Can an affordable dentist do anything about painful wisdom teeth?

Can an affordable dentist do anything about wisdom teeth? My wisdom teeth didn’t bother me when I was in my teens. Now I’m 33 years old and they are starting to hurt. I don’t do well at dentist’s office. I’m sure I have a phobia and I’ve been dentist hopping for the past 3 years. I’ve never let the same dentist clean my teeth for than twice. It seems like they usually find something wrong with my teeth, so I just move on to the next person so I won’t feel any pressure. My wisdom teeth are starting to concern me because the gums around both bottom teeth are started to swell and they do hurt. The top wisdom teeth don’t hurt every day, but I feel pain several times a week. Is this something an affordable dentist can? I have a new job and I have to wait 6 months for dental coverage. Also, how much pain should I expect? Jada

Jada – If you have swollen gums around your wisdom teeth and they hurt, you should see a dentist right away. It sounds as if your wisdom teeth are infected.

It’s not that the dentist will be able to extract the teeth, but he or she will examine your teeth, temporarily relieve the pain, and let you know your treatment options. If your wisdom teeth are impacted, or if a difficult removal is anticipated, you will be referred to an oral surgeon.

Ask about Options for Affordable Dental Care

When you call the office, you can ask about financial arrangements and how the dentist can make treatment affordable for you. Ask the same questions if you are referred to an oral surgeon.  Payment plans and financing are often available.

Reasons to Visit a Dentist for Painful Wisdom Teeth

It’s important to have your painful wisdom teeth examined by an emergency dentist right away. There are several reasons:

  • They can cause other teeth to shift.
  • As teeth shift, it can make it difficult to maintain good oral hygiene.
  • Additional infections can occur and lead to root canal treatment for those teeth

Oral surgeons are skilled at keeping pain and discomfort to a minimum with sedation dentistry. Most patients don’t feel any pain during the extraction process. Discomfort after oral surgery is managed with prescribed painkillers. Be certain to follow post-care instructions.

Before you visit an emergency dentist, take some time to check his or her credentials and experience.

This post is sponsored by affordable Plano TX dentist Dr. Miranda Lacy.

 

 

 

5 Things to Know about Teeth Whitening, Dating, and Your Smile

How important is teeth whitening for dating and your social life? A 2015 survey conducted in behalf of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry concluded that our smile is one feature of our appearance that can defy age. It can be the secret to our attractiveness.

Before and after photos for information on free teeth whitening, from Plano TX dentist Miranday Lacy DDS.
White teeth can make a lasting first impression

The majority of survey participants said that an investment in their smile is more important than an investment in weight loss, hair enhancement, or enhancements to other facial features.

What does it all mean? That your smile is important to other people. If you are dating, or trying to find someone to date, don’t take your smile for granted. A clean, bright smile can go a long way in attracting a date—or even just friends. In addition to teeth whitening from your dentist, what else can you do to make a great first impression?

Enhance Your Smile with Teeth Whitening and More

  • Floss between your teeth daily – Flossing not only makes your teeth look better, it helps prevent gum disease, and can help freshen your breath.
  • Brush your teeth twice daily – This helps keep teeth clean and bright.
  • Whiten your teeth – Professional whitening from a dentist gives you the best results. If you can’t afford professional whitening, whitening toothpastes will help control surface stains. Over-the-counter whitening strips will help. Brushing your teeth with baking soda, or rubbing the inside of banana peel (which contains magnesium and potassium) can help reduce surface stains on our teeth.
  • Cosmetic dental treatment – Dental bonding is an affordable way to restore chipped teeth, or to reshape teeth. If you need to restore a broken down tooth, porcelain veneers or porcelain crowns can help. Orthodontic treatment can align your teeth, which is not only better for your smile, but also for your overall oral health.
  • Keep your breath fresh – Regular flossing, brushing, and mouthwash should keep your breath fresh. If you’ve tried them all, but are still struggling with bad breath, speak with your dentist about it. Gum disease, tooth decay, medication, or a medical condition may be causing the problem. Your dentist can help you identify the issue.

