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February 01, 2007
Bad Dental News
I have weak teeth. Always have. My father has weak teeth, my mother has weak teeth, and I, their dutiful son, possess weak teeth. My sister doesn't suffer from this malady. I remember a joint dentist appointment we had, where the doctor returned with our X-Rays, informed me that I had no cavities, and told my sister she had eight. But I had barely commenced my big brotherly gloating when he glanced back at the films and said, "Oh wait, nevermind. Lili, you have no cavities, and as for you, Ezra..."
Well, today I beat my own record. I need eight fillings, a root canal, and, in a year or so, four wisdom teeth out. I'm off to jump out a window now...
February 1, 2007 | Permalink
Comments
5 crowns, 3 root canals, and multiple work done on every other tooth as well. I floss and use a flouride rinse.
My wife rarely flosses, no cavities ever and she has no wisdom teeth to remove.
So I feel your pain.
Posted by: Stephen | Feb 1, 2007 5:06:04 PM
I'm off to jump out a window, now...
No kidding. And people wonder why I don't go to the dentist.
OK, I did have those root canals a couple years ago, after that bandage around my head stopped working. I assume you have good insurance.
Posted by: Sanpete | Feb 1, 2007 5:11:58 PM
Did you really wear a bandage around your head? Does that work?
Posted by: Stephen | Feb 1, 2007 5:26:37 PM
Just take them all out and get some artificial ones, they'll last longer.
Posted by: SP | Feb 1, 2007 5:26:50 PM
I'd love it if you took this opportunity to write up some articles about the dental insurance biz that are as informative as your other articles about health sector economics. I just switched insurance plans in anticipation of a bunch of dental work this year, but between the rates that the insurers publish and the rates that each dentist seems to apply for each insurer, I'm not sure if I bet correctly or not.
Writing these articles might help you through the post-root-canal throbs, y'know.....
Posted by: sglover | Feb 1, 2007 5:28:00 PM
Let me take this opportunity to stress that you choose not to go under when getting your wisdom teeth out. Unless they are badly impacted, I promise you a better experience if you take local anesthesia. As one who did so (because I didn't want to skip breakfast that morning) and after hearing countless horror stories about recovery from general anesthesia, I swear to you that the experience of being awake for the procedure is only minimally unpleasant.
In my case, the dentist got me quite high on nitrous. (Note: kids, I am not advocating the use of inhalants for non-medical purposes, but for medical purposes they are awesome.)
I didn't used to have weak teeth, then the orthodontist screwed me by moving my teeth so much that one began to eat at itself from the inside. Honestly, who has a root canal at age 16? The root canal is a much more unpleasant process than the wisdom teeth removal.
Posted by: jhupp | Feb 1, 2007 5:39:19 PM
Ah, wisdom teeth removal. What fun.
Not.
The happy news is, root canals are substantially less painful now than they used to be.
Posted by: KL | Feb 1, 2007 5:40:02 PM
Does that work?
Depends on the fabric. I discovered that cotton soaked in Novocaine works pretty well, but it's hard to talk with your jaw bound up like that, and numb. Barbed wire was also effective at distracting me from the pain, but it had unacceptable side effects.
OK, you caught me. But the part about the root canals was true.
Posted by: Sanpete | Feb 1, 2007 5:42:56 PM
I max out my dental plan and pay half again as much every year, all for subjecting myself to discomfort that's still less than the discomfort of waking in the night suffering. My sister has never had a cavity. Her gloating is galling.
Posted by: Mike | Feb 1, 2007 6:31:27 PM
My wife once had 19 cavities identified in a single visit. Personally, I did get a cavity once but the dentist pointed out it wasn't my fault because that tooth.... OUCH! Sorry, that was my wife slapping me. Again. :-)
Posted by: Mark | Feb 1, 2007 6:41:11 PM
Did you ever ponder that if internal medicine was practiced as dentistry is we'd still be bleeding people and it would cost $500,000.00.
