DENTAL CARE

Q: A:Please Smooth the Sharp Edge The request was not unusual. Many patients come to me and have a sharp or jagged edge on a tooth. The sharp edge cuts the tongue or the cheek and can become quite annoying. In a typical situation, the sharp edge indicates we have a larger hole on the tooth. In other cases, it is just a sharp edge that needs a few seconds of my attention to make it go away.

What was unusual about this patient is the fact that she had no teeth. Let me clarify that. She had no teeth in her mouth except for the tooth with a sharp edge. Your glasses don’t need cleaning as you read the last statement correctly. In her entire mouth, I could only find one tooth. This tooth sat in the front of her mouth. She did not wear a denture or a partial denture to replace other teeth.

When I looked closer at her tooth, I saw that it broke to a point near the gum line. During the process of the fracture, it developed a sharp edge. This edge was the source of annoyance for her. Go ahead and picture the situation in your mind. When she talked or smiled, no teeth were visible. When she ate, she had no teeth to use for chewing. She had one small broken tooth in the front of her mouth that needed smoothing in her estimation. Oh yes, I forgot to mention one more thing. She is 96 years old.

I received a phone call for her appointment about a week earlier. She came to me for a second opinion. She met another qualified practitioner who recommended the correct medical treatment for her. His direction involved removing the broken tooth and fabricate an upper and lower denture. Her caregiver told me that after 90 minutes of discussion, my patient refused treatment. In a nutshell, she did not want to lose her last tooth.

The tooth did not offer function or cosmetics. The fragment present was just the last tooth in a mouth.. nothing more…nothing less. Despite all of these facts, she did not want to part with that tooth. For whatever reason, she did not want to part with that tooth. Was it fear? Was it hanging on to memories from decades that have passed? I don’t know.

What I do know is the following. Even though I treat teeth and other doctors treat other parts of the body, we must never lose sight that we are treating a living and breathing human being. We need to learn, recognize, and treat the entire person. Respect for their dignity and understanding what is important to them is key to a successful relationship. My patient left with a smooth tooth and no lecture or warning for the future. She left in a good mood and the caregiver, who was present, gave me thumbs up approval.

Last but not least, I felt good. I helped the discomfort and did not raise the level of anxiety. I told her that if something changes or if she feels pain, to return to me. I’m sure that she will do just that. If you have an unusual tooth that is bothering you, then call Megan at 440.951.7856. She will help you to get better in a dignified fashion.