Crack user teeth advice needed

Old 03-21-2007, 08:59 AM
  # 21 (permalink)  
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i have to say that the chemicals in meth, crack, and even todays pot mess with your teeth. my friend had really nice teeth and BAM the meth and pot messed them up big time. thank you
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Old 03-21-2007, 10:14 AM
  # 22 (permalink)  
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Thx everyone for your advice. Just to clarify, RAS has over two months clean and plans on staying that way. Which makes a big diff in how much to invest in his teeth. Also, hopefully he will get a job with dental insurance of some kind. I know that normally dental ins. only pays about half of crowns or root canals so it's still alot of money.
This tooth is one of the upper front teeth so going for the root canal at $600 now and figure the rest out later when he gets a job. Hopefully, the crown can wait that long :-)
Helpus, your idea sounds like the most logical and cost efficient, but at only 30 yrs. old, I hate to recommend the denture route quite yet.
He insists that crack destroyed his teeth...something about it being acidic? I dunno. But then his dental hygiene did go out the window with his addiction, too.
What I don't understand is why good dental care costs so much money these days. They can do a complete root canal on a front tooth (single canal) in half hour....but they want $600 for it! That's $1200 and hour! There's no hidden costs like with caps or bridgework, so that's just pure profit for them. It's also the same amount of time that they would spend on a $90 filling....doesn't make sense.
My Aunt goes to a local school of dentistry to get all her dental work done, so that's another idea for him to think about.
Wish I had access to a dental office...I could do all of the root canals myself...and probably better than the dentist...hehe! When I first started as an endodontic dental assistant, I used to be able to work on patients myself, with no supervision...but so much has changed since then. I even worked for one dentist that would prep the cavity, then turn it over to me to plug and carve the amalgam filling. He could get sued for that today :-)
I still keep up my dental radiologic license, but even with that, dentists still don't like me looking at the x-rays. In my experience, most dentists have god complexes. And all dental assts. should be given "medals of courage".
:-)
Thx again! SM
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Old 03-21-2007, 10:57 AM
  # 23 (permalink)  
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Originally Posted by anvilhead View Post
ok, nosing in for just a second.....am i understanding that you plan to shell out $$ for his dental work? seems to me like this self care option might more appropriately belong with the 30 yr old RA....????
Heck no!...HE'S shelling out the bucks. I'm just trying to advise, from a more knowledgeable point of view on the best way to spend the bucks.
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Old 03-21-2007, 02:02 PM
  # 24 (permalink)  
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Talked with my dentist today. He said the major problem with methmouth is funding. Most people in a situation of need have already spent all their money and can't pay for restoration. If funds are there, it is a tooth by tooth issue. Some need a lot some need a little.
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Old 03-21-2007, 02:25 PM
  # 25 (permalink)  
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Sm, If you had asked me this question a few years ago I never would have suggested dentures. I worked for 13 years in a very well to do town, where $$ was no object for most, I didn't see the things I see now. I am 1 mile from home working in my own comunity where people are just middle class and we get alot of people who have some serious dental issues. Some were never taught better, some just did'nt have the $$ to fix things, and some are addicts & some are college kids who go away to school & live on Mt Dew. This is a whole different world for me. Like I had a guy in last week who works for prob min wage, and needed root canal, post core build up, & a crown if he wanted to save the tooth. He wanted to save the tooth & pay like $1450 on a line of credit we offer. But he didn't even own a car. At first he was going to sign his life away to fix it, & I told him to take a while to make a decision & call us in a bit so we could schedule something. He called back and he couldn't really afford it & opted to have it extracted for $110. I mean he could have had a decent down payment on a car for that. But I have learned that dentures on the upper arn't all that bad. I do think it's hard when people are young, but sometimes the $$ could go to something more needed. I do think a nice smile gives people self confidence. But it doesn't always have to be done for thousands upon thousands of dollars. the Dr should have given you a treatment plan with 2 or 3 options on it. You need to do what feels right in your heart. If you don't like what he said, bring the x rays to another Dr & get another opinion. I bet you and your son are looking forward to his new smile.
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Old 03-23-2007, 06:18 PM
  # 26 (permalink)  
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meth mouth

Hi, I was on meth for 12 years. I now have 8 months clean and finally made the trip to the college of dentistry....
I need 15 fillings
2 crowns
3 extractions w/ implants
total cost $4000
Dental schools are the way to go if your low on cash
or go to Mexico it's even cheaper.
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