And the final product…….they came out great! But when you look at where we started, there’s NO WAY you’d have known how extensive these were.
The office had a complete makeover, from top to bottom. And, to be honest, I was surprised at the mess that was created.
Here’s another quick photo of the ‘before’:
Remember how the front teeth were originally so thin when we started? (see here) Well now look at them.
They look great!
When we started cleaning these teeth, the extent of the decay became apparent. Deep? Not really. But what’s the sense in waiting for these cavities to grow and grow until they’ve destroyed a huge amount of tooth structure? Why wait? If there’s already decay starting, take care of it before it gets bigger!
Another great example of conservative dentistry that looks great when we’re finished. See these stained grooves? Think there’s any problem here? Wait and see….
Here’s a closer look at these two teeth. You can see the dark areas that have started around the existing tooth-colored fillings. The cavity usually will have undermined the existing filling and the tooth around it, too. So to properly repair and restore this area the entire old filling will need to be removed and replaced.
These teeth have looked like this for at LEAST the past 7 years (since 2001). The patient has been informed that ‘doing nothing’ will probably lead to more expensive and potentially painful treatment. No worries! It doesn’t hurt, so the patient wants to leave it!
A few days ago we got a call and….you guessed it…the patient was in CONSIDERABLE pain. He was sent to the endodontist where he needed an immediate root canal. To make matters worse, he had just needed some costly repairs on his house, so finances will be REALLY tight.
Moral of the story: FIX teeth before there’s an EMERGENCY. It will save you time, money, and pain.
Same song, different tooth! Take a look at this situation. I had mentioned to this patient (since 2001!!) that his tooth was beginning to fracture and he should think about fixing it. “Nah…it’s not bothering me. I’m gonna let it go for now”.
Ok. Fair enough. A big part of my job is to inform and educate. So we waited……and each time I saw him, I mentioned the crack hadn’t gotten any better. If it was left untreated it could lead to more problems later. “Ah well. It’s still good for now”.
Ok! We’ll wait….it’s the patient’s decision. What do you think will happen next?
Here’s 5 things you can do with Google…and I didn’t know any of them. Do you? Look here.
