How Far Dental Technology Has Come

When I was a kid the Dentist had reusable huge needle syringes, crude extraction techniques by today's standards, forever adjusting braces, etc. Now they can print bite alignment devices that you can hardly see. Replace teeth with permanent prosthetic ones, scan your mouth to digitally produce a perfect fitting crown, know exactly what will fit where. Here are some pictures of the actual screw they installed this morning.

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The Oral Surgeon tried multiple different screws all digitally before selecting which to use. Also he could see how close they were to my sinus cavity to try not to have to do a Sinus Lift on me. These pictures he could rotate with a remote on the screen 360 degrees in any direction. Improvements in Dental Technology is a Fantastic help to us grocery hounds.

Look man, because of that cow needle my old dentist use to use when I was a kid, I still get tensed up just when getting my teeth cleaned. I mean you’re right, the technology and techniques have definitely changed for the better. But when you’re tortured from about nine to nineteen, well let’s just say you don’t shake that easily. The irony of all this is, my wife worked for a dentist and the retired working for an oral surgeon. My daughter went to college to be a dental assistant, thank goodness she changed to be an accountant. My daughter in law now works for the old Oral Surgeon my wife use to work for handling all his insurance stuff. I guess I was destined to be around those people who administer pain!


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And think about it, in 10 years the technology you're talking about will be obsolete. I have a daughter that was born with a hole in her heart, 10 years prior to her birth they woulda given her a 50/50 chance to survive surgery to fix it. When she had her surgery the odds were over 99% for her to survive, and that negative one percent was given only because she would be under anesthesia. She was 6 months old when they did that surgery and they patched up her walnut sized heart from the inside. We've come a long way for sure. Both sets of my Grandparents never flew on a plane and did not have inside toilets till I was about 8 years old. I still remember using their outhouse back then.

Even with all that, drilling that stud into your jaw, rouch! Not gonna lie, does not sound like fun.

My mom has had two of those studs put in lately. While it hurts the bill hurts way more.

My friend is a dentist but yes the surgeon is expensive. After my friend looked over all the x-rays this was the only problem tooth. It died years ago and a root canal was done. It got sensitive to cold and when he checked it the tooth cracked causing a problem.

This morning all good, Slab they open up a hole and hammer the screw in, everyone should pay extra to get put under for this part of the implant. They have to x-ray the work afterwards to be sure it is right and may need to adjust the screw so you are not totally out but you don't know much till Hammer Time. The good news with the Tech he knew everything up front, size of the screw, angle of install, sinus cavity distance, quality of bone graft, all in all not a terrible experience. The gap in my bite is driving me crazy, y'all all know how much I like to eat.

Our medical system is the best in the world but also the most expensive. Fortunately stuff like fixing my old truck, roofs on all the building from last year's tornado, trading for my marine equipment or at the very least buying used, growing some of our own groceries and being ingredients people in general (not eating out) saves a Dump Truck load of money so paying when needed for a implant is not as painful as it is to some.

Slab I feel for the guy's who have aged out and can't do their own work anymore. Like your Stubby Camper project the really unnecessary projects we keep putting in front of us keeps us moving for the long haul.

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Originally Posted by SuperDave336

My mom has had two of those studs put in lately. While it hurts the bill hurts way more.

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Bud I really don't know how people go without teeth. Drove both of us crazy. Between the wife & I's implants in the last year I have less in my little Mercedes-Benz now.

Japanese scientists have been working on a medication that will re grow teeth. Medicine advances extremely fast

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Originally Posted by DockShootinJack

Japanese scientists have been working on a medication that will re grow teeth. Medicine advances extremely fast

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I saw that. Only thing is currently if you took the drug it would regrow the whole mouth full of teeth wiping out any corrective work like braces, etc. I imagine only a matter of time though before they figure that out.

Does this new magic medicine grow teeth like we originally had? If so, count me out. I spent tons of hours in a dentist chair as a kid, for some reason my teeth were always bad. Had my 1st dentures at 19, can't imagine how many trips to the dentist I made between 7 to 19 years old

The oral surgeon gave me 2 thumbs up on the healing and I got a chance to take a actual picture of the implant screw and cap. The caps direct the gums or shape the gums may be a better description while they heal.

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The Imaging Equipment today is phenomenal! If they miss with this equipment they have a really bad Aim!

Wow, that one image is like a color photo.

Man that’s a crazy detailed image!

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Originally Posted by Slab

Wow, that one image is like a color photo.

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Looks like fried green tomato in there to me. :Rofl

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Originally Posted by Slab

Wow, that one image is like a color photo.

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I know, Right! I had other pictures but thought these got the message across. He had to wail on that screw the last 5 licks of the hammer. Said my sinus bones wouldn't budge. Woke me up from a drip coma and loosened some of the crystals in my inner ear with those licks.

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Originally Posted by Rojo

I know, Right! I had other pictures but thought these got the message across. He had to wail on that screw the last 5 licks of the hammer. Said my sinus bones wouldn't budge. Woke me up from a drip coma and loosened some of the crystals in my inner ear with those licks.

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Yeah uhhh, I think I'll pass. Glad I gots all my toofs and only one crown, so hopefully that's how I get buried. I don't need no "wailing on bones loosening no crystals"!!!

