Come visit us at www.rondentist.com

Come visit us at www.rondentist.com

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Another LOST TOOTH After a Root Canal Treatment

 So today I had to take out another tooth after the patient had a root canal treatment.

So many times patients come in and tell me how they had a root canal treatment and later had to have the tooth extracted as if this was caused by the root canal.  Sometimes root canals do fail and the tooth is lost but most of the time this is not the case.   The overwhelming amount of teeth that I extract after root canal treatment is because after the treatment the tooth was not restored properly.  That means that after the root canal a proper filling was not placed in the tooth and a crown was not placed on the tooth.

After root canal treatment the teeth are weakened and are prone to breakage and this happens a lot.  Unfortunately when this happens many times there is nothing left for us to do but extract the tooth.

So a little bit of friendly dental advice, get the crown after the root canal and protect your investment.

Doing dentistry in Hamilton Ontario

All the best

Dr. Ron Barzilay


https://thehamiltondentist.com/

www.rondentist.com

Monday, January 10, 2022

 Back in 2022 - Another Broken Tooth

HI Everyone,

Well I took a long break from writing this blog over Covid but it is time to get back to writing.  

Covid is still raging on and I haven't gone skiing in two years but we definitely have been doing dentistry for the last two years.  It has been done with a few more precautions than before but basically people are having the same problems and at the end of the day need treatment.

So the latest emergency I had was a patient who had broken a tooth.  I had told this patient that they needed a crown on this tooth for a number of years.  Not because this tooth had already had a root canal treatment  but because this tooth was a back tooth that the patient had been grinding on for years and now I could see the fracture areas starting to become visible.  I had warned the patient but you know how it is, if it doesn't hurt then why do I need the crown. or if it isn't broken why fix it.  Well at the end of the day you have to believe and trust the person who is telling you these things or else you may suffer the consequences.  The consequence here was minor.  We were able to fix the tooth and then put on a crown so it wouldn't break any further.  Of course it could have been worse and the tooth could have been lost.

Moral of the story, do what needs to be done and if you are not sure get a second opinion but don't wait for bad things to happen.

All the best

Still doing dentistry in Hamilton Ontario Canada

Dr. Ron Barzilay

www.rondentist.com

Monday, July 15, 2019

Do I need a Crown after Root Canal Treatment

Do I need a Crown after Root Canal Treatment

This is not the first time I have written on this subject and I keep getting asked this same question.
I understand the question.  People have had their root canal treatment and their tooth no longer hurts so why should they have this expensive treatment called a crown.  I mean they have just paid enough for the root canal. and the filling.
Well, this past week, another patient of mine came in who had his root canal done a few months ago and the tooth was cracked.  Nothing I could do and I had to extract the tooth.  Only problem was that this tooth was his last molar on one side and it held his partial denture.  Now that the tooth is gone he has a real issue holding that denture.  We have repaired the denture to have it hold better but a solution that will let him hold the denture at least the way it was is going to be expensive.
Yes you need the crown after the root canal treatment.  It will save you money in the long run.

Enjoying dentistry in Hamilton Ontario Canada

All the best

Dr Ron Barzilay

www.rondentist.com

PS. any questions, just send them as a comment

Thursday, May 23, 2019

My Insurance! My Insurance! My Insurance! - Do you know anything about your insurance?



This is a true story.
A patient of ours was in the other day.  We had just made  new dentures for him and his wife.
We said we would send it to his insurance company to see if they would pay but he right away knew that they would not pay since he didn't have coverage for dentures.  Of course, shortly after that we heard from the insurance company that he has no coverage for dentures (major coverage).
He did tell us that he pays $170 dollars a month for only dental insurance for himself and his wife.
$2040 dollars a year for him and his wife and there was no major coverage.
My staff were flabbergasted.  They almost never have fillings to do and their cleanings amount to about 2 months of their premiums
So they pay their premiums faithfully every month but never get value.  In other words, in their case, it is not worth it to get insurance. Pay your dental bills out of pocket and they would be left with a larger sum of money in their pockets.
   Is this the case for everyone?  Of course not but it was the case for them.  Many people when they come to see me, say that they haven't been to the dentist for years because they didn't have dental insurance so they couldn't afford it.  I always explain to them that dental insurance costs money and that if they put that same money aside to go to the dentist they would be surprised by what value they get.
    The morals of the story?
 1. Check what you are actually getting when you buy dental insurance.  How much does it cost and is it really worth it.
2.  You can still go to the dentist even if you don't have insurance.

