Wellness

[LilacTree]

On 2/5/2015 happy housewife said:

On 2/5/2015 Madisson said:

On 2/4/2015 happy housewife said:

On 2/4/2015 Madisson said:

On 2/4/2015 happy housewife said:

On 2/4/2015 Desertdi said:

A bridge has to be anchored by either two real teeth, or two implants. Never a combination.

Clearly that is not so as he actually does have a pin on one end and a tooth on the other, and it has been there since around 1967, with at least one new bridge in those years. he was playing backyard football without a helmet and fell onto a large rock that did a bunch of damage to his teeth.

Happy Housewife, I think the confusion comes from the tooth with the pin in it. It is not a pin just stuck in his jaw. The pin is in the remains of his tooth. They build up a tooth around the pin with various dental materials. Sometimes there isn't much tooth left at all. So, he does have two natural teeth to work with.

The question for the dentist would be is that tooth with the pin in it strong enough to support a new bridge. Yes, your husband has decay in the little bit of natural tooth structure in the tooth with the pin with it. It is very frustrating.

Before I was a nurse, I worked one year as a dental assistant. I would highly suggest a second opinion...and make the dentist clarify everything. In fact, write a list of questions to take along with you. Good luck!

Of course I have never seen this but my DH says it is just a pin - no tooth. I have to trust that he should know what is there.

It's complicated, but the fact that there is decay on that tooth means he either has a pin or a post in the tooth...which was probably broken off near the gumline. Yes, dentistry is terribly expensive. He could consider a removable partial denture too. There are a lot of new options with those. I wish your husband the best on whatever he decides.

so, if there is so little tooth there already and then it decays, wouldn't it be better to remove it and just make the bridge another tooth longer?

Bingo!!!