My parents were never able to afford a dentist on a regular basis. I did get a tooth infection once that they had to take me to the dentist for. The dentist did a root canal treatment that the dentist never finished with a crown or anything because my parents could not afford that. By the time I was in college, the front tooth was gray and ugly. Then it broke. I was mortified. Every moment left me terrified someone would see my ugly tooth. I found a dentist in walking distance that advertised as a cheap dentist and asked if there was anything they could do that I could afford. He offered to let me pay out the dental crown. I was grateful for that. The problem I’m facing is the crown doesn’t match my teeth and I was afraid to complain because he was doing me a favor. So, I went through college with mismatched teeth. I’m graduated now and have a job with some dental insurance. I went in and they told me that there is more work needed than they can do in one appointment. They think it will take closer to ten. I need quite a few root canal treatments, along with fillings and crowns. They hinted I might be better off getting dentures. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want dentures but don’t know if I’m dealing with teeth that can be saved. Is this fixable? Plus, I need to get the ugly fake tooth fixed because I’m trying to get a promotion, but my boss hinted it is a public facing position and that my tooth might be an impediment.
Natalie
Dear Natalie,
I am very glad you wrote. All the things you mentioned as needing for your teeth are fixable. If I understand the timeline for your post correctly, you are in your early twenties. Please, do NOT get dentures. Completely removable dentures leads to facial collapse, which means you won’t have enough jawbone to even keep your dentures by the time you’re in your late 30s, making you unable to eat anything but a soft diet and you’d look decades older than you actually are. Of course, getting dental implants to anchor your dentures to will prevent all of that but they are more expensive than fixing your teeth.
Here’s what I recommend. First, you need to find a different dentist. This one is not interested in fixing your teeth. He’s looking for a fast way to make some money off of a patient he feels is too high maintenance.
When you look for a dentist, I want you to add two specific things to their qualifications. First, I think you should see a sedation dentist. This will allow you to get more work done at each appointment and will significantly cut down on the number of appointments you need. You can sleep and wake up with a larger amount of work finished.
Second, I think you need to look for a dentist will a high degree of cosmetic skills. You’ll want to replace your ugly crown. Because it is on a front tooth, it will take an expert cosmetic dentist. These teeth are completely exposed to the light when you smile and have to be crafted with care and artistry. They will try the crown on with a temporary try-in paste to ensure a perfect match. Don’t be surprised if it takes him a couple or three try-ins. They’ll notice subtle differences between the crown and your adjacent, natural tooth and send it back to the lab to make changes.
You can have a beautiful smile. Don’t give up.
This blog is brought to you by Lexington, KY Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Fred Arnold.