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Craig D Peltier
12-18-2008, 3:52 PM
Not on any saw blades either.
I have a question if anyones knows what dentist can do for broken teeth. i fell and my trailer tongue hit my mouth. It broke my three front teeth, front down 1/3rd and the one next it to it maybe 1/4.
There jagged.
So anyhow, theres 1 foot of new snow, small town, no dental centers open.
Im looking for advice as what Dentist can do. iIwas hoping file them down and seal them. Then maybe build them up at a later date.
I dont feel nerves , I just took a drink of water and nothing piercing.

Thanks
Fraggle Tooth

Angus Hines
12-18-2008, 4:06 PM
Well he could do several things from pull them($:confused:) to placing porcelain crowns on them($$$$:eek:).
Depending on how bad they are the build up idea is a possibility also($$:D).

Disclaimer: Im not a dentist nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express

Mike Henderson
12-18-2008, 4:11 PM
I'm not a dentist either but I had a similar problem. If no nerves are exposed, my belief is you won't have any problems in the short term. You could use fine sandpaper and smooth out the rough edges or just leave them.

But in the long term, my guess is you'll need crowns on the teeth.

Mike

Jim Barrett
12-18-2008, 4:12 PM
Ouch...what a bummer! Sorry to hear about your teeth. I live on Whidbey Island and it is slick out there.
As far as your teeth...a Dentist will "file" them down and put crowns on them... my experience with crowns has set me back close to $1k for each one. I have many thousands of dollars invested in crowns...Hopefully you can get a better price and have dental insurance. Good to hear you are feeling no significant pain but I would try to get to a Dentist soon...at least call one and see what they say.

Jim

Chris Kennedy
12-18-2008, 4:13 PM
I did something similar when I was in sixth grade. They rebuilt the teeth using some sort of composite material, whose name escapes me. My wife has them too. They hold up pretty well. A friend did something similar as well, and they put temporary caps on his teeth for a week or so for some reason. So, you should be in good shape.

Glad it doesn't hurt. Mine were very painful.

Cheers,

Chris

Greg Cole
12-18-2008, 4:17 PM
Ask a hockey player... :rolleyes:
The above advice has ya covered. I'd most likely go with the caps-crowns.
Makes me think of the Monster Garage episode where a guy broka e tooth, they had a dentist come in, set up his stuff, made a replacement peice of tooth on a mini CNC machine using the broken peice as a template, glued it on and he was back building whatever the contraption on that episode was.
Sorry bout your luck man.
Cracked table top was bad, teeth are worse.

Dewey Torres
12-18-2008, 5:03 PM
porcelain veneers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veneer_(dentistry)

http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0geu8ysx0pJCW4AoilXNyoA?fr2=sg-gac&sado=1&p=porcelain%20veneers&fr=yfp-t-501&ei=UTF-8

For these they have to grind your teeth anyway so half the work is done. These will look better than your original teeth. Sorry to hear bout your accident but your about to have a million dollar smile... probably with a price to match.

Ben Rafael
12-18-2008, 5:15 PM
Good timing.
I just had my 2 front teeth replaced. One Broke clear off and the other was about to. This is because I fell down as a teen and 1 of the teeth broke about 1/4 off, the other managed to survive. But both of them were mosaic if you'd look at them closely. They were very fragile but managed to last a few decades.
I'd get at least 2 opinions from dentists. You dont want to spend a lot of money on them now just to have to get major work on them 1 year from now.
And beware of cheap dentists.

Joe Pelonio
12-18-2008, 5:33 PM
From my vast experience in the dental chair, I doubt they could be built up and be as strong for biting, it could possibly be done but with repeats over the years. Another option is the crowns, another implants. As long as the teeth themselves are healthy the crowns are more affordable. They seem to cost me $700 when the insurance didn't cover it, which is usually only for medical reasons. Implants run more like $1,500. The build up I had done on the back of a front tooth, where a filling broke out years ago, but after 4-5 years and redoing it twice ended up with a crown.

Craig D Peltier
12-18-2008, 6:35 PM
Thanks,
Thye dont hurt. I dont think the sandpaper may work.One has a stalactite look to it. Alot of sanding. I think I may have a sanding party.:D
Called local dentist, closed due to weather. I will hopefully talk to one in the morning.
I went of went out of town but weather is so bad , even with chains id be worried due to all the ice on the roads from the last storm that still exist here.
Well crowns do sound right I guess.

I have a slight whistle to my speech :cool:

My nose has a cut below it, my chin is scratched, my teeth are beat up, my stomach has scratch. What a fun day! Could fo been alot worse. One more inch higher and my nose would of been broke I think.
When the tongue of my trailer hit the ground I was coming down with it, it bounced and I saw my face meeting it and then it hit again when I finally landed 4 inches after that.
Lesson learned - Do not try to push a trailer into the snow from a driveway thats freshly shoveled with snow boots on.

