High Sierra Topix

Russ (clown ) wrote:
Mav, you should go right for dentures..

Got that already covered Russ, bought several of these, so when the time comes..
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/121237878066?lpid=82" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

rlown wrote:

longri wrote:I'm not a dentist but I always thought the rule of thumb was to keep your real teeth as long as possible.

A real tooth is not a real tooth if it has no root or blood supply.

I'm not a dentist but I have been told over the years that one should try to keep their original teeth as long as possible.

Tooth extraction is irreversible. Dental implants are not risk free and they can fail.

Hi Longri,

Those are some of the points that Russ and I have been talking about over
the phone, each procedure has its proponents. It seem the dental community
is recommending the saving of the tooth, but if one is cynical, then they would
say that this is so the patient will have to pay for a crown, and if the root canal
is not properly cleaned out, which does happen, my dentist said that this procedure
is effective 80-85% of the time. So if it gets reinfected they will have to remove
the crown, try to redo the root canal which is more money. In the end if the infection
persists the tooth will need to be extracted and you could have done this from the
start and not be out of several thousand dollars, but as mentioned their have been
several folks who have not had any problem with their root canals, guess it comes
down to plain old luck.
My main thing is that either way I really don't want this to interfere with my backpacking
2014 season.
Several years ago met a dentist who was camping near LeConte ranger station. He
had cracked a tooth and was in some extreme pain, he was planning to abort his
JMT hike and exit over Bishop Pass the next morning. Don't know why he did not
carry any pain killers, especially as a dentist, but remembering that incident makes
me want to make the best decision possible.

Don't worry so much, Mav. If we backpack together this year, i'll bring along these. I think i can get at it, and then you get your pick of old meds to kill the pain.

"Is it safe?"

Mavs a marine. He's tough!

Mike

it's not about being a Marine. It's about prepping for a trip, and if you know you have an issue you deal with it before leave, or you have to press your spot device or make me have to use my pliers.

Gutting it through is ok to get out after a problem. Not ok if you know you have preexisting conditions that put you at further risk. My root canal was failed, but the tooth was stable and dead and packed. It couldn't have hurt me in the 10 days I was out.


DaveB.. loved the reference!!

Maverick -- I'm not a dentist. And I understand that money is part of the equation.

In my own experience the years of extra time that root canals (which eventually failed) bought me was well worth it in both cases. But your mileage may vary.

In terms of the backcountry who knows how someone will respond to whatever treatment they choose. For myself the only period of time that I've been worried was when my first implant was in the process of failing. While that was going on I routinely carried antibiotics on longer trips in case it progressed to an infection.

i had a post put in in '74. she failed in '91. and the implant replaced the old style post is fine. #9..
I reiterate, if you have pain or known problems, take care of it at least a month (or two) before you go out. agree though, carry the antibiotics.. Still a preplan prep.

russ

Longri wrote:
For myself the only period of time that I've been worried was when my first
implant was in the process of failing. While that was going on I routinely
carried antibiotics on longer trips in case it progressed to an infection.

Great, so the implants can occasionally get infected, so there is no real better
avenue to take. How long did your root canals last? Seems like stocking up
on some antibiotics and vicodin for my backcountry trips will be a routine
procedure from here on.