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Dentists on here?

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by Pharaoh King, Feb 2, 2012.

  1. rezdawg

    rezdawg Contributing Member

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    Thank you for the words...Im glad I could help. If you have any questions until I see you next, just hit me up.
     
    2 people like this.
  2. rezdawg

    rezdawg Contributing Member

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    Im glad you brought this up...this research has been makings its rounds around the dental circle. I'd like to clear some things up regarding, not only the article, but dental x-rays in general.

    To basically sum up the article...it makes no sense. Let me explain. The author of the article you posted conveniently left out one major point of confusion. Basically, he states that bitewing x-rays cause brain tumors. That's a fair assessment. For those that dont know, bitewing x-rays are the ones you get when you go in for your 6 month recall appointment. They are the ones that have been pictured in the article (but upside down).

    What this article doesnt say is that, in the same research done, there was no link between full mouth x-rays and brain tumors. How can this make any sense? Full mouth x-rays are bitewing x-rays, plus 8 periapical x-rays plus 6 anterior x-rays.

    In other words, they link 4 x-rays to brain tumors...yet there is no link between 18 x-rays and brain tumors. There is something obviously wrong with the findings.

    Now, as far as x-rays are concerned. There have been major improvements in radiation compared to 20+ years ago. I use digital x-rays at my practice. The amount of radiation you get from one of my x-rays is so miniscule that it should have almost no impact at all. In fact, you could get 25 years worth of x-rays and that would equal standing outside for 1 year, as far as exposure is concerned. Throw in the fact that we have cell phones, we travel in planes, etc... and the gap widens to the point where you could get a life time of x-rays and you still dont get the radiation we receive in one year of living.

    Also, we can compare a dental x-ray to a CT Scan of a vital organ...the CT scan will have about 1500 times more radiation than a digital dental x-ray. In other words, you can have close to 200 years worth of dental x-rays to equal 1 CT scan of your heart.

    I would hope anyone's dentist has upgraded to digital x-rays...if they have, the amount of radiation received is not anything to be concerned about.
     
  3. rezdawg

    rezdawg Contributing Member

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    I understand your concerns about bridges...they are valid. However, there is more to the picture. Lets take any mouth that has a missing tooth, with teeth present in front and behind the missing space. We have the option to either fill that space or not fill that space.

    Filling the space has 3 options, in order from best to worst:
    1) Dental Implant
    2) Bridge
    3) Removable Partial Denture

    Pricing is an important factor here. The dental implant is the best option, but it will run you at least $5000. The bridge is the next best option and will run about $2500-$3000. Finally, the partial denture is an option, and will run about $1200-$1500. I would only recommend a partial denture if there are multiple missing teeth throughout the mouth.

    If one cannot afford the dental implant, I would most definitely recommend a bridge. Yes, it's not ideal to shave down two teeth to fill up a space, but it is much better than the alternative (which I will get to in a bit). However, in more cases than not, you will see that at least one of the two teeth that needs to be shaved down has some sort of decay or problem anyways, so its not always the case to have to shave down two innocent teeth.

    Now, if no treatment is done, the alternative is to leave the space there. Leaving the space there will eventually cost the patient much more than the cost of the bridge and the shaving of two teeth to place the bridge. What happens is that the teeth naturally move towards the empty space in the mouth. You will see that the tooth in front, over time, will start shifting backwards...the tooth in the back will start tilting forward...and the tooth opposing the missing tooth will start to slowly grow out. The bite on that side of the mouth will shift, causing trouble to the other side of the mouth. Its a snowball effect and the patient will end up paying for multiple procedures, such as orthodontics, extractions, crowns, gum surgery, etc... to fix problems that could arise.

    Is a bridge an ideal form of treatment? No...but is it better than not having anything done? 100% yes.

    In your case, you have teeth that were shaved down, but are exposed bc they are no longer covered by the bridge...so I would definitely recommend taking care of them. However, my guess is that your bridge will no longer fit, so recementing them is probably not an option if it has been two years. Let me know if you have any other questions.
     
  4. rezdawg

    rezdawg Contributing Member

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    Invisalign is definitely not for everyone...just depends on the bite and what tooth movements need to be made. Your general dentist should be able to give you a clear picture. If you happen to have pictures of your teeth or models of your teeth, you can email me and I will give you my thoughts.
     
  5. hotballa

    hotballa Contributing Member

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    thanks for the info brother. gonna check a dentist and hopefully the bridge is still good because i cant layout 3 grand right now. my teeth has always had gaps in it so dunno how that will affect anything in this case. thanks again
     
  6. Pull_Up_3

    Pull_Up_3 Member

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    *** i just bumped the other thread without seeing this one. i need a deep cleaning but is expensive as hell any deal rez? i have insurance as well but whatevers cheaper
     
  7. rezdawg

    rezdawg Contributing Member

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    As always, clutchfans get special treatment...our office does each quad for $225, but since its 25% off, it would come out to about $168.75 per quadrant. I would do an exam at no charge to make sure you would actually need the deep cleaning.

    Also, we could check to see what your insurance charges. It doesnt make sense for you to pay more than without insurance.
     
    #67 rezdawg, Apr 12, 2012
    Last edited: Apr 12, 2012
  8. Pull_Up_3

    Pull_Up_3 Member

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    well perio scaling is the same as deep cleaning no? *** thats a lot lol

    well im getting my xray copies monday
     
  9. rezdawg

    rezdawg Contributing Member

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    Haha, no, it's different. Deep cleaning requires numbing everything and really digging down there to clean everything out. Yeah, it's a very expensive procedure. If you get copies of the X-rays, you can email me or take a photo and email me, and I can give you my thoughts if you want.
     
  10. Pull_Up_3

    Pull_Up_3 Member

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    well on the treatment sheet it said i needed perio scaling maybe thats why its more expensive i guess. i will be picking up the copies monday ill email u then.
     
  11. rezdawg

    rezdawg Contributing Member

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    Dr. Funk24...I tried emailing you back through the board, but its not going through. You can email me at westhoustondentistry@gmail.com so that I know where to send my message to. Thanks.
     
  12. VanityHalfBlack

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    The pain is unbearable I seriously need a tooth extraction... Rezdawg I'll be seeing you today for appt at 1pm...
     
  13. timbreaux

    timbreaux New Member

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    Tried making a thread but can't since I am new lol -

    I went to the dentist this morning and he told me I needed a filling on a tooth. I look at the proposed treatment plan and it says the fee is $349 for a "resin three surfaces, posterior." I am no dental expert but doesn't this seem high? The plan says that my insurance will cover $209 dollars so my total out of pocket will be $139. I think the last time I got a filling which was like 2 years ago was for 75 bucks after insurance.

    I am fine with paying as long as I am not being swindled. Please advise!
     

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