Cliff Rohrabacher
12-18-2008, 7:57 PM
Have 'em capped. It's less than a grand I think.

Phil Thien
12-18-2008, 8:04 PM
And beware of cheap dentists.

Best advice I've seen so far.

Talk to lots of people and get recommendations. You want work that lasts a long time, with no complications.

So find people that had crowns down 20+ years ago and have had no problems with them. Then make an appointment with their dentist.

Steven DeMars
12-18-2008, 8:16 PM
Call around, poke around . . what have you . . try to find a dentist that serves a military patient group . . . . My dentist did, their work tends to lean toward durable over looks . . .

Bill Latham
12-18-2008, 8:29 PM
Craig,

First try to call around your area for a clinic, teaching hospital, or local college.

There are plenty of sliding fee for service clinics that can possibly assist you in locating a dentist.

Try your county health department and ask them for assistance in locating a local dentist or school that will perform this service.

I do this for plenty of people in my area, so I am giving you the best advice I can here.

My advice is "DO NOT TOUCH, FILE, or in general, PLAY with your teeth yourself!!!"

By playing around, You WILL most definitely cause a bigger problem than you have now, I will guarantee that!

Regards,
Bill

Ben Rafael
12-18-2008, 8:31 PM
Craig,



My advice is "DO NOT TOUCH, FILE, or in general, PLAY with your teeth yourself!!!"

By playing around, You WILL most definitely cause a bigger problem than you have now, I will guarantee that!

Regards,
Bill

And definitely do not try out your dremel on them.

Jim Becker
12-18-2008, 8:50 PM
I agree with Ben not to do anything yourself. Just be careful of your tongue for the moment until you can get in to see a professional.

Bummer on this accident, too. Not fun, I'm sure!

Steven DeMars
12-18-2008, 8:59 PM
You may want to go by the pharmacy and get a cheapy "nite guard/grind guard" to protect the tooth base & your tongue . . .while you sleep . . . .

Steve

Craig D Peltier
12-19-2008, 10:37 AM
Sleeping wasnt an issue and neither is the pain.Theres no nerves showing or that I feel.
Its just the unfortunate busted up three teeth.You dont realize how much you use something until its gone.
Alot is still closed here due to weather.
Today I will find a dentist. I need them at minimum to be filed/ground down so there flat.
Thanks for all the comments.

Craig D Peltier
12-19-2008, 2:13 PM
Have to love smalltown service. Dr. got in his 4 wheel drive opened up the place and had me listening to jazz feeling knumb by 10am!
He built them up with composite and when I get back in town we are going to talk about veneers.
He said I will have to baby them for the rest of my life. With composite he says dont bit into an apple or even cut a hamburger up. With veneers a little less to worry but still baby them like porcelain.
He sad two were loose a bit and the nerves could die from the impact. Could take some time though. Great more fun, the gift that keeps on given!

Kyle Stiefel
12-21-2008, 12:17 AM
He built them up with composite and when I get back in town we are going to talk about veneers.
He said I will have to baby them for the rest of my life. With composite he says dont bit into an apple or even cut a hamburger up. With veneers a little less to worry but still baby them like porcelain.
He sad two were loose a bit and the nerves could die from the impact. Could take some time though. Great more fun, the gift that keeps on given!

Craig,

Glad he was able to restore your teeth in a non invasive way. Sounds like you found a good provider who has your interest in mind. Happy holidays and remember those teeth are just for smiling.

Take care.

Martin Shupe
12-21-2008, 3:26 AM
Once upon a time I shot a duck with a pintail whistle in my teeth. I got the duck, but broke a lower tooth in half when the shotgun stock jammed the call into my teeth. Military dentist came in on a Saturday and fixed it with composite. He would have waited until Monday, but I had an appointment with a boat for carrier quals that day.

Fast forward 20 years. One of my front teeth dissolves from the inside out. Dentist had a special name for it, said it was caused by trauma. Asked if I had every had trauma to my front teeth. I told him the duck story. There were lots of complications, and in the end I needed an implant on one tooth, and crown on the other, as they found cracks in it, too.

Two pieces of advice:

Don't shoot at ducks with calls in your mouth.

Get second opinions, and if you need an implant or crown up front where it will show, find the best dental restoration guy you can afford, you won't regret it later. My guy was excellent, but cost big bucks. He was worth it in the end.

