Archive for the ‘Gum Disease’ Category

Dentist won’t clean her teeth without surgery

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

Hello,
My wife has large pockets and has been told she needs surgery BEFORE our dentist will clean her teeth. She isn’t willing to do the surgery for various reasons. It’s frustrating because we’re being forced into unwanted surgey simply because she wants/needs her teeth cleaned. Any idea’s you can offer to help this situation would be appreciated. Thanks-
- Roger from California

Dear Roger,
I don’t know the specifics of your case, but I have some insight that may be helpful.

You say your wife has large pockets. This means that she has serious gum disease and is headed toward losing her teeth.

Your dentist feels she needs gum surgery. Since I don’t know any more about her case, I don’t know if that is true or not. But to not agree to that recommended treatment could have serious consequences for your wife. I can fully understand why her dentist might say that without that surgery, there’s no point in cleaning her teeth.

When you have deep pockets, cleaning your teeth is not a simple task at all. It often requires multiple appointments. The pockets have to be cleaned to the very bottom. You usually need novocain, and in some cases there may be surgery required simply to get access to the deepest part of the pockets.

Other links:
Read more about oral hygiene
Read about surgical crown lengthening

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A yellow build-up on my teeth

Saturday, May 23rd, 2009

Dr. Hylan,

My lower teeth have a yellow build-up on them, and when I try to remove it, it seems as though I don’t have any tooth left. What is that and what can I do?

Wanda in Georgia

Wanda,
It sounds like it just must be quite a while since you’ve had your teeth cleaned.

The yellow build-up is called calculus or tartar. What happens is that your saliva has minerals in it, and those minerals very gradually build up on your teeth as a substance called calculus. When that build-up is visible, it is called tartar.

The build-up occurs so gradually that people often get used to it, and when it is cleaned off it feels strange, like there are large gaps between their teeth or part of each tooth is gone. But it needs to be all cleaned off.

Calculus is very damaging to the health of the gums. It leads to gum disease, and over a period of years it causes the gums to pull away from the teeth. The teeth become loose and will eventually fall out. When the teeth are loose, it is usually too late to save them. The best practice is to have your teeth cleaned every six months. If you are particularly susceptible to gum disease, it may even be recommended to have them cleaned more often.

For more information, read our dental hygiene page where we explain how we check for gum disease each time you have your teeth cleaned in our office.

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