MY STORY
I'm happy to report that I am currently doing very well dentally. However this was not the case for the past 7 months!
It all started last June when a molar that had an old filling in it cracked in half! And of course, my dentist was out of town. There was no pain, but both halves were still attached and I couldn't chew on that side without food packing into the crack, spreading the tooth pieces apart. It was difficult to clean as you can imagine. I was at that time flying to Michigan every 2 weeks to help my chiropractor friend who had broken his back, so I had to get the tooth patched up before my plane left to go back to Michigan.
So I naturally went to another dentist who could get me in right away.
He did an amazing job extracting the broken piece and then patching the tooth. He said it needed a crown, but he wanted to wait 3 months to make sure the root wasn't infected.
After 3 months I returned to the new dentist and he started the crown prep.
(I could have gone to my dentist at this point, but this new guy had done such a good job with the temporary patch, and he got me in right away for the emergency cracked tooth, I figured the least I could do was to let him do the crown),
Life lesson reminder:
Follow your gut instinct. It usually keeps us out of trouble
I had never had a crown before so I didn't know what to expect, though he did explain things as he went.
Let's take a time out here with a short FYI on Dental Crowns:
A dental crown is a tooth-shaped "cap" that is placed over a tooth to cover the tooth to restore its shape and size, strength, and improve its appearance.
The crowns, when cemented into place, fully encase the entire visible portion of a tooth that lies at and above the gum line.
A dental crown may be needed in the following situations:
* To protect a weak tooth (for instance, from decay) from breaking or to hold together parts of a cracked tooth.
* To restore an already broken tooth or a tooth that has been severely worn down.
* To cover and support a tooth with a large filling when there isn't a lot of tooth left.
* To hold a dental bridge in place.
* To cover mis shaped or severely discolored teeth.
* To cover a dental implant.
* To make a cosmetic modification.
Crowns can be made of:
All metal
Zirconia
Porcelain fused to metal (PFM)
Porcelain fused to zirconia
All ceramic
So he ground down the tooth, put some liquid rubbery stuff on it, had me bite down for 2 minutes as the rubber hardened into a mold of my bite, then sent the mold away to a crown-making company. He put on a temporary crown and sent me home. A few days later he called me back to put the permanent crown on. He gave me a shot to numb the tooth, pulled off the temporary and put on the permanent.
It was the wrong color.
So he put the temp back on, sent me home to wait for a new crown with the right color to be made. A few days later he brought me back in, tried the 2ndnew crown, but when I closed my teeth, it broke. So he took another mold, and sent me home to wait.
In the meantime, the temporary crown didn't feel right... it came loose, so I went in to get it re-glued. Then the 3rd new crown came in, this time it was lined with metal underneath to make it stronger. This one too cracked the corner when I bit down.
More waiting, more loose temps, a broken temp, more jaw pain, headache, fatigue from the bacteria that must have been trying to get in the irritated gum around the tooth stub.
Several permanent crowns were not snug enough next to the adjacent teeth and had to be remade (the dental floss didn't “snap.”)
A patient of mine is a retired dental assistant. I told her the story in the middle of the process and she said I should count myself lucky because in her experience many dentists will just leave a permanent crown that isn't right, then you get problems with it down the road and end up needing a root canal because of the crown not being right all that time.
Finally, after countless shots and office visits, and 5 months later, the final permanent crown was glued in place.
I should have been relieved, but the tooth and gum were very sore still. So I patiently waited for the soreness to subside, because now there was no reason for it to be a problem. 6 weeks later it was still substantially sore. I figured out that if I flossed it after EACH meal and snack, it didn't hurt so much.
So I made an appointment with my original dentist (the one who had been on vacation) to have him examine the crown to see if it looked okay.
He has a dental camera and video screen that he used so I could see what he was seeing. The crown had a slight gap on about 10% of the line between it and the adjacent tooth. He said I was packing food between the teeth causing microbial growth and irritation of the gum and tooth.
He also used an electrical meter to test if there was any electrical current coming off the tooth. He explained that a battery consists of metal and an acid or electrolyte solution that interact together. He said that any metal in the mouth, surrounded by the electrolyte solution called saliva, can sometimes give off an electrical current. He said his wife had once had an electrical current of -4 mV coming off her crown that was causing chest pain and left sided facial droop. Once her metal lined crown was replaced with a non metal crown, her chest pain and facial droop went away!
