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Post by lagatta on May 17, 2018 1:17:29 GMT
Perhaps, but if not one can never smile again, if it is a front tooth. Implants should be covered. There is nothing else that does the job properly.
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Post by questa on May 17, 2018 7:26:08 GMT
I had a couple of molars removed at different times due to abscesses but otherwise healthy teeth. Over the last 2-3 years ...nothing but crumbling away. I had 4 upper molars pulled and now need another lower out. I couldn't understand why my dentist was unable to save them until he showed me that the main drug used for Parkinson's wrecks your teeth. Basically they are disintegrating, no pain but not many teeth to chew with. Oh Boy...what next!
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Post by Kimby on May 17, 2018 11:50:14 GMT
Dentures?
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Post by rikita on May 17, 2018 11:51:40 GMT
one of my crowns broke out hte other day - the one i got only in october. the dentist didn't seem to concerned, he said he used a different glue now and it should be fine, and he didn't ask for money, so i suppose it is covered - still, hope this time it really stays fine for many many years ...
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Post by questa on May 17, 2018 12:45:18 GMT
Probably, Kimby, I think I would rather eat soft foods and gum them to pulp!
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Post by kerouac2 on May 17, 2018 12:54:01 GMT
As all of my mother's teeth fell out, it didn't seem to bother her at all over the years. I just have one tooth missing at the moment, and I find it extremely irritating, even though it is way in the back, just before a wisdom tooth.
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Post by whatagain on May 18, 2018 13:22:34 GMT
Lower wisdom teeth grew horizontally. They had to be pulled out, but not before they gave me a line of teeth looking like a piano keyboard (but not the colour thanks God). My father has nearly all of his teeth - at 77. I wonder what makes you keep or lose your teeth. A bad dentist is a reason, medicine seems another one. then ?
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Post by kerouac2 on May 18, 2018 14:45:25 GMT
When she died at age 93, my grandmother had only lost one tooth, which was pulled when she was in her late 80's. She was one of those heroic people who would talk about using cigar ashes to brush their teeth during the war(s). (Who comes up with these techniques?)
When my mother died at age 92, I am not sure if she had a single tooth left. She was already missing quite a few when I brought her back to France but the others fell out one by one over the next ten years. Growing up, I knew that she had some dental nightmare experience when she was 7 or 8 (heard about it many times during my childhood) and tried to never return to the dentist for the rest of her life. However, she did go once when I was an adolescent. The pain must have been monumental. She had a tooth pulled but under general anesthesia, which is probably pretty rare for a standard extraction, but she insisted, that's how scared she was.
When she was in the nursing home, they decided that she should see a dentist again. I'm not sure exactly why unless she had shown some sign of pain. Like a lot of old people with diminished faculties, she would try to hide any medical problem at all costs. I went with her, which is probably the only reason that they managed to get her there. The dentist inspected her and decided that all of her remaining teeth needed to be pulled. I said "no, they don't, unless she says she is in pain." So nothing was done. They just fell out by themselves, one by one.
I hope that I never reach that stage.
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Post by Kimby on May 19, 2018 20:13:12 GMT
About a month ago I bit on something that caused a major flash of pain, then a toothache for a couple days. And then a good-sized a chunk fell off the lingual side of my farthest back tooth, and INSTANTLY the tooth ache went away. I have had no further pain from that tooth and will likely wait till my next regular deanist appointment to ask about it. It’s like an earthquake releasing pressure along a fault line. My tongue cannot stop exploring the new terrain, but as it doesn’t have sharp edges, it isn’t tearing up my cheeks or tongue.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 6, 2018 21:38:18 GMT
So, I had my new dental implant today. I had forgotten that it takes place in the surgery section of the hospital with paper gowns, head and shoe coverings. That makes it immediately more stressful. However, I absolutely love the Hôpital Rothschild for how relaxed its rules are. Nobody told me that I had to leave a cheque deposit before they would work on me, so I did not bring my chequebook. They didn't want to take a credit card because they only have the debit function on their machine and not the deposit function like in car rental agencies. So the lady just stamped my document "paid" even though I didn't pay anything and said that she trusted me for the 1500 euros that were required.
As for the procedure itself, these things are never pleasant, but let me tell you, they are so much more pleasant when there are student dentists under the vigilant eye of the professor. The professor used to be the student who put in my first implant three years ago, and the fact that I trust him completely made things considerably better. The principal student (Mehdi) worked on me with assistance from another student, and there was a third student there just to observe, and of course the professor (Pierre). Due to the blood and flying fragments (I am imagining this but why else would they do it?), I was covered by a sheath with a round hold in it for me mouth, so I just heard their voices.
That is actually the best part, because when you go to a normal dentist to get things done, he/she is almost certainly working alone with a silent assistant, and you have no idea if things are going well. At the hospital, they talk all the time because the professor is explaining what do to and the students are asking questions. I very much enjoyed hearing phrases like "that's perfect" and "you don't need the other size -- that one is fine" and other such things. I didn't understand a lot of the jargon, but it mostly sounded fine to me.
