J. Peter St. Clair, DMD, PC Blog

Recent questions from readers answered.

Liz H:  I was recently told by a dentist that I need a root canal, a post, periodontal crown lengthening surgery and a crown. The total cost of treatment is $3500! Do I have any alternatives?

That is a difficult question to answer without seeing the specific case but here are some thoughts. There are quite a few things to consider. The first is the general condition of the teeth. If you have numerous other dental problems that need to be addressed, you must prioritize these and decide if the cost of doing them all is something you can afford, or if treatment needs to be spread… (Read More)

There was an article written in the The Boston Globe a while back entitled “The Mistakes Doctors Make”…………..and right below that was a column called “Advice for all ages: Don’t skip the dentist.” They were both interesting perspectives.

The dental article starts with, “Earlier this month, a team of researchers from London and the University of Connecticut announced that aggressive treatment of gum disease can improve the function of blood vessel walls in the body, potentially reducing the risk of heart attacks.”  The concept is nothing new. We have known for years of the mouth-body connection with health. However, the key to the statement above is “aggressive treatment of gum disease”.

What… (Read More)

It’s November, which means the holiday season is officially here. Before you know it, your calendar will fill up with holiday parties, work events, and get-togethers with family and friends. At all of these events, there will undoubtedly be lots of sweet treats to indulge in. If you have obstructive sleep apnea, all of this food can actually help alleviate or even exacerbate your disorder. That being said, which foods should you avoid? Which ones should you let yourself enjoy? Below you’ll find a quick guide on foods that affect your sleep apnea.

Diagnosis is the key to success in any area of medicine, including dentistry. Proper diagnosis leads to success in treatment. In dentistry, there are different exams used at different times of a patient’s “career” at the dentist. I would like to clarify some of these in this column.

The Comprehensive Oral Evaluation is the term used to describe the initial exam with a new dentist. For insurance purposes, it is usually paid once in the lifetime of a patient with a single dentist. If a patient does not see the dentist on a regular basis it may be paid for once every 5 years. This evaluation usually is a more detailed exam performed… (Read More)

It is not uncommon to get a second opinion, or a second or third quote for things like car repairs and home improvements. When it comes to our health, it usually depends on the nature of the issue. More complex issues in medicine, such as a diagnosis of cancer, an unknown diagnosis, or other major medical issues in which we have to make decisions about significant treatment, tend to stimulate people to get more than one opinion. In dentistry, it seems that the incidence of second opinions is not as great.

Routine dental care is generally not that complicated. There are many different ways to do the simplest things in dentistry. The method… (Read More)

Over the past few weeks I have had numerous new and existing patients who have had the need to replace single and multiple teeth. Based on the conversations I have had with these patients, there seems to be some common misconceptions about replacing teeth. I would like to share my thought process that I communicate with patients when they are forced to decide between different treatment options.

Let me start by using an example of a new patient I had in yesterday. The patient presented with the chief complaint of pain. The diagnosis was an infection of a previously root canal treated tooth which was deemed non-restorable. The only treatment was extraction. The… (Read More)