DENTAL CARE

Jeffrey Gross, DDS, FAGD

Q: Wow, I Never Had Straight Teeth!

A: It was almost like a staged reaction that one sees on a TV show. After removing 10 teeth and placing a denture in the mouth of the patient, her eyes lit up in delight with an astonished expression appearing on her face. I thought to myself, this is why I love the practice of dentistry. Let me explain what was going on with this patient. I started seeing her a little while ago with a complaint of a loose tooth. Whenever someone gives me a history such as that, I think immediately of infection. Although trauma could also be involved, infection is usually the underlying reason. Everyone needs to understand that teeth are held firmly in place by a strong foundation. Just like a building is built with cement or steel anchors into the ground so too are teeth firmly anchored in our heads. More specifically in our upper and lower jaw. In our analogy, if the foundation, starts to become compromised and erode away the building will become unstable. It will no longer be safe to live in. Either we fix the foundation or we knock down the house and start over. So too in the case of teeth once the foundation is compromised we strive to fix it. The beginning of a compromised foundation in the mouth is what we call gingivitis or in more general terms, periodontal disease. We try to catch the problem early and stop the deterioration. This is usually relatively easy to do. It takes some time and effort on our part and on the patients part. It is not costly or uncomfortable to fix the problem at this point. If we don’t deal with the problem when it is first discoverd, then there are more sophisticated solutions that are available. Obviously since the problem is worse and more involved then the solution takes more effort on everyone’s part. However, we still have a solution. We don’t have to condemn the house and bring it down. If we still persist and ignore the problem, then condemnation by the local authori- ties is the only answer to this dangerous and unsafe situation. In the case of our mouth’s the teeth are so bad that they are very loose. The mouth is filled with unsightly gum disease. Sometimes the gums bleed easily and other times they don’t. The common denominator is loose teeth and really unpleasant breath. A professional in the dental field picks up immediately on the smell that emanates from someone with bad gum disease. In our patient’s case, she had no hope except to remove the teeth that were hopeless. Hopeless means that I have no other method or technique to stop the gum disease around a tooth except for removal. Once a tooth is gone then the disease process goes away. It feeds off the teeth. Without them, the disease is gone. So I had a fix for the disease in her mouth. However, her cosmetics were a challenge. Her natural teeth were long and protruded a great deal outside of her mouth. Within reason, whenever we kind of start over and remove teeth, we have a fresh opportunity to fix the cosmetic problem. This is what we did in this case. We lined up the upper front teeth is a very pleasing pattern and position. We needed to make them harmonious with bottom teeth and sometimes that can be a challenge. We were fortunate and created an outstanding result. As I said at the beginning, the good feeling from helping someone such as this can not be measured by any means. In fact words can do justice to describe the feeling. It was an emotional high for everyone in the office that day. My staff and patient were all elated beyond words.

If any of this sounds like your situation or a situation of a loved one or friend, tell them that a solution is available for them. Whether the solution is a permanent teeth or great looking denture, there are answers to their problem. They are not alone. Megan is available to schedule you for an evaluation and provide you with some answers to your questions. Please call her at 440.951.7856 and take advantage of this opportunity. Wishing everyone a great week!

Jeffrey Gross, DDS, FAGD is an Ohio licensed general dentist and is on the staff of Case Western Reserve School of Dental Medicine.

The Healthy Smile 34586 Lakeshore Boulevard (¼ mile west of Route 91 on Lakeshore Blvd) Eastlake, Ohio 44095 440-951-7856 Severance Medical Arts, Suite 603 5 Severance Center Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118 216-371-2333 www.jeffreygrossdds.com