Tag Archives: Dental Fear

Who Removes Teeth for Dentures?

I have always had a problem with going to the dentist, ever since I was a child. This has led to me having some pretty severe problems with my teeth. I was pretty much only going when there was a dental emergency. I’m really tired of it because every appointment is a nightmare. I’m considering getting my teeth extracted and getting dentures to replace them. Would the dentist do that, or do I need to go to an oral surgeon?

Stanley


Dear Stanley,

An image of a woman resting in a dental chair with dental sedation to relax her

You are not alone in having a hard time with the dentist. Many people struggle, especially when they had a traumatic experience when they were younger. Before you have your teeth removed, I want to make sure you understand what the results will be and that you know all of your options.

Once your teeth are removed, your body will immediately begin to resorb the minerals in your jawbone. It does this because it is trying to be as efficient with your body’s resources as possible. The big problem with that is that this has the side effect of slowly shrinking your jawbone. In about ten or so years, you will no longer have enough jawbone left to retain your dentures. This will make you a dental cripple able only to eat soft foods. Dentists call this facial collapse.

The Solution to Facial Collapse

There is a way to prevent the shrinking of your jawbone. It will mean having dental implants surgically implanted in your jawbone. Then, when there has been time for your bone to integrate with the implants, your denture can anchor your dentures to them. The implants signal to your body that you have teeth roots there, so it does not try to resorb the minerals in your jawbone.

This will also increase your quality of life. Even the best fitting removable dentures will reduce your chewing capacity by 50%. Having them anchored means you will be able to eat anything you want. There will be no slipping or sliding.

Getting Pain-free Dental Care

However, the best solution is to keep your teeth in place. Many people who have dental anxiety find that going to a sedation dentist completely changes their experience with dental care for the better. A sedation dentist can offer you a pill that you can take. This pill will completely relax you during your appointment. In fact, you’ll be so relaxed that you will be able to sleep through your entire appointment if you want to. This form of dental sedation is known as oral conscious sedation. The only downside is that the medicine is so strong that you will need someone to drive you to and from your dental appointment as well as stay with you for a few hours until the medication wears off and you are more lucid and steady on your feet.

This would be a better solution for you in the long term than removing your teeth. However, if you still want to get rid of them, I want to answer your original question. Pre-denture surgery can be done by most dentists and is not complicated. You will want someone who can do your surgery and the dentures. I would ask what their normal procedure is, though, and not tell them what you are looking for. You want someone who does this often and is comfortable with the procedure.

This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentists Drs. Foreman and Thimmesch.

Pediatric Dentist Strapped My Child Down

I am absolutely appalled. I took my daughter to the pediatric dentist for the first time. I got a little nervous when they didn’t let me back with her, but I didn’t want to make her worry so I pretended it was no big deal and she’d have a lot of fun. You can imagine how heartbroken I was when she told me that she got scared so they strapped her down. When they brought her out I could tell she’d been crying. I called, thinking I must have misunderstood her or she didn’t know how to explain what actually happened. They told me it’s standard procedure in dealing with an uncooperative child. Please tell me that’s not correct. She doesn’t ever want to go back.

Amy L.

Dear Amy,

Boy smiling and holding a toothbrush
Dental Care for Children Should be All Smiles

I’m heartbroken with you for the trauma your little girl experienced. I believe what you’re referring to is a papoose board. It wraps the child which essentially keeps them from moving during their appointment. It used to be a regular practice in many pediatric offices but has come under fire in recent years. Even the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry has warned of its drawbacks and said parents have the right to terminate its use at any time.

While some children do better alone, many feel comforted knowing the mother is there to look out for them during their appointment. The goal of pediatric dental care is to give children a positive experience and get them excited about taking care of their teeth. I’d say your pediatric dentist totally failed at that.

Finding a Good Pediatric Dentist

You’ll obviously want to switch to a different practice. You can take your daughter to a pediatric specialist or a general dentist who enjoys treating children. One way to know how good a general dentist is with children is the age they’re willing to first see them. If they say around two years of age, you can feel pretty sure they’re comfortable with the wee set. If they say 8-10, then I’d look elsewhere.

Given your daughter’s experience, you’ll want a dentist who will let you go back with her. She’ll need to feel safe. You may also want to give her some nitrous oxide. It’s commonly called laughing gas and will help relax her. Wherever you end up, be sure to check their reviews ahead of time as well.

Please tell the new dentist what your daughter went through so they’ll be prepared to handle her understandable fear. We want to get her on the right track having positive experiences.

Most adults who end up with dental emergencies do so because they had a traumatic experience as a child and now avoid the dentist until their services become unavoidable.

For those patients, we recommend oral conscious sedation. It’s stronger than nitrous and will allow them to sleep through the appointment. That would be the last resort with a child, though. Let’s see if we can’t get her relaxed and happy without it.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Mike Malone.

Months of sensitivity in tooth after white filling

More than six months ago I had a large cavity filled with a white filling. Almost immediately following, that tooth became really sensitive to cold temperatures. Heat is OK, but cold just sends me through the roof. I went back to see my dentist because of this, and she said that the cavity was very large and deep, and might be simply irritated. She wanted to wait it out, but I insisted she do something to further protect the tooth. She agreed (reluctantly) to cover the tooth with a temporary dental crown.

Now all these months later the tooth is still bugging me. The dentist says that we further irritated the tooth by placing the crown, and now I may need to have a root canal treatment. Does this sound right to you? She is pretty young, and I am not sure I really trust her judgment.

Mary in Lowell, MI

Dear Mary,

You probably should have listened to your dentist and waited out the initial sensitivity. She is likely right, also, that placing the crown did not help the situation.

One of the most important rules of thumb in dental care is to never, ever push a dentist into doing something they are not comfortable in doing. You state that your dentist is young, so she may not yet have developed a good skill set for firmly and respectfully refusing to do treatments that are against her better judgment but that the patient is insisting on.

A real concern here is your lack of confidence in your dentist. If you cannot trust her, you should seek the services of a different dentist. It sounds as if she knows what she is doing, but everything hinges on your comfort level with her and her care.

Posted as a courtesy for Lafayette Louisiana cosmetic dentist Dr. Mike Malone.