As a person who is married to one with perfect teeth and someone who shares your genetic misfortune, I understand Ezra.
Definition of a root canal; one more payment on the yacht.
Posted by: ice weasel | Feb 1, 2007 6:43:33 PM
Second the motion on local anaesthesia. The sound is rather nerve-racking, but not nearly so bad as vomiting from over-enthusiastic sedation.
Posted by: Jane Galt | Feb 1, 2007 6:53:19 PM
I feel your pain. I have to have all four wisdom teeth out, two root canals, two crowns, and multiple cavaties filled. I hate the dentist.
Posted by: Moonshower | Feb 1, 2007 6:55:07 PM
[expert dental patient speaking]
- root canals no longer hurt (teeth cleaning hurts more)
- depending on where the root canal is located, you may want to consider a crown (with porcelain coating) at the same time - another $1200 or so - since root canal does weaken the tooth.
- don't get amalgam 'restorations' (fillings), they look awful, taste awful, probably aren't safe, and they lead to more problems with tooth. Get new fangled plastic/epoxy/? fillings - they match tooth and stay in place forever.
- I second the rec. on local for wisdom tooth extraction (unless they are impacted). But have this work done by oral surgeon, not a dentist. My last one was out in less than 5 min.
[general rant about dentistry and health care]
- the evidence is IN. dental care greatly impacts overall health. even the heart can be damaged by the bugs in bad teeth. bad tooth alignment can damage jaw, inability to chew adequately impacts nutrition, etc.
- there is NO reason, except history, why dental care is considered separate from medical care. while their are some dental issues that are cosmetic, most are not, which is analagous to dermatology with the medical/cosmetic factors reversed for derm. While we are 'socializing' health care, let's get all the bases covered.
- repeat above for mental health.
- prevention saves as much on dental as it does on medical. making it self-paid or crappy insurance just adds excuses for not taking care of yourself.
-----------------
You're a young healthy lad. Make the dentist your friend. (LOTS of tooth cleaning is GOOD) We were not evolutionarily engineered to live 80 years, and those 40-50-year life-cycle teeth have to last a very long time.
----
Don't be a baby about it either. The man in white isn't the boogey man, any more than the barber is.
Posted by: JimPortlandOR | Feb 1, 2007 7:13:22 PM
Three root canals-- two in my front teeth and both preceded by abcesses, one of which was so painful that the root canal felt great by comparison-- a couple of crowns, an apicoectomy on one of those same front teeth, many composite fillings, first bicuspids removed at age ten for orthodontic reasons, and my wisdom teeth out in my early twenties due to almost nonexistent enamel (there was room for them b/c the other four had been yanked, though). Sometimes I wonder just how much work even can be done on my twenty-four remaining teeth, to be honest... I don't get that many new cavities now, but having the composites (I had the old-fashioned band braces, which led to most of my cavities being on the sides of my teeth instead of the chewing surfaces) means that something is always having to be replaced, so it's like my mouth is under constant renovation. A few years ago, my dentist patted my arm and said "you're not just a patient to me- you're an annuity."
And it's hereditary... my mom was the first person her dentist had ever seen who got dry sockets in her upper jaw after extractions.
On the plus side, the hygienist says my gums are in slightly better-than-average shape, which is a small comfort but I'll take it. I'm considering veneers on my non-crowned front teeth, just because I think they should look pretty close to perfect to mae up for all the trouble they cause.
Anyway, you have my sympathy. Just remember that you can't really afford a dental phobia or to be in denial if your teeth are a problem.
Posted by: latts | Feb 1, 2007 7:16:43 PM
I'll commiserate with you, as I'm in much the same situation. My best advice: if you haven't already taken a sabbatical from regular dental checkups, don't get lazy now! It only makes it an order of magnitude worse... I stopped going for a few years and am paying for it now.
I keep thinking I've had everything done to my mouth that could be done, but then I discover new and previously untold horrors.
