If it’s the last thing I do before I die, I will succeed becoming a dentist
A person very close to me had a tough youth in Korea. At about age two she was dropped off at the orphanage. Soon she…
Author: Ernst Weber
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A person very close to me had a tough youth in Korea. At about age two she was dropped off at the orphanage. Soon she…
A person very close to me had a tough youth in Korea. At about age two she was dropped off at the orphanage. Soon she was adopted but the couple had relationship problems and shoved her off to the husband’s mother who didn’t want her either. In that environment as a small child, she was kicked out on the street repeatedly by her mad grandmother, once entirely naked, and abused as well as subjected to death threats. Her adoptive father found a new spouse who didn’t want her around either. At about 10 ½, she was presented with the choice to either remain in the hostile environment until she gets adopted by another family or go back to the orphanage. She chose the latter. At about 11 ½ she had a lucky break as she was adopted by an American Family. A big somewhat chaotic family with 14 children. But it was far better than before.
Now you’re wondering why I am telling you all this. Bear with me.
At age 11 ½ she ended up in 8th grade in the US without any English knowledge which was another obstacle in her life. Imagine having to catch up from 1st to 7th grade while attending 8th grade. The only positive that came out of it was that it probably toughened her up for what it took to become a dentist.
After high school she applied for pre-dent. She made it to be interviewed. During that interview she was asked why they should choose her, and why she thinks she would succeed becoming a dentist. She responded, “If it is the last thing before I die, I will succeed at becoming a dentist”. That got their attention and they believed she was a worthy candidate. They accepted her in pre-dent, and she made her own down payment with money earned on the side as a waitress to go to Pre-Dental School.
I am not trying to sell you $50,000 implant dentures but I need to put the fees for dental work in perspective, because if you are going about it the right way, you are getting hell of a bargain for dental work you get done, or dental work you can avoid.
Now before I proceed, I want to mention that she turned out to be a wonderful person. If you met her, you would not be the first person to feel that you just met an angel, or say, what several others have, that if you didn’t know she was married, you would marry her. I hope that gives you an idea what kind of education and knowledge a dentist has under his belt.
The cause and cost of handling dental problems is in many cases related to the root of the problem. It’s really simple, too many of certain types of bacteria eating and digesting food particles on and around your teeth leaving their byproducts that attack your teeth causing caries. That is why you brush your teeth after every meal if possible. But we are not perfect, so to a larger or lesser degree we all end up with teeth that need attention. You don’t want to spend a lot of money fixing your teeth just to leave the cause of the problem in place. That would be like going to the psychiatrist and expecting to become sane; Feel better yes, but just because you fixed your teeth doesn’t mean the cause is handled leading to further issues. I think most of us can improve our skills maintaining our teeth. A few possible causes:
There are a few things to know about amalgam fillings:
I believe it is easy for anyone to make their own decision based on a few facts. As a former Registered Dental Assistant a few things stick out to me. There are strict EPA rules regarding amalgam. Dental offices are held to strict adherence regarding disposal and are required by law to have amalgam separators installed. There are efforts to limit pollution by amalgam in many areas, and as mentioned above it is the second most toxic substance known to man. Nobody would argue with me that excessive amounts of mercury in a human body causes adverse health effects. I am not trying to determine what that amount is, but I don’t mess with it.
However, the main reason many people don’t know why amalgam fillings increase your dental expenses is of different nature. It is a bit technical but not too hard to understand. As in the statement of the ADA “It contains a mixture of metals such as silver, copper and tin, in addition to mercury, which binds these components into a hard, stable and safe substance.” The way an amalgam filling stays in place is accomplished by mechanical retention. In general, decay is removed, the hole to be filled is made wider at the bottom than the opening at the top. The soft amalgam is placed in the hole and hardens. Because it is narrower at the top it does not fall out. It does not bond with the tooth structure! That is all good and fine. But there are disadvantages.
Heat and cold from foods and liquids cause the filling to expand and shrink ever so slightly. Additionally, as we get older, our teeth are inclined to get a little bit weaker due to constant use. Just think about wear and tear a car is exposed to. Initially the filling is nicely sealed at the edges but over time there can be what is called micro leakage. When that occurs, you can get caries under your filling. The shrinking and expanding of the filling may cause cracks in your teeth besides the wear and tear. Some day you bite on something and to your surprise part of your tooth breaks off. Now you need a crown. It is not to say that a white composite filling would protect you 100% from that possibility but I can speak from my own experience. I had all my amalgam fillings replaced with composite fillings 25 years ago, and three or four crowns done. Not even one of my teeth broke. Yes, I needed two of the crowns replaced, but that was because they were worn too much after about 20 years. The technically well-done composite fillings bonded to my natural tooth structure and held the teeth together and functional much better in my humble opinion. I am aware of having two composite fillings on my front teeth that are over 30 years old and in good condition. Based on my experience composite fillings saved me a lot of money besides other habits I implemented for my dental health.
After being a very bad boy with my teeth as a young person I needed to change. I already had about 14 fillings and was only seventeen when I needed a root canal. I disliked going to the dentist and certainly didn’t allow any needles being used for anesthetics. I had the root canal done without anesthetics. It was so painful that I knew I needed to change. I felt my teeth were already as bad as a 35-year-old person’s. After my experience I feel regular dental checkups make sense.
There are a great many products we can buy to keep our teeth healthy, but are they worth the money?
The whole journey did take me about 18 years and I hope writing this article will help some people to get there faster. After that root canal I did a much better job brushing my teeth and went to the dentist more frequently. Having hardly any cavities anymore didn’t solve all my dental issues. Being clueless about the difference between cavities and bone loss of my jaw causing receding gums still deteriorated my dental health unnoticed. In my twenties I met an American girl who was surprised that I wasn’t flossing. Nobody in my family flossed and she taught me how to. In my thirties I educated myself and got from a D to an A in about 5 years. Here is what I have been doing to keep it that way.
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