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Another Bone Loss Question

J

JellyBaby

Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2021
Messages
37
Location
Christchurch
I have just finished my perio treatment - 2 deep cleaning appointments - and she seemed pleased that the first half was healing well when I saw her for the second appointment. Then she told me that I have 'hardly any bone' left. This has absolutely petrified me, particularly as I am still having trouble with LL7 in that it feels 'weird', and there is a gum abscess draining from it. I have been to the regular dentist who did all the tapping and cold tests which she said were OK, and told me to finish the perio treatment before she has another look at it, and that I don't need antibiotics for the abscess. She has said I will probably need root canal or extraction of said tooth eventually. The tooth doesn't hurt. I am scared. Root canal is bad enough, but I am so scared that all the pushing and pulling associated with an extraction could fracture the bit of bone I have left there. Is that possible? What would happen if it did? I really thought that things would look up after the perio treatment as long as I maintained a strict cleaning regime - which I am doing - but this has really got me anxious and frightened again. Would appreciate any advice or shared experience. Thank you.
 
Also forgot to mention that I take Oxytetracycline for rosacea on and off. I really need to take a course at the moment (all the worry and anxiety over my teeth has resulted in a bad rosacea flare-up!). Is it OK to take them whilst I have the draining gum abscess?
 
You're getting a bit mixed up regarding the bone thing. When they're talking about "hardly any bone left" they mean the alveolar bone which supports the teeth, not the structural stuff that makes up your skeleton. There is absolutely no danger of jaw fractures etc in your case.
If there is a periodontal abscess then the prognosis for the tooth is very poor I'm afraid, they can settle down but they do tend to recur. Not sure how a root canal could help in this case but I've not seen you or your x-rays.
Don't be discouraged, this is not a failure of your current regime, it's just that this particular tooth was a bit too far gone to be saved. Doesn't mean the rest of them will fail though.

Oxytetracycline is absolutely fine to take, in fact there's a school of thought that thinks a small dose of Tetracyclines is very helpful for long term gum therapy :)
 
Thanks for your reply, Gordon. You have set my mind at rest on that one, anyway! I am just so fed up with being completely consumed with thoughts about my teeth and gums! I unfortunately feel the same re LL7 - it is the only area still bleeding on using interdental brushes so something must be very wrong with it. Terrified of extraction though and getting a dry socket!
 
Well if it's any help, it's going to be about the easiest extraction you could possibly have, there won't be much holding the tooth in by the sounds of it...
Dry socket is actually pretty rare, it's even more rare with periodontally involved extractions for some boring anatomical reasons. Unless you're a chain smoker who can't stop for a few hours, it's pretty unlikely to be an issue for you.
 
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