Rod Torgeson
12-21-2008, 9:27 AM
Hello Craig......Is Dr. Sam Costello the one you went to see in Duvall? If so, he is a good dentist. I went to him for years when I lived in that area. Anyway, glad you got some help.

Rod<---in Appleton, WA

Craig D Peltier
12-23-2008, 10:54 PM
Hello Craig......Is Dr. Sam Costello the one you went to see in Duvall? If so, he is a good dentist. I went to him for years when I lived in that area. Anyway, glad you got some help.

Rod<---in Appleton, WA

Yes, small town huh. He seems to be pretty good.his office now is pretty advanced.

Frank Hagan
12-25-2008, 3:55 PM
The composite material will last for a while. Porcelain crowns are better.

If the tooth dies, you'll need a root canal. I had 4 root canals on my four front teeth (on the top) due to an accident when I was 13 (bike verses truck: truck won). As I aged, the teeth got extremely brittle and discolored, one grew a tumor due to the type of "cones" they used to cement the tooth to the bone, etc. Got crowns on all four.

I've broken two off at the gum line. One was while I was asleep, so we made sure there's enough clearance there for my grinding of my teeth while I'm asleep. The other was on a frozen banana at Disneyland; I was trying to chip the chocolate off and it snapped off. On those, the dentist used a titanium post like they do for an implant, and cemented the tooth back on. So now I'm more careful; I can eat a sandwich, but not an apple (I cut up apples to eat them). Corn on the cob is OK too, but I tend to use my bottom teeth more than my top. So far so good.

Craig D Peltier
12-26-2008, 4:42 PM
The composite material will last for a while. Porcelain crowns are better.

If the tooth dies, you'll need a root canal. I had 4 root canals on my four front teeth (on the top) due to an accident when I was 13 (bike verses truck: truck won). As I aged, the teeth got extremely brittle and discolored, one grew a tumor due to the type of "cones" they used to cement the tooth to the bone, etc. Got crowns on all four.

I've broken two off at the gum line. One was while I was asleep, so we made sure there's enough clearance there for my grinding of my teeth while I'm asleep. The other was on a frozen banana at Disneyland; I was trying to chip the chocolate off and it snapped off. On those, the dentist used a titanium post like they do for an implant, and cemented the tooth back on. So now I'm more careful; I can eat a sandwich, but not an apple (I cut up apples to eat them). Corn on the cob is OK too, but I tend to use my bottom teeth more than my top. So far so good.

I think for a crown they need to file your tooth down about half way. My doc says he doesnt like to get rid of good bone when you cant get it back so he will discuss with me but thinks veneers might be way to go.
He did say my tooth could die or teeth. The front of one is still very sensitive to touch only but the back of the tooth is fine. Guess its a nerve up front.

Bill Latham
12-26-2008, 10:45 PM
Craig,

Now aren't you glad you didn't play around with a file and those tailed tools to customize your teeth yourself?

Hope all is well.

Regards,
Bill

Craig D Peltier
12-27-2008, 8:59 AM
Craig,

Now aren't you glad you didn't play around with a file and those tailed tools to customize your teeth yourself?

Hope all is well.

Regards,
Bill

LOL, yeah the doc used a woodworking tool on me. Felt like a coarse wire he used to saw into them. Think he was making veneer :)

Stephen Edwards
12-28-2008, 9:45 AM
If you're the adventuresome sort of person, and up for a vacation, I would suggest that you do a web search of "medical tourism". Of course, you would need to do your research to make sure that whatever place you may choose is up to snuff. Medical tourism is a growing, legitimate industry and can save you a fortune. Most of the facilities abroad that cater to westerners are state of the art and often staffed by American trained dentists/doctors.

I had my dental work done in the Philippines (I was going there anyway). They did perfect work for about 1/10th the cost here in the states. I know many people who've gone to Mexico for cosmetic dental procedures and all those people that I know were 100% satisfied with the work. And, they saved a ton of money. Again, it all depends on if you're the adventuresome sort of person and you have to figure in the cost of travel. However, many of the legitimate medical tourism companies have deals worked out with the airlines for discounted airfares.

David G Baker
12-28-2008, 10:06 AM
Stephen,
There is a possibility that the trip can be written off of your income taxes as well if it is done correctly.

Allen Boynton
12-28-2008, 9:54 PM
Craig,
I live down the road from you in Olympia area. I used Affordable Dental Care in Oly. They charged just what my insurance paid for crowns...no out of pocket expense. Now that I am retired and have no dental ins., they still only charge me what the ins. would pay....about 50% of what others charge. And they do great work...at least the one in Oly. I am attaching a link to their website. They have offices in the Seattle area.

http://affordabledentalcare.com/locations.htm

Good luck

Allen