High Sierra Topix

I won't even tell you guys I've never even had a single cavity, not bad at 39.

Rockchucker wrote:I won't even tell you guys I've never even had a single cavity, not bad at 39.

Must be that pure water of the Eastern side... Genetics I hear too.
Me I've always had bad teeth. I go 2x a year. You name it; I've had it, even an apico. That's where they re-do a root canal through the gum w/o taking off the crown. No implants though. THAT being said I travel with a little tub of den-temp.(size of a mini marshmallow) Smells like cloves when mixed. Peace of mind as some of my crowns protect non-root canal-ed teeth that when missing can be painful to say the least when exposed to hot/cold or even air.

Thanks Brian and Jim for your input and sharing your experiences.

longri wrote:

maverick wrote:I'm grappling with the decision to extract and implant, or root canal and crown #12. Don't want issues to surface while in the backcountry this year.

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. Not a dentist either, but i've seen a few. teeth w/o that blood supply gets brittle. They do want you to keep them intact so those next to them "migrate". That takes time, so there is time to decide on the implant or bridge. I'd go implant everytime. I don't like the suspense of finding out if your tooth is cracked too deep to repair.

I had one cavity, when i was 5. baby tooth. none since, but 50 years of wear and tear will take it's toll.

Mav, you should go right for dentures.. Just make a call. The angst is building..

russ

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