All the best

Dr. Ron Barzilay

Having fun practising dentistry in Hamilton Ontario Canada

www.rondentist.com

PS. If you have any questions just send a reply to the post.

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Sometimes a small change can make a big difference

This patient came in and nothing really bothered her.  I suggested that we could make her smile look a little more aesthetic especially where she had some discoloration and old fillings on the roots on her upper left side.  They were visible in the smile.

I took out the old fillings and placed some white fillings.  We also covered up some of her discolored roots and then we got this....


She was very happy with the result.  It didn't take us very long to do and a much nicer smile.
Doing this is really a lot of fun.

Having fun doing dentistry in Hamilton Ontario Canada
If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.
All the best
Dr. Ron Barzilay

Monday, November 12, 2018

What can I do with my Peg Lateral?

What is a peg lateral?  A peg lateral is an incisor that has not developed properly.  It is the tooth beside the central incisor and it usually is small and pointy, hence the name peg lateral.
Aesthetically it just doesn't look right.  So what can be done?
    There are a few options.
1)   extract the tooth and move the teeth behind forward.  This is done many times when a child is having orthodontics.  The only problem is the tooth behind is usually a larger size than the tooth it is replacing and sometimes it doesn't come out that great.  Sometimes it comes out just fine.
2)  extract the peg lateral then replace it with an implant.
3)  leave the peg lateral in place and just build it up to look like a normal tooth.

I like option 3 although it is not always easy but when done well can give a very nice result.




All the best
Dr Ron Barzilay

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

MY SMILE LOOKS TERRIBLE BUT I CAN'T AFFORD THE DENTISTRY - WHAT CAN I DO?

My smile looks terrible, so I don't smile any more.  I can't afford the dentistry.  What can I do?

How many times do I get asked this question!  Usually it is from a new patient who I have never seen before and they have come in to see what we can do about their smile.
So many people assume that it is just to expensive so they never come in and even ask the question.  That is the worst situation because for many people the fix really isn't that bad or that expensive.  You really need to ask the question so that you can get an answer.
Many people assume that things are terrible when the solutions are often small and simple.
There are of course cases that are more complicated and more expensive but let's go over some cases and see some solutions.  Of course I can in no way cover all the possible scenarios but here are just a few easy ones.
"My teeth are yellow and they embarrass me".  The solution is teeth whitening!  From in office to buying whited strips at Walmart.  Both work well and you can keep your cost low.
"Crooked teeth".  I always wanted straight teeth but couldn't afford it.  I refer to the orthodontist.  The typical case is $6-7,000 dollars (CDN).  The people I work with ask for a deposit then they put you on a payment plan for about 2 years so it works out to about $200 dollars a month after the deposit.  Sometimes, if patients are hard up for the deposit then I will speak to the Orthodontist and sometimes I can get the deposit  waved and get them more payments.
Now comes the tricky stuff where it is more difficult to give you an idea of cost without seeing the case.
Sometimes a patient needs all their teeth out and new dentures made.  The cost of the extractions will depend on how many teeth are left and how difficult the extractions.  Then the cost of new dentures.  There are some extra costs, not really hidden as your dentist will discuss these with you before you start.  No dentist likes to get into a situation of  "I didn't know" or " you didn't tell me".  These costs include things such as immediate denture cost (denture going in at time of extraction) and reline costs (to make the denture fit the gums after a few months).  Also a possible remake of the denture if it still doesn't fit well because the gums need time to settle to their final shape after the extractions.  If you can wait two to three months after the extraction to make the dentures you can save yourself a lot of these costs.

These are before and after dentures. Not bad!

Of course not everyone needs dentures. Some people just need to replace there existing fillings and make them look good.
Here we just cleaned the gums and so you can see the red line around the gums disappear and now look pink. We replaced the fillings in her four front teeth and just did a better job.  The result was great.  The cost including the cleaning was about $1200.
   Of course I am cherry picking here.  There are cases which are a lot more expensive but if you don't ask you won't know.  Perhaps your solution is not as complicated as you thought it would be.

All the best
Dr. Ron Barzilay
www.rondentist.com

enjoying dentistry in Hamilton Ontario

If you have any questions, just send them as a comment to the blog and I will reply.