July 8, 2009

Over the last few years, I've received quite a few emails asking me how things have turned out for me. The news is variable.

The good news is that I still have most of my teeth. The bad news is that I have continued to have problems and issues with them, I grew very little bone back from the emdogain, and I am currently in the process of having two implants put in my lower back jaw. Those teeth couldn't be saved, and had to be removed.

My current periodontist believes that, even though I do have extensive bone loss in my upper jaw, that a conservative approach will continue to work for the time being. This means continued cleanings every 3 months, and continued use of a low-dose antibiotic. While the bone loss is extensive, the teeth are currently stable. I won't ever have beautiful teeth, and that's kind of hard to come to terms with. The best I can hope for is to keep the ones I've got, and/or slowly replace them with implants over time.

However, I firmly believe that the perioscopy was the right choice for me. I believe the perioscopy was a factor in slowing the bone loss, and while I am not a dentist, doctor or hygienist, I would definitely suggest that if you're considering it, you gather all the facts and determine if it's right for you.

Tomorrow I'll talk about the implants I'm getting. That's a whole new story unto itself.

An email from a dentist

So I got this email awhile back, from a guy claiming to be a dentist, and I believe that he is. Why do I believe it? Because it illustrates perfectly what is wrong with dentists who don't "get it". This email is condescending and pedantic, uses the bludgeon of fear, and presumes idiocy and cowardice on the part of the patient. Personally I wouldn't want this dentist giving me a manicure, in part because his spelling indicates a lack of interest in education (the email arrived with the header "Found your blog while sufing" - I guess he meant "surfing"), but also because this is the kind of dentist who treats his patients like cash cows and not human beings.

So, "RSM", if you're reading this, maybe you could try opening your mind a little, listening to your patients instead of lecturing and insulting them, and doing unto others. But no, that's not likely to happen. Sad. Your type will be extinct eventually, as younger, smarter, more gentle and forward thinking people enter the field.

Dear Dental Hell,

Seems to me when you finally learn how to clean your teeth properly at home everyday you will have no more reason to whine about the evils of dentistry. Try going with no teeth for a while and I think you’ll start to change your tune. You were given a gift of teeth, and you won’t appreciate them until their gone. About that same time you will start to appreciate dentistry too, but your not there yet Bud!

RSM DDS

Lotsa cleanings and some sad news

So I went to get my teeth cleaned in April , and JC said she thinks I need to visit every two months for cleanings. I am, as I've said before, a calculus making machine!!! Ugh! No matter how much I Sonic Care and Water Pik, I still build that crud up like a beaver making a dam!!

(By the way, did you know there's an actor named Billy Crudup? He's got great looking teeth!)

Anyway, so JC is very discouraged about her system...the one that works so well. She was talking about packing it in and moving to some small town in the hills. It's a real shame, too, because she is really onto something, people. Her perioscopy program is ahead of its time. It shouldn't be, but she's fighting an entire industry. An industry that loves its high prices. Dentistry has done a masterful job of obfuscating facts and figures so that patients simply live in fear and do whatever the dentists want. Including accepting a prognosis of "all these teeth have to go", and "you need $30,000 worth of implants" . This is a profession that should be caring and nurturing, and instead it's bullying, secretive, overpriced and disingenuous.
I am telling you right now, if your dentist has told you you need your teeth out, you must get a second opinion. Don't let them bully you. Contact me if you need to, I will help you. Just don't settle until you know all the facts and know your options!!

My email is over there on the right. Please don't spam me and please, if you're insane and just want to ramble, don't email me. But if you want advice and you think I can help, please do send me an email.