My dentist tells me I need gum disease treatment.

My dentist claimed that my bottom front teeth were slightly loose and he said this was due to bone loss. He stated that he wanted to perform a tooth bonding procedure on my lower teeth to strengthen them. I’ve been to other dentists and no one has commented on this problem before. Is this procedure proper for my problem. I am a 60 year old male. Thank you.
- Steven from New York

Steven,
My tendency would be to commend your dentist for being alert and checking the health of your gums and the bone support of your teeth. Not enough dentists do this.

You say that no one else has mentioned this problem before. But you are 60 years old, and most patients who are 60 have some degree of gum disease, with accompanying bone loss, so I’m not surprised. Gum disease progresses slowly throughout your life. It could be that it has just gotten worse on you recently and that is why no one else has mentioned it. Or it could be that your dentist is more conscientious about this than your other dentists.

The treatment he is recommending isn’t an awfully expensive treatment. He wants to splint the lower front teeth together so that they strengthen each other and resist becoming loose. This is an appropriate treatment in some situations where there is gum disease. I can’t tell you if it is the right treatment for you from this distance.  Unless your dentist has given you some reason to not trust him, I’d go ahead with it.

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Read about laser gum disease treatment
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I’m worried about my dental implants appointment

I am having implants - a complete set of teeth - done on the 31st. I’m going to be under for this, and being under for 4 hrs has me worried. They are removing a torus from my lower jaw and the rest of my teeth are being taken out and a first set of dentures put in. Is this common to take this long? How is this removal done? I will be under and am worried about this the most.
- Carol in Indiana

Carol,
First let me congratulate you for getting dental implants to replace your teeth that are being taken out. This is by far the best way to replace missing teeth. When your dentures are fixed with implants, they are stable and you can eat normally. With removable dentures as opposed to implant-retained dentures, your chewing efficiency is reduced seriously, and this contributes to a poor diet and a deterioration of your health. So it looks to me like you are doing the best thing for yourself.

And taking out that many teeth and replacing them with dental implants is a lot of work. It isn’t complicated, but it would take a fair amount of time.

Being in the office for four hours sounds reasonable for what you are having done. A torus is a benign growth of bone that often occurs on the tongue side of lower teeth and on the cheek side of upper teeth. It can cause problems when you have a denture because it interferes with the fit of the denture and the skin over the torus can easily become sore. Removal isn’t complicated. The bone is usually just shaved down.

And being “under” for four hours doesn’t seem like a real concern to me. Once you’re under, maintaining that for four hours isn’t difficult. I’m confident you’re in good hands.

Read about Dr. McKay’s drop-dead gorgeous dentures.
See the main web site of Seattle cosmetic dentist Dr. Brian McKay

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