Hello Judith,

I know my comments are disturbing....... I apologize for being so forward but we all have the right to be well informed and unfortunately alot of information is being held back from patients that shouldn't be.

Many times a dentist will not offer all of the information for fear that the patient will not follow through with treatment. Sometimes, the dentist is very caught up in practicing the same thing over and over again and just has not looked at things from a different perspective.

I am glad that you had the CT scan. This request alone says the dentist was somewhat apprehensive about whether or not your bone was healthy enough to integrate dental implants. Which is a common concern in patients such as yourself who've had teeth with root canals, apicoectomies and longstanding infections. This information alone places you in a high risk category. It does not mean the dental implants are doomed to fail....... it just means that careful monitoring of the integration process can prevent an unpleasant or unexpected negative outcome.

The nickel crowns may or may not have mercury underneath them. According to the manufacturer who makes the mercury filling material, it is illegal and unhealthy to leave any mercury residue under any crown or any other filling material. However, it is not uncommon for a dentist to leave a thin layer of an old mercury filling as a base under a new crown or other filling even though they are well aware of the legal aspect of it. Unfortunately, even with radiographs it can be difficult to detect this thin layer of mercury under a new restoration unless the layer is very large.

Your quote........ <<Before I found this excellent dentist, the one I had been seeing had wanted me to have the root canals re-done on the 4 front teeth and put new crowns on them. >>
This would have been a crazy thing to do and a total waste of your money.

<<I had a trusted endodontist at that time and went to him to question this course of action. He did not recommend at all doing this as the teeth had been treated so long ago and would be fragile and likely break if redoing root canals plus not knowing the material used originally would make removal uncertain. He did mention I was most fortunate to have kept the teeth so long and it was helped by my good health.>>
This endodontist was wise to tell you not to retreat these teeth because he knew they were not healthy and it was just a matter of time before they were going to have to come out. He was kind enough not to take your money for wasted dental treatment.

My suggestions for anyone who is concerned about their teeth and their overall well being is to maintain a nutritious diet, low in sugar and complex carbs, high in good fats and good protein sources, drink lots of good filtered water every day, supplement properly with qualtity vitamins, exercise reguarly and think positive thoughts! And, daily meditation and/or yoga helps to balance our inner body with the outer one.............

Thank you for bringing your story to us. I hope you have been enlighted on some issues and will keep us posted on the progression of your dental implants!

Take care.....
Bryanna