Dentist Advice

[Dirty Don]

I'm not sure which kind of premedication you need Rebekah...LOL, sorry, couldn't resist that! Anyway, I just had some major work done a few weeks ago. Doc gave me a strong dose of amoxycillin for a week afterwards, no premedication at all, and I've done OK other than the body reacting to the work done, and I was fine.

[Debbie C]

Yea Rebekah most dentists offices usually have those Care Credit forms on the counter and they can get you approved right there the same day.

[windchime]

There is also a lot of different dental insurances out there. Just Google dental insurance and compare the plans. They don't cover certain things for a year but some of the basics are covered immediately. Low monthly rates around $30 depending on what you get.

[drz]

For root canal or extraction work they also had me stop my azathioprine for two days before the work. No extra antibiotic was prescribed for me. I have lot of dental issues from dry mouth, diabetes, and meds for Wegs and no dental insurance. I get a small discount for paying cash for my work. I had a dental plan two years ago that cost $600 a year but my total dental bills that year were a little less than the insurance cost plus the insurance only paid about 50% so there was little chance it would ever pay to have it given the max it would pay for each procedure and each year.

[Jaypfei]

My dentist would only do check up and cleaning if I wasn't on steriod and was taking antibiotic. Thankfully I was at an in between stage in treatment.....not taking prednisone but still taking the Bactrim three times a week.
Wishing you much luck and prayers with the procedures .

[Pete]

I had one wisdom tooth pulled yesterday, so I guess I'm 25% less wise today . Anyway, I learned a few things that might be worth sharing...

My problem started when I noticed that tooth #14 (third from last tooth on upper left jaw) was sensitive to pressure. It was a little painful, but on a scale of 1 -10, it was probably a 3 at worst. I visited my dentist. He verified the location of the problem and took an x-ray that showed a large cavity in the wisdom tooth (#16) two teeth farther back. He was befuddled about the pain in #14, so he referred me to an endodontist, who after another x-ray, was just as befuddled. He sent me home and told me to monitory symptoms for the next couple of weeks. They never got worse, and gradually got better, but didn't disappear entirely. My dentist also recommended that the wisdom tooth should come out as the cavity was located between teeth, and it would be very difficult to treat.

The extraction was done under local anesthetic. I felt nothing. I heard the crunching and grinding as he worked the tooth out. Took about a minute. No pain whatsoever since. Just doing saline rinses to keep it clean.

I asked the oral surgeon a couple of questions. One concerned why I was having issues with #14 when #16 had the cavity. He said that it was most likely referred pain. There is no evidence that #14 had any issues at all.

I also asked a question regarding the location of the maxillary sinuses as I do daily sinus rinses with a neti-pot. Those sinuses are above the roots of the upper jaw's teeth, and sometimes the bone gets perforated when a tooth is extracted. He said that if that happens, it generally resolves itself within a few weeks. Just wonder what would happen to a weggie who is on high dose pred and leach more calcium than the body is absorbing.

So, here I am, fortunately feeling normal. I'll continue to follow the post-op instructions and take appropriate measures if something seems to be wrong.

[annekat]

I had two wisdom teeth removed along with the neighboring molars, because the rot in the wisdoms had spread to the molars and one day one of the molars just broke off. I have a high pain threshold and didn't feel much. Anyway, this was after my Wegs dx, and my "WG doc", in quotes for a reason, had told me not to have any tooth extractions at that point in my treatment, which was fairly early on. I only knew about one wisdom tooth being bad and kept putting it off. Eventually, the molar broke, I had the money, and I had to to what I had to do. It was not a problem at all. I don't remember being asked to stop any of my WG meds. I think they gave me an additional antibiotic and think I probably still took the Bactrim. It all went very smoothly and quickly, under local anesthetic, and I only had to use one painkiller pill. The recovery was quick. I may complain about my docs here a lot, but I have no complaint about my dentist and the oral surgeon he recommended. They both have knowledge of WG. They both teach at the University of Washington but practice in Olympia, so I don't have to go out of town to see them.

[mishb]

I have two teeth that have broken off since WG diagnosis.

My dentist will not touch them until I receive a letter from both my GP and my Rheumy, stating that it is okay to proceed with any treatment.

It's now been 2 years and I still haven't got the letters

[annekat]

That's awful, Michelle. I wonder if another dentist would have a different point of view. Either that, or keep bugging your docs for those letters.

[windchime]

I'm in the process of getting 3 crowns. 2 have already been prepped with the new crowns being put on next week and the other will have prep done next week also. My dentist seemed unconcerned regarding the wegs and/or the meds. I also went to the endodontist for eval on a redo of a previous root canal and he seemed unconcerned. So I guess I just have a couple of unconcerned dentists. Luckily no problems either.