Your smile can make a first impression and leave a lasting impression. Don’t take it for granted.

 

This post is sponsored by Plano TX female dentist Dr. Miranda Lacy. She offers free teeth whitening to patients who keep their regularly schedule appointments for a dental cleaning and exam.

How can I get my wife to stop requesting sedation at the dentist?

I’m afraid that my wife may be using sedation dentistry as a crutch. I don’t really blame her for wanting to have the meds, but it throws us into a bit of chaos every time she needs to have dental work done. Without going too much into detail, her childhood dentist was pretty brutal. He left her with an intense fear of the dentist. Her teeth looked fine when I met her, but as the years went by, they deteriorated quite a bit and she refused to see a dentist. We found a sedation dentist to help her and I will say that she has been a godsend. We made it through the series of appointments necessary to get her smiling again and life is good.

However, every time something comes up now- even if it’s a tiny cavity being filled- she asks for oral conscious sedation (OCS). We’ve got a good relationship with this doctor and my wife seems to trust her, but it’s hard for me to take the day off work just because my wife needs a filling. Plus, our insurance doesn’t cover it, so you know who’s paying for it- me. I don’t mean to sound insensitive, but it seems like this has gone on long enough. At some point, she should be able to go without the meds, right? At what point can I safely interrupt this trend and tell her to be mature about this?

Thank you,

Raymond

 

Dear Raymond,

This is a particularly interesting question with no definitive answer. However, we can explain what might be happening.

Any Kind of Trauma Can Leave Lasting Emotional Scars

We don’t know what happened specifically with your wife, but a trauma of any kind can have a lasting impact on a person. For example, a child who is ridiculed in school may begin to think that a school is a bad place where he or she does not belong. The child will associate learning with ridicule and have trouble excelling. A child who is beaten by a parent learns to avoid their parent and often avoids relationships later in life as a result. Some children never learn how to form close bonds with others.

A person who witnesses a violent event, such as a shooting, may also develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They can become hypervigilant and anxious and be unable to return to the place where the event happened. Or they might be constantly on alert waiting for it to happen again. These people can often muddle through life without treating the underlying problem, but their quality of life diminishes. For example, the bullied child may never finish school. The abused child may never have a healthy relationship. The crime witness may withdraw from the things he or she loves.

The Right Way to Address Trauma Varies

The field of mental health care is filled with many different methods to help people overcome trauma so they can live healthy and full lives. Arguably, the most well-known is talk therapy. There are also other avenues a licensed mental/ behavioral healthcare professional might try, such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), coaching, and teaching the person healthy coping mechanisms. We don’t know the level of distress you wife feels or how deep it goes, so it’s difficult to say what type of therapy she needs.

A Sedation Dentist Can Help Reduce Anxiety, Now and Forever

For some, dental anxiety doesn’t go away without some kind of care from a mental health specialist. Choosing OCS or a similar variant is a crutch in some cases, but if it empowers them to get the care they need, it’s worthwhile. For others, the extra care afforded by a sedation dentist lets them build positive memories with their dental care team. In time, with lots of positive experiences, your wife’s prior experiences may diminish so much that she sees the treatment as a positive and enjoyable thing. However, all this is probably happening in her subconscious. Even if she trusts her doctor and knows the office is safe, she’s already been conditioned to be fearful. There is no timeline or formula that flips a switch and allows her to not have anxiety.

In short, there is no right time to take control and insist your wife has dental appointments without sedation. She’s not doing anything wrong and if she’s anxious, she’s likely unable to control it. While there is no harm in having an open discussion with her about how she feels about treatment without the medication, it’s best not to insist on it. If anxiety seeps into other areas of her life, it may be worthwhile for her to talk to a mental health professional and start dealing with some of the underlying causes. If it’s purely dental anxiety, please respect it. Your support will make a world of difference in her confidence and willingness to continue with getting treatment.

 

This blog is sponsored by Plano sedation dentist Dr. Miranda Lacy.