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Dr. Andrew Rynne

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Gum Decay Due To Food Collection, Loose Tooth. Root Canal Prescribed. Alternative Treatment?

I have a five year old four prong bridge, which was not installed correctly, therefore a large piece of my gum was left around the side of my tooth where food collected which seems to have caused decay. When I bite on the tooth if feels as though it is moving up and down and it is very tender. I am being told that I need to have a root canal and have the bridge made over. My problem is I don t have six-thousand dollars. Should my dentist be able to take off my existing bridge to perform the root canal and then put my old bridge back in place? Or is their a much more inexpensive to correct this problem. My dentist states that there is a space around the wisdom took which is allowing food and will, if it has not yet, cause decay.
Fri, 19 Oct 2012
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Dentist, Orthodontics 's  Response
hi
the alternative to the problem is to get the root canal done in the tooth without removing the bridge .
your dentist can make the access cavity by drilling through the the cap on the tooth in question and complete the RCT with the old bridge still in place.
this will take care of the pain and tenderness. later on when you are a bit comfortable with the expenses you can get the old bridge removed and get a new bridge.
this way your expenses will be split and the discomfort will be gone too.
take care.
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Dentist Dr. Bibhu Dutt Nanda's  Response
hello and welcome to HCM forum,
i would like to inform you that your dentist has guided you to the right track , and therefore removal of the 4 unit bridge is very important to perform root canal treatment of the concerned tooth . also,removing a bridge is a very tedious process, it needs to be removed very carefully, it is not possible to fix the same bridge again, as it gets distorted once it is out.
if you do not want to go for a new bridge then there is an other cheaper option available ,i.e removal partial denture. kindly discuss it with your dentist , because the condition of the teeth and surrounding tissues need to be checked before making a decision for removable partial denture.
but for now,kindly go for root canal treatment ,
i wish you good health,
take care.
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Dentist Dr. Geoffrey Ward's  Response
Hello and thank you for your question.
I agree with Dr. Bibhu Dutt Nanda. Your dentist has lead you to the correct treatment plan. If you do an access prep within the bridge and to the root canal, you are not correcting the problem of having a bridge that has improper contours. Also, if the tooth is loose or the bridge is loose, you need to have it removed and possibly the tooth extracted. Another option would be to get a partial denture as well.

Best wishes and good health.

Dr. Ward
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Dentist Dr. Bindiya Bhaskar's  Response
hello,
since your dentist has recommended root canal treatment,you have to get it done.
if you cannot afford the cost of replacing bridge after rct,you can ask for removable partial denture depending on the condition of surrounding periodontal strength.
discuss with your dentist regarding this.
piercing access cavity through the bridges can make them more ill-fitting.this in turn increases the risk of interdental plaque accumulation resulting in gingivitis.
if tooth is mobile and cannot be saved,go for extraction and thereby bridge replacement.
regards
DR.BINDIYA
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Dentist Dr. Udaykumar Bondre's  Response
Hello & welcome,

Improper placement or making of the bridge, creates the problem which you are facing & that is food collection.

Food accumulation around tooth or under the bridge causes decaying or caries in the abutment tooth (support tooth). And if you are getting the feeling of tooth going slightly down on application of pressure, then that particular tooth has been decayed to pulp level & there is abscess formation around the tooth.

Abscess present around the tooth gives cushioning effect on application of pressure along with pain & swelling.

If this is the case, it can definitely be treated with Root canal treatment followed by placement of new bridge with proper crown preparation by dentist.

Definitely the role of antibiotics & painkillers is vital here as there is infection along with abscess formation.

Yes you should go for making new bridge because doing root canal treatment only will not clear the main problem associated with the bridge ( gap underneath ).

This can only be treated with repeated crown cutting & impression taken with due care by the dentist.

If there is food accumulation around wisdom tooth which thereby infect it, you should go for x-ray & even extraction of the same tooth if dentist feels that prognosis is poor.

Take Care.
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Dentist Dr. Neha Sumra's  Response
Hello
Welcome to HCM
I suggest you to follow your dentist's advise because Root Canal Treatment will give you permanent relief from this problem & it should be done only after removing bridge because drilling through bridge will further weaken it. You may ask your dentist for removing your bridge safely & later on placing same bridge.I have done such cases & its a bit tricky but can be done.
Mouth preparation is very essential before planing any prosthesis.If you have mobility in your any teeth than better get it extracted because it will not support fixed prosthesis.
Other alternative that can be done is removable partial denture & that's a bit cheaper also.
Consult your dentist about that & plan accordingly.

Take Care
Regards
Dr.Neha
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Gum Decay Due To Food Collection, Loose Tooth. Root Canal Prescribed. Alternative Treatment?

hi the alternative to the problem is to get the root canal done in the tooth without removing the bridge . your dentist can make the access cavity by drilling through the the cap on the tooth in question and complete the RCT with the old bridge still in place. this will take care of the pain and tenderness. later on when you are a bit comfortable with the expenses you can get the old bridge removed and get a new bridge. this way your expenses will be split and the discomfort will be gone too. take care.