but not having to if it's a continuation of my old treatment from when I was under 18 and the state paid for it.

Thanks for any advice.

[Los Feliz Slim]

JP,

I need help.

One of my several genetic abnormalities is that I'm missing the bottom back molar, I forget the number. It's the furthest back on the bottom right.

Because of this, I'm told, he molar above it is growing wildly and unabated. It's abnormally long. I've had two dentists tell me I need to A) put an implant in the place where the missing molar should be and B) grind down the extra-long tooth above it. To make matters more fun, they're not sure if the bone where the implant would go is strong enough, so there might need to be some sort of bone-building involved before we can even do the implant. Plus, this has been happening for so long I'd probably need a root canal on the "long" tooth before it was ground down because it's so long that the nerve would probably get involved.

I say to them, "How's about we just pull the long tooth and call it a draw?" They say "But you're only 32 and that's a healthy tooth, why pull a good tooth when you're so young?" Obviously, so I don't have to go through the bone building and implanting and, worst, the grinding.

The expense isn't what worries me, and aesthetics is not an issue since you can't see the tooth.

What should I do? Thank you for your help.

LFS

[WDC]

Just had a friend hospitalized for heart problems. he is now on a transplant waiting list. While in the hospital they pulled several of his teeth. Ostensibly they were affecting his heart. What do the teeth have to do with the heart?

[BoogerFace]

JP,

Where can I find a hot female dentist?

And how do you let her know that it's okay to take advatange of me when I'm all drugged up?

[JMP300z]

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i never floss and my dentist says ill get gingavitus or what ever. is this true?

Also my gums are really puffy my dentist says its because i breath with my mouth open when i sleep. is this true?

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Just because you dont floss doesnt mean you will definitely get anything. However, flossing is actually really important. Im not just blowing steam up your ass... do it. Gingivitis is just inflamed gingiva and is the least of your worries. The bacteria love small, hard to reach places, b/w teeth and in the gums is perfect. These areas you dont reach well by brushing and the bacteria set up shop. The bacteria can cause caries b/w the teeth causing the need for more restorations, especially in the posterior teeth. Also, theres a greater chance of periodontitis (bone and connective tissue loss) later in life. This is bad....there are many many problems associated w/ periodontitis, the latest being heart disease! Floss, smell your floss, look at it, youll probably never miss flossing again. Gently slide the floss b/w the teeth and move up and down arcing the floss along the contours of each adjacent tooth.

As far as mouth breathing, yah that can cause it...i had that for a while but using good oral hygeine (floss daily, brushing at a 45 degree angle along the gingiva, brushing for at least 2 min twice a day minimum, maybe consider a mouth wash, the new crest alcohol free stuff is awesome). can all prevent the red puffy gingiva which is unattractive and unhealthy. You want pink, "knife edge" gingiva.

-JP

[JMP300z]

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Is swallowing a load bad for your gums?

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Probably not for your gums but maybe the sucrose in semen that the sperm use for energy to spin their flagella can be used by bacteria in the mouth as a means to produce glycan (the stuff they use to stick to the teeth) and as a biproduct, acids that cause decay.

-JP