Come visit us at www.rondentist.com

Come visit us at www.rondentist.com

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.

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

I DON'T GRIND MY TEETH AT NIGHT!! WHY DOES MY DENTIST SAY I NEED A NIGHT GUARD?

     Many times we tell people that they are grinding their teeth at night and they really don't believe us.  Many times they will outright say that " they are not grinding their teeth!"  I think they would like to ad that "by the way Doc.. I think you are nuts!"
     I understand where they are coming from.  I would think it is a little weird too.  Nothing bothers me and nobody has ever mentioned it to me so how could I be grinding?  I mean, I would know!!!
     Well here is the thing, when your dentist looks at your teeth we see things that you don't.   When we look at your back teeth and we see that these teeth are flat when they should have hills and valleys, we know you are grinding.  When we can see the yellow dentin layer of your teeth and there is no more outer white enamel layer then we know you have ground away the enamel of your teeth.
    From regular eating, it would take about 100 years to grind away 1 mm of tooth structure.  In patients who grind we see mm's of tooth structure missing.  Patients who grind their teeth can be any age.  From children to teenagers to the elderly.  Even in young teenagers we can see a large amount of tooth structure missing.  Sometimes people hear us grinding, sometimes no one hears us.  All this grinding is done while we sleep.  This tooth grinding is called Bruxism.
    Why do we grind?  There are a number of theories but I haven't seen a definitive answer that I can give you yet.
    By the way, many people do know that they grind because in the morning they wake up and their jaw is sore or perhaps they have pain in their joint or perhaps their teeth are tender or perhaps they wake with headaches.
   So what do we do for people who grind their teeth?  In general, we fabricate a Nightguard.  This is a plastic guard that you wear at night so that you grind on the plastic and not on your teeth.  This will preserve your tooth structure and relieve the pressure on your muscles of mastication and your temporomandibular joint (jaw joint)!  This usually gives relief  from sore muscles of the jaw and headaches that occur as a result of the grinding.
     If any of this sounds familiar and you have some questions then discuss it with your dentist. or leave a comment on the blog and I will answer any question you may have.

All the best

Dr. Ron Barzilay

www.rondentist.com

enjoying dentistry in Hamilton Ontario!!