{"id":1075,"date":"2019-11-25T17:15:32","date_gmt":"2019-11-25T17:15:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/?p=1075"},"modified":"2019-11-25T17:15:32","modified_gmt":"2019-11-25T17:15:32","slug":"ask-the-dentist-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/ask-the-dentist-3\/","title":{"rendered":"ASK THE DENTIST"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Recent\nquestions from readers answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liz H: \nI was recently told by a dentist that I need a root canal, a post,\nperiodontal crown lengthening surgery and a crown. The total cost of treatment\nis $3500! Do I have any alternatives?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\nis a difficult question to answer without seeing the specific case but here are\nsome thoughts. There are quite a few things to consider. The first is the\ngeneral condition of the teeth. If you have numerous other dental problems that\nneed to be addressed, you must prioritize these and decide if the cost of doing\nthem all is something you can afford, or if treatment needs to be spread out\nover time. The last thing you want to do is spend $3500 on one tooth and then\nbe out of funds to address the other problems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s\nassume that this is the only tooth that needs to be addressed. I would look at\nyour past history of dental problems. If you have had limited problems with a\nlow rate of dental decay in general, this treatment may be the best option. If\nyou have had a problem with dental decay, the best alternative might be to\nextract the tooth and do a dental implant. The cost of the treatment would be\nabout the same and there would be no chance of recurrent problems with decay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extracting\nthe tooth and not replacing it can lead to teeth shifting, bite problems and a\ndecrease in function. If the cost of treatment is beyond your means, ask the\ndentist if there are options to stretch the payment out over a period of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tom Q: My son has been in braces for\nover a year and has multiple teeth with decay. What should we do?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My\nfirst question would be \u2013 Why does he have so much decay? Although there are\nmany factors, diet and home care are most likely the culprits for the problem.\nIf the decay can be easily fixed, the diet can be controlled (i.e. decrease\nsugar intake), and his home care can improve (including a prescription fluoride\ntoothpaste), that would be the best way to go and the braces treatment can move\non. If the decay is extensive and his compliance is poor, the best thing to do\nmay be to remove the braces and wait until improved conditions are met before\ncontinuing with the braces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Linda T: My dentist keeps telling me\nthat I need a bunch of crowns. I don\u2019t have any pain and the crowns seem\nexcessive and costly. Why can\u2019t I just wait until something happens and fix the\nproblem when it arises?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\ncan wait. However, there is probably a good reason the treatment is being\nsuggested. Often, being proactive in replacement of aging large fillings can\nprevent bigger problems to come. The purpose of a crown in this situation is to\nprotect the tooth. Waiting for \u201csomething to happen\u201d can often mean more\ntreatment down the road such as root canals or gum surgery. If you have\nmultiple teeth that need this treatment, ask for a treatment plan to sequence\nthe treatment over time. This is better than waiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each\nperson\u2019s individual situation is different based on things like finances and\nthe value they place on dental health. Ignoring is never a good option. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. St. Clair maintains\na private dental practice in Rowley and Newburyport dedicated to health-centered\nfamily dentistry. If there are certain topics you would like to see written about\nor questions you have please email them to him at jpstclair@stclairdmd.com<\/a>.\nYou can view all previously written columns at www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1075"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1080,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1075\/revisions\/1080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jpeterstclairdentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}