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Originally Posted by Slab

Yeah uhhh, I think I'll pass. Glad I gots all my toofs and only one crown, so hopefully that's how I get buried. I don't need no "wailing on bones loosening no crystals"!!!

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Bud. I fix Boats for Teeth. I didn't take care of my teeth in my youth but drank tons of Milk. Never a broken bone. You Know how I like to eat. 1 Crown? I've broken 3 just eating, my dentist will only put metal or Zirconia crowns in me now. I love to Eat.

As a youth I had an accident riding a bicycle in the desert doing things I nor that bike was meant to do. 20" stingray bikes were not made to jump hills with 15-20' drop offs as fast as you could pedal repeatedly...Well the last drop off on the last round, the front wheel came off mid air. I got rid of the bike before I hit ground. Not only did my feet hit ground, but so did my chin. hit hard enough to break to molars side by side. They broke front to back. x-rays didn't show the break. I kept telling the dentist they were broke, and he didn't believe me. Sent me home. three days latter with an abscessed jaw, they finally believed me they were broke. When they finally got to semi fixing them the dentist numbed me a couple times and went to pulling, and I went to making sure no one in the office could hear for awhile, screaming at the top of my lungs. Ever since, I don't trust dentists, nor did I really take care of my teeth. Now they want $12,000 to pull my teeth I have left, and give me false teeth....

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Originally Posted by Jamesdean

As a youth I had an accident riding a bicycle in the desert doing things I nor that bike was meant to do. 20" stingray bikes were not made to jump hills with 15-20' drop offs as fast as you could pedal repeatedly...Well the last drop off on the last round, the front wheel came off mid air. I got rid of the bike before I hit ground. Not only did my feet hit ground, but so did my chin. hit hard enough to break to molars side by side. They broke front to back. x-rays didn't show the break. I kept telling the dentist they were broke, and he didn't believe me. Sent me home. three days latter with an abscessed jaw, they finally believed me they were broke. When they finally got to semi fixing them the dentist numbed me a couple times and went to pulling, and I went to making sure no one in the office could hear for awhile, screaming at the top of my lungs. Ever since, I don't trust dentists, nor did I really take care of my teeth. Now they want $12,000 to pull my teeth I have left, and give me false teeth....

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As I have ask people over the years why they hate going to the dentist the story is always the same, one bad experience scares us all away. I was turned on to Rush while being flown in for a emergency root canal from 100+ miles offshore. The PHI helicopter landed in the yard besides the dentist office, talk about taxi service. The pilot ask me if I wanted to sit up front with him so of course I said YES! When I put on the headphones so we could talk on the ride he had Rush playing in the background. When hurting as bad as I was the dentist couldn't do any worse. My current dentist is so good I would fall asleep in his chair except while both of his hands are in my mouth he wants to talk fishing. My kind of dentist.

I got the green light from the Oral Surgeon to continue on to the last phase of replacing the dead tooth I had. All the bone graft has grown together quite well.

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Pictured here is the Digital Scanning Wand. The Tech moves it all around inside my mouth and it creates a perfect 3D image with Vectors so a Implant Tooth can be manufactured that will fit perfectly the first time.

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Not exactly attractive photos but displays the point I'm making. No "Impressions" are needed anymore. No sitting with the putty in your mouth till it cures, sending the Impression off for the tooth to be designed from but the waiting still exists. My Dentist can make Crowns inhouse now but not the type of Implant Tooth I'm getting. As everyone here knows, I like to Eat. I'm getting a Bulletproof tooth.

Wow, pretty cool. Thanks for sharing this good to know info.

That’s pretty cool and it’s amazing the technology we currently have. Just wait a couple more years and be further amazed. They are working on having your body regrow your teeth!

Very cool indeed. The VA doesn’t have this technology yet and it will probably be after I’m dead and gone that they do. I have a number 3 molar that is cracked open and needs a crown now. I’m waiting on an appointment for that. Additionally the VA doesn’t pay for molar implants just front teeth. Guessw gotta all look like beavers! :Rofl

I wish I had pictures at this time but I will go back to my Dentist's office to get some when they are not so busy. I wanted to explain how the actual Implant/Crown is assembled for lack of a better word. Once the bone graft heals the screw is installed. That has to have the bone grow to it next. Here is information I did know. The Implant Screw is threaded on the inside as well as the outside, kinda like a Heil-a-coil for your mouth. When the Crown came in and I went in to have it installed my Dentist kept talking about "Torquing" the tooth. Finally I had to ask since he was not turning the Crown down onto the Implant Screw. Well the Crown is hollow and has a screw inside it that threads into the Implant Screw. That gets Torqued then a temporary filling is used first then a permanent filling is used to finish filling the hole up. He said if there is a problem later they drill the outer filling out then the inner which comes out much easier to access the Crown retaining screw to remove the Crown.

This is something coming up for me I'm not looking forward to at all...

I’d rather be reading about how y’all caught big slabs but here is my dental two cents.
I being raised without fluoridated water had several cavities growing up. I was fortunate that my best bud K through 6th grades Dad was a dentist and gave my parents a big discount. I have a mouth full of silver fillings and as a filled tooth cracks I get a root canal and a crown. Not fun. Fluoride was a game changer in the dental field.

Bon Temps!!