Is it too late to treat my sinus perforation?

Hi, Dr. Hall,
I had a tooth removed about 6 weeks ago. My dentist told me that he could see right into my sinuses. Rt upper sinus perforation. He put me on a week’s worth of antibiotics. That was all. Nothing more than general post-extraction protocol. I also had 2 other teeth pulled. They have healed fine. But this one with the sinus perforation has not even closed yet. It feels like there is still a deep hole there. I have had several rounds of antibiotics from my GP for sinus infection. It didn’t help that I have a horrible headache everyday and a fever, not too high around 99.2 to 99.8. My question is … is it too late for him to follow the preferred sinus perforation protocol to fix this or am I headed to an oral surgeon or the ENT? Thanks so much,
Cheryl
 


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Cheryl
It sounds like you have had a persistent sinus infection ever since this extraction with the sinus perforation. With this extraction being six weeks ago, the perforation should have healed. The fact that it hasn’t makes me worried that there is a root tip of the tooth or a bone fragment or some other foreign object pushed up into your sinus. Have you had an x-ray of your sinus to see what is going on there? If I were in your shoes, I would seek a referral to an otorhinolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat physician) to check for that possibility and to provide proper care for this perforation. Had your dentist known how to take care of this incident, you wouldn’t be in your current situation. The sinus should be checked for any foreign objects. If present, they should be removed. That’s the tricky part of this. Then the hole should be closed. That’s the simpler part. After that, a course of antibiotics of about ten days should clear this up for you.
If there is indeed a tooth or bone fragment in your sinus, you are probably better off that your dentist didn’t close the hole.

Dr. Hall

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About David A. Hall

Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.

How can I hide the metal clasps from my partial denture?

Dr. Hall,
I have an upper and lower dental partial that have metal clamps which connect to my teeth. Is it possible to have the metal pieces colored pink to match my gums? I am very self-conscious when I smile and the metal is showing “gleaming.” Is this procedure possible and what will my price be? Thanking you in advance for your assistance with my current situation.
– Patricia from New York


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Patricia,
Unfortunately, I don’t believe there is any way to make the metal clasps on your removable partial pink. These metal clasps need to be flexible, and anything your dentist would bond to it would break off under the bending stress.

However, the gleaming that you get from light reflecting from the clasps can be toned down dramatically with a little sand blasting—something very simple to do. If your dentist doesn’t have a little “micro-etcher” device to do this job, his dental laboratory certainly would, and this is such a simple procedure that, if they didn’t offer to do it for free, the charge should be minimal. You could maybe even stop off at the dental lab yourself and have them do this. It will change the metal from being shiny and gleaming to a matte finish that doesn’t reflect much light.

photograph of a removable partial denture replacing three back teeth on each side of the mouth, made entirely of plastic

A Valplast Partial

For others who are in the market for new removable partial dentures, the new plastic clasps that can be either pink or transparent are much less obvious to people, and while these partials may not be as sturdy, I believe they are sturdy enough and are way more aesthetic. There are various brands of these. The photograph here is of a Valplast partial. DuraFlex is another brand.
– Dr. Hall

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About David A. Hall

Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.

Are Nesbit partials illegal in Pennsylvania?

Dr. Hall,
I had a partial Nesbit on my #2 upper molar (upper right) & threw it out in error at a restaurant.
I live in Pittsburgh, PA, & my dentist & the Pitt dental school tell me Nesbit partials are now illegal in PA.
Could you please tell me what states that are close to me permit Nesbit partials?
– Kathleen from Pennsylvania


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Kathleen,
I am not aware of any dental procedure or dental prosthesis being outlawed in any state. Hearing you tell me what your dentist and the dental school said about the Nesbit partial, I thought I would check the most recent version of Pennsylvania’s dental practice act. Not only did I see no mention of Nesbit partials, but I saw no section of the law where any particular dental procedure or device was outlawed. Several years ago I received a report from a patient in Oregon who said her dentist told her that Nesbits were illegal in Oregon, and I remain skeptical about that also.

Now maybe the Pennsylvania Dental Board has passed some rule on this, but I am highly skeptical. What could be the case, giving your dentist and the dental school the benefit of the doubt, is that there was some lawsuit in Pennsylvania where the dentist gave a patient a Nesbit partial and was successfully sued, but I think there would have to be some negligence on the part of the dentist for that suit to be successful—a failure to warn the patient of the risks of such a partial. Or maybe what is going on is that the dental school and your dentist are so adamant about the risks of this small partial that they are exaggerating the situation.

So if you’re really determined to get another Nesbit partial, I would start by asking around to other dentists in Pittsburgh. If other dentists confirm that it is illegal, then I’m pretty confident that you could go across the border into Ohio or West Virginia with no problem and find a dentist to do this.

Having said that, I think you would be better off listening to their strong discouragement on this and getting some other type of tooth replacement—a flipper partial for example. A Nesbit partial is extremely easy to swallow if it comes loose and could easily puncture your esophagus or intestine causing serious medical issues. I had an experience in my practice when I was just out of dental school where I made one of these partials for a patient. He came in later saying that he had lost it. On quizzing I learned that it disappeared overnight, and I warned him that he could have swallowed it in his sleep and urged him to get x-rayed. He wasn’t interested in doing that. And then, when it was time for his next 6-month checkup, I learned that he had died. That story from then afterward spooked me about these Nesbit partials and I didn’t do any more of them. Instead, I would make larger flipper partials that were just as inexpensive.
– Dr. Hall

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About David A. Hall

Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.

