QUESTION: Hi, I have been using calcium therapy on three teeth in my lower jaw for about six months now. One ( rear molar) has responded very well indeed and feels quite secure now. The middle one seems quite a bit better but the end one (a canine) is still very loose thought he gum around it has stopped bleeding. Should I give up on the canine or keep going? Is there anything else I can do? I want to keep it if I can as these three teeth are three of four which anchor my lower denture.
It is a wonderful therapy whatever happens in this case, thank you very much. – Edward in Cambridgeshire, UK
ANSWER: Good job using the calcium materials. That cuspid (canine) is very important. Save it even if it needs a root canal. Since your back teeth tightened from the Calcium Therapy, they were infected on the OUTSIDE and are still alive. If the cuspid did not tighten, that must be infected or dead on the INSIDE, and needs a root canal. Root canals have been given a bad rap, esp. by those who like to take teeth out and do implants and dentures, and may not consider recent electron microscope research.
Of the few teeth with a root canals that fail, almost all are due to a fracture in the body of the tooth, NOT due to the root canal itself. Now we know why root canals work 98% of the time and are not dangerous. Yes, root-canaled teeth are nearly non-vital, and yet, are safe, just like fingernails are almost non-vital, and yet, safe. But fractured teeth should be removed. If anyone scares you about root canals they may be afraid of commonsense science that clearly keeps patients healthier and in need of less dental care.
On the other hand, implants work (“take”) only 75% of the time, AND we now have a new dental field, Peri-implantitis, a vicious infection of implants. They have no natural resistance to infection like teeth do. Avoid people who like to give up on teeth.
So, you best save that cuspid, even if it needs a root canal and loses its crown, like in the case under a denture. That root alone will save the BONE and work better as a “natural” implant.
We have done this very successfully for over 50 years, with or without the calcium materials.
Mark DDS