My periodontist wants to do osseous surgery on teeth # 1,2,3 & 4. I had flap surgery done 8 years ago on all 4 sides and I have since that time had cleanings done every 3 months religiously. So far I have managed to keep things quite stable, until recently in this one area. I want to retire soon. What should I do? I already have too many teeth missing and it’s too sad to think of losing even more. Your thoughts please?
Thank you kindly.
- Joanne from Wisconsin
Joanne,
The answer to your question depends entirely on what your periodontist is seeing in your mouth.
I can tell you that there has been a lot of new thinking on periodontal surgery in recent years, and that the profession is tending toward trying to manage periodontal disease with less surgery than used to be done. But whether or not the surgery would be good for you, that I can’t tell you.
I you have these doubts, I would just suggest a second opinion from another periodontist. But when you do that, don’t give the second periodontist any clue as to what the first one said, and don’t let him or her know who the first periodontist is. You want a completely blind second opinion, uninfluenced by any outside forces. So you would need to ask for a copy of the x-rays and take that to the second periodontist.
Other links:
Dr. Thein tries to be available as a Los Angeles emergency dentist.
Also read about Los Angeles dental anxiety.