Cost of Emdogain treatment

A few people have asked me how expensive Emdogain treatment is. Not being a dentist or periodontist, I don't know the answer to that. I do know one thing, though. The cost of Emdogain treatment is in direct relation to how it's applied. If your dentist/periodontist wants to do gum flap surgery with Emdogain, that's going to run you pretty good because of the surgery. The Emdogain itself will not be the most important expense in that situation.


If you're lucky enough to find someone who will treat you non-surgically, then the cost will be considerably lower. For more info on Emdogain, visit Judy Carroll's website (listed and linked on the right side), it's a font of good information.

And insurance will often pay some of the Emdogain cost, although not all of it.

IV sedation

My SO -- I'll call him P --had a tooth out yesterday, one that had been bothering him for many years. 10 years ago a dentist had told him the tooth (a far back one) needed a root canal. That dentist stuck a temporary cap on it, and P just let it go until it got to the point he couldn't stand the pain anymore. That's how much he didn't want to go to the dentist!

Anyway, we found someone who does IV sedation dentistry, and P jumped on it! So yesterday was the big day. We arrived five minutes early, had to wait about 10 minutes, then called him in to the operating room. They took his blood pressure, and taped some electrodes (?) to his chest to monitor his heart and breathing. P says he felt reassured by that because he knew they were going to be keeping a close eye on him.

Next, the dentist wheeled in a bag of IV (like you see on tv), asked P to relax, put a rubber tube around his arm and had him clench his fist. The dentist sprayed some freezing stuff on the arm and told P this is going to feel a little chilly. Then there was a little stick, then the dentist started chatting, and P remembers nothing after that.

The whole procedure took about 40 minutes, including removal of the tooth and placement of bone graft material. The dentist numbed the area around the tooth, so that when P woke up he didn't feel any pain there.

I was called in after the procedure was over, and I have to admit, P was pretty funny, he was verrry out of it and kind of dazed for a good hour afterwards. (He remembers nothing of the ride home.)

The total cost of this appointment was $901.00 (yes, I asked what the $1 was for, but the receptionist looked at me blankly!!). Not sure how it breaks down, but I know that more than 50% of that was for the sedation itself.

But it's something he totally recommends to anyone who's about to undergo a procedure that worries them!!

Oh, and the dentist sent him home WITH the extracted tooth (in 3 pieces) and you should have seen the cavity! Omigod! It was like a bullet hole. I can't believe P lived with that thing in his mouth as long as he did. We're so glad it's out now!!

Emdogain explained

Here is a link to JC's blog, with an entry that explains the magical power of Emdogain. This is well worth a look, because frankly it's not that easy to find good solid info about Emdogain on the web, and most of the information one does find talks about surgical application of the enamel matrix protein. JC does a non-surgical application that is a LOT less gory (there are pictures of THAT on her blog too - don't look at them if you're eating breakfast right now!!) and doesn't require cutting the gums.

Here's one set of x-rays that shows the incredible difference Emdogain can make in the regeneration of bone. The first picture is before, obviously, and the second is after. I'm no radiologist but even I can see the remarkable difference in the amount of bone!



Needless to say, I am a total convert to the whole process that JC uses, and I'm going to put a permanent link to her website here, so that the word gets out. This is 21st century dental care, people, and deserves a wide audience, so if you know anyone who is facing dentures, implants, extractions, "hopeless teeth", etc, please pass the link along. I can't tell you how strongly I recommend her procedures.

fourth quadrant!

This morning was my final visit with JC for the perioscopy. The fourth quadrant -- sounds like an episode of Star Trek, doesn't it? The Fourth Quadrant, where the Starship Enterprise slipped into a wormhole and Dr Spock turned into a bunny rabbit on steroids...okay I digress....

Anyway! So now all four quadrants are super duper deep cleaned all the way down to their little roots:

I asked JC if I would need to have this procedure every year or two, and she said no, not for at least five years. Hallelujah! She also recommended a SonicCare toothbrush. I used to have one but when the battery died I just didn't buy a new one. But I will now. As it was explained to me, the sonic waves disrupt the formation of calculus (that's the hard stuff that has to be scraped off teeth). And I am sick to death of calculus!! So I will go out and buy one tomorrow. They're not cheap - I think I paid $80 for my last one, and replacement brushes are criminally expensive, just like everything else in dentistry.

My next step is to go back in six weeks for a checkup. The dentist doesn't want to start any actual dental work until the Emdogain and perioscapy has had a chance to do its thing, grow a little bone and get the deep pockets reattached. I'm taking my low dose tetracycline every day, as well as a multitude of Vitamins. Particularly Im taking lots of Vitamin C which promotes healing.

(as an aside...if you're ever facing surgery of ANY kind, where you'll have an IV in your arm, DEMAND that vitamin C be put in the IV - it works miracles in the healing process!)

Here's my best case scenario: in six weeks time, my tissue, gums, bone and whatever else is in there will be sufficiently healed and strong that we can go ahead with dental work. I still want my Invisaligns!!! I need some kind of orthodontia to straighten the teeth and stop the overcrowding that is one of my big problems. I also want the teeth whitened.

Over the next few days I will try to get a photo of the teeth on this blog. Despite all JC's hard work, she hasn't done anything in terms of appearance -- all her work is beneath the surface, so to speak. So the appearance of my smile is still pretty bad. Check back in a few days and hopefully I'll have something for you.

Dental Holidays?

I heard about this on European Journal the other night. Apparently you can go to Budapest or other less expensive country and get your dental work - including implants - for up to 1/3 to 1/4 the cost of having it done in Britain. Probably cheaper than in the US as well, who knows! Anyway, here's an article - with before and after pictures - about it. The article is short, so I've copied the whole thing, but you'll have to go to the site to see the pics:

A dental holiday in Hungary

Mr Stephen Hayes, 62, a businessman from Cheshire, thought he might lose his teeth because the expensive dental treatment he needed was not available on the NHS, but he managed to save £17,000 by flying to Hungary on a "dental holiday". Mr Hayes required a long course of treatment to repair his teeth, including gum surgery, implants, bridges and crowns. Unfortunately this work wasn’t available on the NHS, and a private dentist in south Manchester told him the cost would be £25,000.

His local dentist said there was nothing he could do about his gingivitis but when it developed into periodontitis - a deterioration of the membranes holding the teeth in the bone - Mr Hayes sought a second opinion. A quote from a top dentist in south Manchester totalled £25,000 incorporating gum cleaning, five teeth implants at £2,000 a piece and on top of the implant costs, gum surgery, crowns, bridges and numerous appointments and check-ups. Mr Hayes looked into having the treatment abroad and within a week he was on a flight to Budapest where his extensive dental treatment cost just £8,000.