My front tooth is slowly turning dark

Dr. Hall,
I’m 35 years old, and my tooth number 7 (right lateral incisor) is turning dark and has been for at least 5 years. My endodontist said the tooth is still viable (I was able to feel ice and an electric current, although my response was delayed). There was a possible, very faint horizontal fracture observed on the x-ray, and a root canal was deemed optional at this time.
I’m debating between getting the root canal done or pursuing a cosmetic procedure.
I’m under the impression that a root canal can weaken the tooth, but I was also advised by the endo that bonding would have to be applied to several teeth in order to achieve a cohesive look.
What are the cosmetic options for this kind of issue? Should I go ahead and get the root canal done now since I’ll likely need it in the future, or is it better to hold off and keep the tooth strong for as long as possible.
Which option is the least invasive and best for my oral health?
– Amanda


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Dear Amanda,

To me, “optional root canal” is the same as saying “not necessary to do a root canal.” So why would you want to do a root canal if it isn’t necessary? Either your tooth is infected or it isn’t. If it is infected, a root canal treatment is necessary. Since it’s not, I would leave it alone.

And I am skeptical that you have an actual horizontal fracture in the root of the tooth. A crack would be possible. A fracture seems highly unlikely. If you had a fracture, the tooth would be dead. Furthermore, if there were really a fracture, a root canal treatment would be problematic because it would traverse the fracture and thus be susceptible to leaking and failure.

Your tooth gradually turning dark could be because of some trauma you had some time ago, at least the five years during which it has been turning dark. Trauma can cause a tooth to build up defenses in the form of what is called secondary dentin. This will cause the tooth to darken somewhat and will also cause the living pulp tissue to shrink which would make your tooth less sensitive to cold or other stimuli.

The bottom line is that, from what you’re telling me, the only problem that has been diagnosed for your tooth is that it is turning dark. The solution to that would be a porcelain veneer or direct composite bonding, either one at the hands of a true dental artist. In the unlikely event that you later need a root canal treatment on this tooth, it would be a simple matter to do that after the veneer or bonding, since root canal access is gained from the back of a front tooth. You need to be very careful who you ask to do this cosmetic work because the color manipulation would be quite tricky and you do need to have this tooth match the surrounding teeth. I believe that only 1-2% of dentists have the passion for appearance-related dentistry plus the training to make this tooth look perfectly natural. I would not bond several teeth because it isn’t necessary, provided you have a properly skilled cosmetic dentist. The reason your endodontist is suggesting bonding several teeth is because your basic family dentist would not be able to get this tooth to match any other way. Furthermore, the problem with getting a dentist to bond several teeth is that if he or she doesn’t know how to color match teeth in this situation, they probably aren’t very good at bonding either and would want to crown several front teeth instead. But if you gave me your city, I could find you a dentist who could get the tooth to match – perfectly – with a very conservative restoration.

Good luck with moving forward.

Dr. Hall

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About David A. Hall

Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.

Using restraints in treating difficult children


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In my practice, I very much enjoyed seeing children—even children who were difficult to treat. Part of the reason for that was that the pediatric dentist on my side of town was someone I felt was mean and who would put ugly stainless steel crowns on front teeth, so I didn’t want to refer to him. But a big part of it was because I enjoyed the challenge of trying to understand each child and how to get them through the care that they needed.

One issue in providing dental treatment to children is the use of physical restraints. Sometimes it is needed, and I want to address two aspects of that restraint.

The first aspect is the use of a mouth prop to keep their mouth open anytime I was drilling on their teeth. When I was in dental school doing my rotation in the pediatric dentistry clinic, before I took my turn as the operator I did a turn as an assistant. My fellow dental student was doing a small, routine filling on a baby tooth when our patient bit down unexpectedly, poking the drill through to the pulp of his tooth. We had to call the instructor over and upgrade the treatment to a pulpotomy (the baby-tooth equivalent of a root canal treatment) and stainless steel crown. My partner got a lecture about using a mouth prop and I vowed in that moment that this would never happen to one of my patients—I would always use some type of mouth restraint.

I ended up routinely using a Molt mouth gag on all my child patients when I was using a drill on a back tooth. I never, during dental school or my 20+ years of private practice, had an accident like my dental school partner.

a scissors-like device with rubber prongs on one end to hold the mouth open and a ratchet to hold the position

The Molt mouth gag

But there was a very small minority of child patients that we would run into maybe once every couple of years that would need even more restraint to treat them safely. In spite of all the psychology we could use on them, they would thrash around with their head, arms, and legs, making safe treatment impossible. When this would occur, I would excuse myself to the reception room and ask the parent for permission to physically restrain their child. They always gave permission, and we would proceed to wrap them in a papoose and complete the treatment.

a 6-year-old child wrapped tightly in a blanket and papoose board, restraining his arms, legs, and head

The Papoose Board

This technique has been criticized by some as being mean and traumatic to the child. That isn’t my experience at all. These were strong-willed children who refused to cooperate and were determined to make it impossible to fix their teeth; and without general anesthesia it would have been completely impossible to treat them. Once they fully realized that the treatment was going to go forward whether or not they chose to cooperate, they would completely calm down. I cannot remember an instance when that didn’t happen. Sometimes, having become physically worn out from their earlier resistance, they would actually fall asleep as the treatment proceeded.

Once treatment was done, we would unwrap them, congratulate them on finally settling down, give them their choice of toys from the prize box, and part friends.

– Dr. David Hall

Do you have a comment or anything else to add? We’d love to hear from you. Enter your comment below.

Click here to ask Dr. Hall a question of your own.

About David A. Hall

Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.

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