The Quest For A Healthy Mouth

 Well, here is the update I promised to my January dental post, What Dentists Don't Tell You.

My initial consultation with my new dentist about three weeks ago lasted about an hour and a half, something I've never experienced with a conventional dentist.  At that time, they took a full set of x-rays, covering me with a lead apron that had a special collar to protect my thyroid (nobody ever cared about my thyroid before) and did a full oral examination of my teeth and gums.  Then Dr.K. proceeded to review each tooth and the general condition of my gums.  She discussed the deep pockets around many of my molars, something my previous dentist told me would need a procedure called "scraping and planing."  The whole thing sounded a bit gruesome - and certainly uncomfortable, so I decided to put it off ... indefinitely.  She believed the pockets were not the result of tartar build-up, but instead an inflammatory reaction to the metal in my teeth, as they only appeared around the teeth with metal fillings.  All the rest of my gums, she assured me, were quite healthy.  No scraping or planing necessary.  (Sigh of relief!)  For once, procrastination has paid off!

The bad news was that I have a mouth FULL of metal, which -- if I'm going to get healthy (in my mouth, anyway) -- needs to come out.  We worked out a plan to do them one or two at a time every six months or so, and it will take two to three years to complete the full process.

The first visit following the consultation was a good cleaning.  The dental hygienist was thorough and my teeth have never felt better.  She sent me home with a very nice toothbrush (not those sorry cheap things most dentists give you) and some floss, and advised me to brush at least twice a day and floss at least once... standard fare.  She also gave me advice about massaging my gums regularly with an old soft toothbrush to promote blood flow, which will prevent the gums from receding and give the dentist a good gum line when she's ready to do the crown.


Yesterday was my first procedure.  Some of my teeth have cracks in them.  The dentist explained that the cracks were deeper than enamel, and those teeth should be repaired first since they were susceptible to breaking.  So the first two teeth on the docket included a cracked molar and a tooth with a very strange and irregular filling that turned out to be a surprise.  Instead of a simple amalgam (mercury) removal and composite replacement, she discovered a weird tissue growth (gum tissue growing into a gap in the tooth from the previous filling that prevented the composite from adhering).  She would have to pull it or prep it for a crown.  I chose the crown.

To make a long (two and half hours long, to be exact) story short, after all was done and fixed up proper, she treated me with infrared on teeth, gums, and jaw, gave me a homeopathic pain remedy, and sent me home to recover.

Two down, ten to go.

The temporary crowns are very comfortable.  Aside from a little soreness in the gums, my mouth feels great only a day later.

In my treatment plan, the mercury fillings will be replaced first, then we'll talk about whether or not to replace the existing crowns.  I have about four of them -- all porcelain-fused-to-metal.  The crowns this dentist will be installing are all-ceramic.  These are not as durable as porcelain-fused-to-metal, but they have no metal in them.  Since I can't be sure what makes up the metal, I am hesitant to keep them in my mouth.  But I have plenty of time to think about these teeth, because they will be the last on the agenda.

My quest for a healthy mouth started early this year when I began to learn about the toxic affects of mercury poisoning from amalgam fillings -- of which I have a mouth full.  As many of my complaints (fatigue, poor memory and poor concentration among them) matched up with the typical symptoms of mercury toxicity, I decided it was time to get rid of the metal fillings.  For those of you with younger mouths that may not yet be contaminated, my advice is... don't let your dentist convince you that amalgam fillings are safe.  They're not.  You may not have an immediate reaction-- frankly most people don't.  That's why the dental profession has gotten away with using poison as a filling for so long.  But the fact is, mercury does its toxic damage over time.  You're not likely to notice the effects until later in life.  Then when the problems come, you don't associate them with the cause because time has disconnected the two.

Getting rid of amalgam fillings can be expensive, especially if the fillings are deep enough to cause undue stress to the tooth by drilling them out, and everyone has to make their own decision as to whether or not it's worth it.  In my case, I probably won't see a marked difference in the way I feel until most of the offending fillings are gone.

What I'm REALLY hoping for is that the American Dental Association will man-up and finally admit that amalgam is bad.  This, of course, will never happen because they know that the minute they admit such a thing, the lawsuits will start flowing and dentists all over the country will go out of business.  (I suppose we, as a nation, bring the problem on ourselves with our litigious nature.)  But at least they can quietly stop using the stuff.  No explanation required.  We can hope, right?