As he spoke, I remembered having a “potato” clock as a child. It was a clock with four metal probes, each attached to the clock by electrical wire. You just cut a potato in half, put two of the probes into each half of the potato, and the clock would turn on. It would run until the potato dehydrated which was usually weeks later. You could also use an apple or a lemon.
So he tested my new crown (that had a metal underlayer) and it had an electrical current coming off it of -32 mV!
Yikes!
He was surprised I didn't have migraines or anxiety or other really bad symptoms.
So needless to say, he said I needed a new crown! I had mixed feelings, as you might expect. As I sat there, like a deer in the headlights, he kept talking. I wasn't really hearing what he was saying, then off in the corner of my brain I heard him say,
“So it's a one day procedure...,” I was confused.
I asked him how it was possible to redo the crown in one day?
Now he looked confused and asked me if I didn't know about their in-office crown making machine?
It turns out that they have a laser scanner that digitally puts a 3D picture of your tooth stub and surrounding teeth into the computer, the computer generates a suggested new crown, the dentist tweaks the 3D crown so it looks just perfect, then a machine in the back room (a CNC machine) cuts an exact replica out of a “blank tooth” of the computer generated model of the crown that you need!
Again, mixed emotions.
Anger that I didn't know about this and do this the first time, saving me 7 months of misery; joy that I'm gonna finally get my life back once he fixes this, and fear about how much this is gonna cost.
This has got to cost 3 times the price of the crown I just had put in, right?
Nope. Same price!!!
So I immediately scheduled for him to redo the crown. It took about 4 hours, but was completed same day. Immediately I felt like the rain cloud that had been over my head for the past two months was gone (was this from getting rid of the -32 mVs?). I had two other visits with him the next week to “readjust” the new crown so my bite was just right (no extra charge and no shots needed for this.) And about a week after, the crown feels like a normal tooth again!
And just because you like your dentist, trust your dentist, and hate starting with a new doctor or dentist, i strongly consider going to a dentist who has a CNC crown making machine with a laser scanner so you can get your crown done right and done the same day.
The thing to try and keep in front of your mind is that if you have had some very bad experiences, dentists have evolved, not only themselves but their equipment.
Also, there's little reason to use metal lined crowns nowadays. Remember that most crowns today, though white on top, have a lining of metal underneath. And, it's not worth getting a crown that isn't perfect, because it can increase your risk for needing a root canal later on.
If your dentist is using metal crowns or not using a CNC machine to do same day crowns, likely they will have good sounding reasons why they do what they do and why metal is harmless and so forth.
I'm not a dentist, so I guess I don't know for sure who is right, but all I can do is share my experience with you.
Now that I know about this, I have begun to find a few of my patients with lingering health issues who may need their metal crowns replaced. I'll keep you posted with their progress.
If you live in the Fresno area, I'd be happy to share the name of the same-day-crown dentist above so that you can have a consultation with him if you are interested, just let me know.
A word about replacing metal fillings: Please be careful if you choose to remove metal fillings.
These are 50% mercury by weight. The mercury is relatively stable while in the filling, but when removing it from the tooth, the grinding process puts lots of mercury vapors into the air. If you breath this in, you are getting poisoned more than you were before removing it. So please, don't put any new metal fillings into your mouth or your kids' mouths, and be very careful when choosing a dentist to remove metal fillings. I can refer you to safe removal dentists if you want.
A word about root canals:
These are not a good idea.
They can sometimes harbor toxic anaerobic bacteria in them, slowly releasing their poisons into your body, causing a mild background inflammation. The underlying ever-present component of all modern diseases (cancer, heart disease, autoimmune disease, mood disorders, digestive disorders, chronic pain) is inflammation. Toxins are one cause of inflammation.
The alternative is a dental implant.
These are more costly but my pay off in the long run if your health is better as you age, as a result of the implant vs. the root canal. Again, don't just go anywhere for a dental implant. Educate yourself. Again I can give you referrals if you wish.
But most importantly, lets get you to the best dentist possible who can help keep your teeth and crowns and fillings healthy so you never need a root canal.
Honestly, if you are living right, and you need a root canal, it's your dentist's fault because he either didn't do the right dental corrective procedures with the right dental materials, or he didn't educated you on how to protect you teeth properly.
Lessons learned – and hopefully my experience will help you avoid such a nightmare!
And, lets get you to the best alternative doctor (like me) so that you can learn how to eat the best diet, avoid the common exercise pitfalls, and take safe and effective supplements to prevent gum and tooth disease from the inside out.
Looking Forward!
Yours in health,
Dr.Campise : )
559 930 1034 |
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