Hi ellem,

Glad to hear the implant looks good. The blood you see in that area when brushing may indicate that you have some plaque built up there. Just in case that's what it is... it would be best if you gently but thoroughly brushed everywhere, including that area with a very soft bristle toothbrush twice a day. Plaque can be hard to see but it's very destructive and we have to be diligent with removing it.

With regard to pocket measurements.... #'s 1-3 are normal. Anything above that indicates an area between the gum and tooth that bacteria can hide in. One thing to mention is that when there is gum recession around a tooth, the pocket depth can measure low because of the recession. This simply means that more of the tooth is exposed than should be. Sometimes these teeth are sensitive to cold temperatures, other times they're not.

Endodontics is regarded as the elite field in dentistry (moreso than oral surgery or cosmetics) because this is the group that makes the most $$$. Many thousands of root canals are performed every day in the US. To be fair, dental offices in general seldom properly educate their patients of the consequences of their dental treatment. With endodontics, the procedure is one of a few that allows a person to retain their teeth irrelevant of the inevitable outcome. Many people, would rather keep a diseased tooth than have it removed. This is evident when someone is told that they have a tooth infection but because it's not hurting, they ignore it until it hurts. So in spite of the lengthy research, the many thousands of pathological reports of rc teeth and the well known health risks associated with root canaled teeth, the procedure is still viewed as a viable option in dentistry. The industry itself is not yet prepared to tell the public otherwise. The information is not secret it is just not readily shared with the average consumer.

It's the same principal as smoking.... in spite of all the health warnings against it.. people still chose to smoke and many physicians/dentists do not inform their patients of the seriousness of this habit until they are sick. Phillip Morris who is the huge promoter of smokeless tobacco and various brands of cigarettes.... ironically also funds lung cancer research, various cancer treatment centers.... etc. There are alot of things in our society that people should be made more aware of, but not everyone necessarily wants to be informed or knows how to acquire the information because sometimes it's hard to dig when things are "covered up".

Your quote>> If I go by what you suggest I would have to have my 5 RC teeth pulled and implants placed, making 6 total implants out of my 12 molars.>> WE ONLY USE OUR FIRST MOLARS TO CHEW ON. THE SECOND MOLARS ARE SELDOM USED UNLESS THERE ARE OTHER TEETH MISSING. THE THIRD MOLARS ARE NEVER USED FOR CHEWING. SO DEPENDING ON WHAT MOLARS HAVE THE ROOTH CANALS, DEtermines HOW MANY WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE TO REPLACED WITH IMPLANTS.

>> This is just a very hard reality to face, and at $7000 an implant pretty pricey as well.>> $7000 FOR AN EXTRACTION, BONE GRAFT, IMPLANT AND CROWN IS VERY EXPENSIVE. THE AVERAGE FEE IN THE US FOR ALL OF THAT IS ABOUT HALF OF THAT COST UNLESS THERE ARE EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES. WHY SO MUCH IN YOUR CASE?

>> How would I function and eat going through that process?<< YOU WOULD NOT NEED ANY TEMPORARY REPLACEMENTS DURING THE HEALING PHASE IF YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT THE MOLAR AREAS ONLY. ONLY ONE AREA OF YOUR MOUTH WOULD BE DONE AT A TIME.

>> We are trying to have a baby and I don't see how that will work! lol I just don't think I am ready to come to terms with all that yet.>> I THINK YOU FALL INTO THE CATEGORY LIKE MANY PEOPLE IN THAT THERE MAY BE OPTIONS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN DISCUSSED BY YOUR DENTIST. YOU JUST MAY HAVE AN EXAGGERATED IDEA OF WHAT WOULD BE NEEDED. THIS IS ALL BASED ON YOUR STATEMENT OF THE RC TEETH BEING MOLARS. THE IDEA OF GETTING PREGNANT IS A HUGE, HUGE UNDERTAKING AND IDEALLY, YOU SHOULD BE AS HEALTHY AS POSSIBLE. THAT IS MY POINT IN A NUTSHELL......

I know it's confusing and overwhelming and all you really want is to believe someone is telling you the truth. I understand completely. All I can say is take one step at a time and don't give up learning about what your options may be.

>>Let me try and understand. Is the chronic infection you speak about coming from the smaller necrotic nerves that are left? They never see any sort of infection on the x-ray, much less anything else.<< THE CHRONIC INFECTION IS FROM THE BACTERIA INSIDE THE CANALS OF THE TEETH. IT CAN BE FROM NECROTIC TISSUE (NERVES) THAT WERE LEFT BEHIND AND/OR BACTERIA THAT ENTERED DURING THE PROCEDURE. THE RC PROCEDURE ITSELF TRAUMATIZES AND INJURES THE INSIDE OF TOOTH.... YOU MAY RECALL THE DENTIST USING SMALL INSTRUMENTS THAT HE SCRAPED THE INSIDE OF THE TOOTH WITH REPETETIVELY? THE RC PROCEDURE ALSO SEVERS THE BLOOD VESSEL AT THE END OF THE ROOT THAT FEEDS THE TOOTH. SO THERE IS NO LONGER ANY NUTRITION ENTERING THE TOOTH. ALL TEETH ARE LIVING BODY PARTS AND THEY REQUIRE BLOOD TO BE HEALTHY. THERE ARE ALSO OTHER ISSUES THAT ARE NOT FAVORABLE THAT I WON'T GET INTO NOW. IF YOU TAKE ALL OF THIS INTO CONSIDERATION, THE ISSUE OF CHRONIC INFECTION/INFLAMATION BECOMES MORE BELIEVABLE. DENTAL XRAYS ARE ONLY 2 DIMENSIONAL... MANY RADIOGRAPHIC PATHOLOGIES ARE MISSED UNFORTUNATELY.

I don't like writing in capitals... seems like I'm yelling or something.... and I'm definitely not. For now... go on vacation..... put this stuff on hold and rethink it when you get back. I'm here if you want to bounce some thoughts back and forth with me.

Have a great vacation!!

Bryanna