The first time, I had absolutely no pain and never even took a single pill that was prescribed. This time, I did feel a minor dull pain when the anesthesia wore off, so I took a couple of the pills as well as the antibiotics. No pain at all now, so I might stop taking pills tomorrow. (I'll still take the antibiotics just for the hell of it.) I am supposed to go back in 10 days (for them) to see if everything has healed properly. Then I think it is something like a six month wait for them to put in the new tooth.
I have been told not to eat anything "too hot" for the next couple days and to avoid "hard" foods. I had pasta for dinner. Oh, I was also told to avoid blowing my nose since it is an upper tooth right in front of the wisdom tooth, so it is "dangerously" close to the sinus. Sneezing is totally authorised.
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Post by kerouac2 on Sept 26, 2018 18:04:21 GMT
Today I returned for the next step of the dental implant. Things are getting stranger. I was still not able to pay for what was done in June because the paperwork was "ambiguous" and not signed by my dentist. But I was supposed to pay for today's work (210 euros to insert the post and screw for the future implant) and the cashier demanded that I drag my dentist to her window (She would not call him. "I don't call anybody. That's not my job."). I hunted him up, not the easiest thing in the world because he his supervising 10 work stations at the same time. The cashier read him the riot act (Can you tell that she was West Indian?) although they obviously love each other because he had not signed the original estimate.
Anyway, I finally got to pay the 210 euros, but there seems to be so much controversy about whether or not the June work should have been done, paid, unpaid, whatever, that I am simply not going to bring it up again. If they forget that amount, it's fine with me. I clearly remember that I was given a paper that day stamped "paid" because it was required to do the work (mentioned in my previous post) even if it wasn't paid. And then -- an hour and a half after my appointment time -- the dentist finally went to work on me. Injections and then the nasty stuff. Post and screw installed.
Unfortunately, he saw that the wisdom tooth at the back was suddenly rotting away. "This needs to go. It wasn't like this last time. Can I do it today?" I knew there was something wrong with it and I knew exactly why. It was damaged when the other tooth was extracted. I have only had two teeth extracted in my life and they were both quite horrible events because my teeth just don't want to let go. After the pliers don't work, they have to get out the hammer and chisel (obviously the dental equivalents of those tools). Both times lasted about an hour, so it was gruelling. Anyway, for this last extraction, I was quite sure that he had damaged my wisdom tooth -- I could feel the ragged bits with my tongue. I don't blame him, though. These things happen.
I gave my permission to do it immediately, wondering if he knew what he was getting into. I knew he had his train to catch to go back to Metz tonight. So he shot me up with some more stuff. He even brought in a student to "assist." I have reached to point with him that he has become my personal dentist and he no longer uses me as a teaching aid most of the time. Here he comes again with the pliers. He yanked and thankfully I felt nothing except that nothing seemed to have happened. But he said "okay, it's done." I can't believe that it took only 5 minutes to get this tooth out when it took an hour for the others.
Now I return in 3 weeks for an inspection. Normally it should have been time already for the horrible plastic imprint session when you feel like you're being drowned in cement, but since he did an extraction, next time will be just the 10 minute survey of the worksite. Then the new horror will begin a week or two after that.
I still thank my lucky stars that I was able to go 27 years without visiting a dentist.
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Post by tod2 on Sept 30, 2018 18:26:06 GMT
Gosh Kerouac I knew you were seeing the dentist but you gave no hint of the ordeal you describe when we met for lunch on Thursday! You obviously recover quick and are his star patient. Implants are a torture all on their own without having to have a follow up of an extraction.
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Post by kerouac2 on Sept 30, 2018 18:32:02 GMT
I have little or no pain after each dental visit, even when extreme things have been done. I think I am very lucky.
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Post by onlyMark on Oct 4, 2018 9:21:11 GMT
I understand under several pseudonyms you have authored various books?
“I Have a Toothache” by Phil McCavity. “Life as a Dentist” by Flo Ride. and, “Pain Management” by Nova Cane.
I also empathise with how you always look sad. After all, you spend all day looking down in the mouth.
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Post by mickthecactus on Oct 4, 2018 11:03:32 GMT
I always see the Chinese dentist at two thirty...
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 14, 2018 17:44:59 GMT
Today I reached phase II of the dental imprints. Last week was phase I, the lower teeth. This was only about 3 minutes of horror because it does not need to be as precise as the upper palate where the implant will go. But today was the total horror of the full five minutes of having not only cement filling my mouth but the dentist's two hands clamping it in. I survived, just barely. Pulling a big piece of cement out of my mouth was almost funny, because he couldn't get it out without chipping some of it away. One briefly wonders if the cement is so solid that all of one's teeth are going to wrenched out with the cement.
Now we both have a holiday break until January 11th. The new crown goes into production, and there should be three more visits until it is all finished. I regret not having my excellent dentist of the past, but I do appreciate the fact that the new guy is a gentle gay boy who doesn't want to hurt anybody. I thought he was going to cry when I winced once.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 26, 2019 19:09:19 GMT
Dammit, my crown fell out tonight and I wasn't even eating anything chewable (mussels). I used to say "one of my crowns" but the other crown is what is being replaced by an implant. I have my next implant appointment on February 1st (next to last appointment if I'm lucky). I don't want to wait until then to return to the Hôpital Rothschild, so I'll go there on Monday to get the crown jammed back in. Unfortunately, I have the workers coming to my flat to fix stuff on Monday morning so I hope that they won't be here too long...