Actually, none of the procedures have been too bad (root canals are cake, don't fret...), but I do worry about my ability to keep my teeth past the age of 40.
My personal record for work needed at one time:
2 root canals
3 crowns
~12 cavities
Posted by: Aron | Feb 1, 2007 7:35:18 PM
I say save yourself the trouble and get the dentures now.
Posted by: Xanthippas | Feb 1, 2007 8:25:05 PM
I don't have perfect tooth health, but often go years without even a cavity. I conciously avoid eating sugar in any form, and have for much of my life. I don't know if that is a factor in my dental health, but I don't push my luck by consuming much sugar.
Posted by: jimbo | Feb 1, 2007 8:33:26 PM
Strangely enough, in spite of being British, I seem to be one of the few people who can report that my teeth are fine.
Funnily enough though, I was at one point involved with someone who suffered from a dental condition whereby the teeth were apparently susceptible to deterioration at the slightest excuse and who had to engage in teeth brushing four or five times a day. Hollywood smile as a result though.
My recommendation is for you to have them all out, get them replaced with a set of enormous stainless steel ones and then stride up and down the street with the theme music to the Six Million Dollar Man playing on an ipod.
Posted by: Anthony | Feb 1, 2007 8:41:35 PM
Fuerther to my previous comment, you could also make the "bionic" sound effects noise whenever eating hot dogs or whatnot.
Posted by: Anthony | Feb 1, 2007 8:43:49 PM
I had lousy teeth as a child and had loads of cavities and fillings and, when I was 17, an extraction of a molar because I put off going to the dentist so long.
But by age 18, I stopped getting cavities, so I stopped going to the dentist. When I finally went back at age 30, I needed a damn good cleaning and had one more small cavity. That was 16 years ago, and I haven't had another cavity since.
I think it's the fluoride in the gallons of tea that I drank from age 16. Or moving to a province with fluoridated water.
Posted by: Mary | Feb 1, 2007 9:17:52 PM
Sigh...I remember that day...
I believe there was a moral...something like dont count your chickens...I dont really know how it goes.
Posted by: Liliana | Feb 1, 2007 9:38:20 PM
I have one thing to say: If your oral surgeon tells you that the shooting pain you feel when he jams the barbed needle into the exposed pulp of your tooth is "just pressure" and asks you "why are you flinching? it's just a little pressure" while you're getting a root canal, get a new oral surgeon.
Bonus comment: with regard to the general/local anesthesia question, I had nitrous oxide, general anesthesia, and ketamine (I have no idea why they gave me special K, but they did) when I had my wisdom teeth out. It was fine, but on the way home my mother stopped at the grocery store for jello while my twin brother and I lolled around in the car and occasionally opened the door to spit blood onto the pavement. The police showed up. We couldn't really talk. It sucked.
That said, wisdom teeth aren't that bad. You bleed for a day, then eat jello for a few days. You're back to 100% within about 5 days.
Posted by: Wells. | Feb 1, 2007 10:24:04 PM
All four of my wisdom teeth were impacted. Let's hope yours aren't or that you get a dry socket when you do have the surgery.
Posted by: Joseph | Feb 1, 2007 10:39:39 PM
depending on where the root canal is located, you may want to consider a crown (with porcelain coating) at the same time - another $1200 or so - since root canal does weaken the tooth.
That should be a no-brainer. Consider the math:
1978 - I broke a tooth in college and stayed with a temp filling for 2 years. $10 at the UCSF Dental Clinic
1980 - I got a root canal and a crown - $800.
1990 - The root canal failed, had to have the remainder of the tooth extracted and a three position bridge put in = $2,300.
2006 - Age creeping up on it, the bridge started to fail. Replaced bridge - $3,900.
Insurance paid about $3,000 of this $7,010. The dentists who put in the bridges both told me a crown at the time of the broken tooth would have probably done the trick.
Posted by: Randy Paul | Feb 1, 2007 10:44:20 PM
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