Terry,

Believe me, I know just how frustrating this whole situation can be. That's why I wholeheartedly believe that every dental office should have an educated patient advocate, like myself, to be the liaison between the dentist and the patient. This way the patient can be well informed, the dentist can do his work and the treatment plan is straight forward right from the beginning.

It has been my experience time and time again that dentists are afraid to give the patient the "bad news" at the onset. Which is not an easy thing to do and the concern is that the patient will become too afraid to move forward. So they are vague about certain things or they set up an *** backwards plan just to get the patient to commit to some treatment. They hope the patient will follow through with the easier stuff and continue forward with the rest of it. On the other hand, some dentists are not all that concerned about their patients systemic health and have to be reminded about the whole body connection. In this day and age... this should not be happening at all, but unfortunately it's a huge flaw within the dental profession.

If your night guard is not fitting well, it is imperative to have it adjusted because the teeth that are hitting too hard will continue to deteriorate irrelevant of what treatment you have done.

It is important to know that anytime you try to retain teeth that are not healthy, the infection will always be present because bacteria continues to thrive in and around these teeth. It can be very defeating to the rest of your teeth as the bacteria makes it way around your mouth.... not to mention the continued systemic consequences associated with retaining ill teeth.

I know it's hard to lose teeth but it's important to always think of the big picture and if being healthy is the goal..... then the best solution is obvious.

Anytime you have teeth removed there is always the chance that the other teeth next to or above/below the missing ones will shift. Every case is different due to what other teeth are already missing. It is difficult and sometimes not favorable to replace teeth in areas that have extensive bone loss. Again, each case is different.

Discuss replacement options with your dentist and you and he can work out a plan that feels right to you. In the meantime, remove the ill teeth so you can get on with your plan to have the other surgery without worrying about complications brought on by your teeth.

Hope this was helpful..... keep us posted!
Bryanna