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Post by Kimby on Jan 27, 2019 3:14:43 GMT
I’m babying a temporary crown while a permanent crown is made for the back tooth that cleaved off a slab last March. Though I had no pain, the risk of decay and abscess was too great to ignore any longer. Or so said the dentist.
His assistant took axial X-rays instead of bitewings, so they got a good look at all my roots. The tech said “uh-oh” when the digital images came up on the monitor. Seems I have an abscess at the base of an upper molar on the same side as the crown-to-be.
The dentist came in and probed around and he said “uh-oh” too. The root is fractured, so a root canal is not an option. It’s implant time, again! I have no pain, though I’ve had a sensation that there was a piece of popcorn debris or something stuck between the two teeth for going on two years. Dentist said it wasn’t causing me pain because it was draining naturally. A lower tooth would have let me know something was really wrong long before now.
Here we go again. I do love my other implant on the opposite side, though. Implants feel more like a part of my mouth than a crown, but the cost! And the time it takes to complete the process. It was 10 months, last time...
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 29, 2019 6:34:58 GMT
I am still pleased that I can walk into the dental school, track down my dentist and get things done with no waiting, no paperwork and no fee.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 18, 2019 19:59:25 GMT
My new implant fell out last night after a total of one week, and believe it or not, I was happy that it did. I was feeling pressure/mild discomfort when I bit down into anything, and I knew that it was not normal. I had another implant about 5 years ago and never felt that. I was just about to send a text message to my dentist when it suddenly came loose. So I went back today and he put it in again (it was funny, because he was on 'emergency' service today at the Hôpital Rothschild and he took me in while in the middle of working on another patient). Since he is still a student for another year, he was a bit mortified by what had happened. I am pretty sure that the professors above him will not be informed of what happened, but he said that he did 'ask around' and found out that the cement he used was not always reliable. They try to use the weakest cement on implants, just in case it needs to come out again, but this time he used the next grade up (but not the strongest cement which is used on normal crowns -- when you have a solid implant post, you shouldn't need the strongest cement). Anyway, it all feels perfect now, which was not the case the last time. I'll send him a thank you text tomorrow morning, because I felt that he needed reassurance.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 18, 2019 21:11:32 GMT
So the “implant” itself didn’t fall out, it was the new” tooth” that fell off the implant, right?
Perils of cut-rate student dentistry?
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 18, 2019 22:03:55 GMT
Actually, the "implant" is the post that they put in. What fell out was the crown, but they are supposed to be more solid with such a strong and stable base.
I don't consider it to be cut rate dentistry since the best dentists of the country emerge from there. However, on thing has changed since I first started going there, which is not necessarily a good thing. In the old days, every single thing that was done was checked in person by a professor who had to countersign the entire procedure. Now there appears to be less direct surveillance, at least for the students in their final year. My own student is in his final year. He is extremely dedicated, but I won't deny that I preferred the one I had before -- who became a professor, so obviously he was one of the best.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 19, 2019 0:07:27 GMT
My next implant will be over $5500!
Wish I lived near a dental school!
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Post by mich64 on Mar 19, 2019 0:28:44 GMT
We do not have a dental school near us, but we do have a dental hygienist program at the College that helps many people without insurance. Glad you had your implant repaired today Kerouac.
Kimby, $5500.00! Oh my! My husband was quoted $4500.00 for two implants.
I actually have my 9 month dental cleaning appointment tomorrow morning!
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 19, 2019 4:48:20 GMT
I paid just under 2000 euros. I think about 15% of it will be reimbursed by my health insurance. The government has promised full coverage for all dental and optical needs in the future, but I'm not waiting for that rabbit to come out of a hat any time soon.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 19, 2019 13:04:32 GMT
Kimby, $5500.00! Oh my! My husband was quoted $4500.00 for two implants. It might actually be $800 more, if it’s determined during the procedure that I will need a sinus lift.
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Post by mich64 on Mar 19, 2019 19:42:31 GMT
I do not know what a sinus lift is? I will be sure to put that into Google.
Dental appointment went very well, no issues, cleaning complete. Back again in 9 months.
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Post by Kimby on Mar 19, 2019 20:01:40 GMT
Sinus lift is often needed when an implant is to be placed in the upper jaw and the amount of jawbone - even with cadaver bone graft - isn’t thick enough. They insert a tool to lift the sinus membrane and pump more bone under it. That costs $880 alone. From the X-rays I may not need it. But I will be under sedation when the decision is made.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 1, 2020 21:20:50 GMT
Just what I wanted. A crown came out with no dentist open so I bought some dental fixative and replaced it myself. Holding up so far.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 1, 2020 22:02:07 GMT
Why oh why aren't teeth more reliable?
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