Baton Rouge Dentist

I Think the Teeth Whitening Shop Destroyed My Teeth?

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I went to a teeth whitening shop which opened in our city mall. The sales lady assured me only certified teeth whitening specialists were allowed to work on my teeth. I liked their price and she showed me all their safety measures so it sounded like a good alternative to my dentist. I asked how they could do the procedure so much cheaper than my dentist and she said it was an issue of lower overhead. They only do this procedure so they won’t have to have a ton of staff or expensive machines. I think I made a huge mistake. My gums feel like they’re being stabbed by a hundred mini daggers and my teeth look all blotchy, especially where I have a filling. Are my teeth destroyed? With the pain to my gums, will I lose my teeth?

Dolly M.

Dear Dolly,

It’s more likely the pain to your gums is a result of the whitening agent or the light they used coming in contact with your gums. That won’t make your teeth fall out, but it will hurt like the dickens. Saltwater rinses may give you some relief. If they were as trained as they claimed to be, they would have taken precautions to protect your gums.

That brings me to their “certification”. There is no such thing as a certified teeth whitening specialist through the American Dental Association. That’s likely just a term they use for their company when they “train” their employees. However, this training is showing some real deficits.

We’ve already discussed how your gums should have been protected during the teeth whitening procedure. But, they should have discussed your fillings with you before moving forward with your treatment. Dental work, such as fillings or crowns, do not whiten. Only natural tooth structure is affected by the whitening agent. Once a couple of weeks have passed and the color has had a chance to settle, you can have white fillings re-done to match the new, whiter color of your teeth.

If you’re still in pain, even with the salt-water rinses, it’s perfectly acceptable for you to take a pain reliever, such as ibuprofen.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Ryan Perry.

NOT saving money would have saved me money

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Dear Dr. Perry,

I just wanted to tell you about something that could help dental patients in the future.  Maybe they’re like me and don’t have much money. I go to the local dental school to get my teeth cleaned, because they only charge $50. They do a fantastic job with cleaning. Unfortunately, they don’t treat things like cavities and root canals.  I needed a dental crown. I called around to every dentist in the city in order to find the absolute cheapest dentist around.

I ended up finding this guy that charged less than half of everyone else. I thought this would be a great way to get affordable dental care. He was a new dentist and just opening his first practice. I thought it would be a win-win situation. He’d graduated from dental school and needed some clients. I figured he knew what he was doing, as he had graduated. I was wrong.

He’s had to reinstall the dental crown four, yes FOUR times.  That meant  I’ve missed work three extra appointments. I’m payed by the hour, not salaried, so that has cost me a day and a half of pay in total. On top of that, buy the time he went to put the crown in the fourth time, it no longer fit right and caused me a lot of pain. We had to re-do another, brand new crown. Somehow between the fourth fit of the first crown and the second crown I got an infection.  Now, I still have no crown, I’m dealing with an infection, and I’m out quite a bit of money. If I’d have just gone to a regular dentist to begin with instead of trying to find the cheapest, I would have save a lot of money.

I hope this saves some of your patients. It’s better to go to an experienced dentist, like Dr. Perry, than to “save money”.

Amelia M. – Oklahoma

Amelia,

Thank you for your warning. I have seen many disastrous “affordable” treatments in my lifetime. For future reference, there is no reason for a dental crown to fall out once, let alone four times. Competent dentists go their entire career without a crown falling out when it is cemented in.

This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Ryan Perry.

 

Do I Need Crowns or Veneers on My Front Teeth?

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My top two front teeth were ground down for crowns but there is no crowns on the teeth. Can veneers work on my teeth now?
– Tim from Louisiana

Tim,
When a tooth has been prepared for a crown, the only restoration that works for the tooth is a crown.

The difference between a crown and a porcelain veneer is the veneer covers the front of the tooth and not the back. A crown covers the entire tooth but there are some slight exceptions as veneers can also include the sides of the tooth. Some dentists charge the same fee for a veneer as for a crown.

Whenever a lot of tooth structure is removed, that is considered to be aggressive dentistry. It seems better when the dentist removes the least possible tooth structure so it’s minimally invasive and still accomplishes the desired result. Excellent cosmetic dentists will be conservative when they work on teeth.

A crown strengthens a back tooth against tooth fracture in almost every situation in which it is used. With front teeth, they are more subject to horizontal stresses and a crown can weaken an otherwise healthy tooth, making it more susceptible to lateral shearing forces. This is why it’s important to be as conservative as possible in treatments to front teeth. A porcelain veneer that’s well-placed and conservative won’t weaken a tooth.

In your case, you will need to have crowns placed for your two front teeth as they have been ground down for crowns. Had they been minimally prepared, you could have had veneers.

This blog brought to you by Dr. Ryan P. Perry of Baton Rouge Family Dentistry

Worried about losing my front teeth

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My soon-to-be-ex wife hit me in the mouth with a baseball bat. As you might expect, both of my front teeth are now loose. I had to call the cops to get her out of my house, and the cops insisted I go into the hospital. I went to the emergency room, and they did a cat scan, which the doctor said did not reveal any fractures. I am kind of confused, because the teeth are still very loose. Am I going to lose these teeth? It also tore the little piece of skin that connects my upper lip to my jaw, but they said that was no big deal and did not bother to stitch it up.

I wonder if I should have gone in to a dentist right away. Is it too late? I don’t really have a regular dentist, or any insurance or money. The emergency room doctor didn’t say to go to a dentist, but he didn’t say I shouldn’t either, and I wasn’t exactly thinking clearly. Any help you can offer would be great.

Thanks,

Keith in Lake Minnetonka, MN

Dear Keith,

Even if the roots of your teeth aren’t fractured, they still need to be stabilized in the correct position. If you don’t have a regular dentist, see if there is an emergency dentist in your area who will work with you on a payment plan. The dentist will need to bond the teeth into the correct position so the bone can heal.

If the roots are fractured, or if the nerves are damaged, you may need a root canal treatment on one or both teeth. If that is the case, you may or may not need a dental crown, depending on the condition of the tooth.

That is a lot of “ifs”. The best advice we can offer is to seek the services of an expert cosmetic dentist, if you can. If you cannot afford dental care, look into a program called “Give Back a Smile”. It is a program sponsored by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentists, to help victims of domestic violence. If you contact the program, they’ll tell you what you need in terms of documentation to prove that the injury was the result of your wife’s assault with the baseball bat.

We sincerely hope this information helps, and that your situation improves. We’re very sorry for your pain.

This blog post sponsored by Baton Rogue dentist Dr. Perry.