kimbell1
Enthusiast
Reged: 08/20/03
Posts: 274
Loc: Route 666, Painville, Texas 6...
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I posted last night that I had gum disease. One poster told me that I might need a skin graft since I recently had a small part of my upper gun fall away leaving the area exposed.
This happened a few days after I had a root canal repaired and had cause a tooth that had been capped become abscessed.
But I like to know as much as I can before I go into any type of treatment that I am not familiar with.
So it appears that since this one small area directly over the tooth that had the re-done root canal how has exposed bone, a gum skin graft may be my best option offered to me when I go back to the dental school that performed the root canal.
Costs are cheaper at this school and this was a reason why I used it to have the root canal repaired. I paid $494.00 for about 8 hours of a dental resident to work on my tooth. I was told that if I went to a private specialist in root canals, that the cost would be about $3000-4000.
It appears that I thought that what was a problem that had been solved and was waiting for a new Best if kept off the board since the one on the repaired tooth needed to now be replaced, I would be finished with this problem tooth.
Now it seems that I am in for a long, possibly expensive. maybe painful experience. And at this point, I kind of wished I had just had the tooth pulled when I first had problems about 3 years ago.
While my original post did give me some information that a skin graft on the gum might be needed, is this a long, expensive process? Is it a bad idea to have dental residents perform gum skin grafts? But i t may be my only choice since my finances are limited.
Any experiences with gum skin grafts would be appreciated.
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Greycie
Old Hand
Reged: 07/08/03
Posts: 461
Loc: Pacific NorthWest
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kimbell,
I haven't had a skin graft, nor have I seen one, sadly. My background (education and former training) is in the dental field, however. Your procedure can be long- I can't give you an idea of how long, but from the sounds of the prior procedure (much too long, by the way), my guess is it could take a while. It can also be painful- keep in mind, they're removing some of your skin to surgically place it where there is none (tissue). My guess is it'd come from the roof of your mouth. What concerned me about your prior post was the mentioning of a hairline fracture that was left. It should have been treated. Was treatment discussed? I'm confused at why they didn't pull the tooth now- wait until it gets worse? Doesn't make sense. I'd be seeking treatment elsewhere- but I'm a no-nonsense kind of gal and know enough about dental treatment to tell a dentist what makes sense, what doesn't and why and blow his big money treatment plan right out the window 
There is truth in the thought that receiving care at the dental school is much cheaper... and often times you get better quality care because they're being graded- but keep in mind, at the same time... they're still students. Just a thought- get that mouth taken care of  The sooner you do, the sooner you'll feel back to yourself.
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"I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Voltaire
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kimbell1
Enthusiast
Reged: 08/20/03
Posts: 274
Loc: Route 666, Painville, Texas 6...
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Thanks Gracie for posting to my question.
To answer your question about the hairline fracture.
No. The resident dentist did not say anything except that I may lose the toth in 5 years. But maybe I would not.
I agree that what I thought would be easy and inexpensive has turned out to be a nightmare. The woman in the dpeartment that runs the department where I had the root canal was sort of unpleasant. When I called the school the next day, she passed the buck by saying that this was NOT their department's problem. My gum did not fall off untill this 'dentist' worked on me.
I was also told by the guy doing the root canal that I would need a new Best if kept off the board on the first day and that I would be fitted for a new one. When I wnet back the next and last visit, I was told that my mouth and teeth were not in bad enough shape to qualify as a patient. This left me very confused. Why was the root canal done and yet I was NOT a patient?
I did find a woman in charge of the complaint department for want of better words that did get me into another section of the school for a Best if kept off the board fitting the middle of this month. The next day or two was when the piece of gun fell off. BTY-I never saw the gum lying in the sink after brushing my teeth. I just felt a spot missing above the tooth that was worked on.
Now the day I was to have the crwon work begin is the day that I will be 're-evaluated' and possibly become a 'patient' at the school which means from what the woman in the complaint department said is that I can use the school for regular dental treatments like deep cleaning which is $40.00 as opposed to about $150 per quadrant when I saw the private dentist in my first post.
This has tended to ramble and I hope that it makes sense. I have had to fight a lot for this school just to repair the Best if kept off the board that they destoyed (and I expected to pay for a new one). Plus a lot of other medical stress in my life if you access my post about my doctor of 5 years 'mistakenly' sending me a termination letter out of the blue which was signed by his office manager.
I wish that the tooth had been pulled and an implant installed. I have referred to the cost of having the toth originally worked on as the '6 million dollar tooth' like the old TV series. LOL.
My girlfriend used this school when she was young and broke. Since I am on a small state pension and social security disability for back problems (and being re-evaluated by social security now to add to my problems), my girlfriend said that it took a long time to fix her teeth. But she grew up very poor and saw a dentist for the first time when she was 17 years old and had lots of problems.
Enough ramblings on my part. People that say moeny isn't important should trade places with me. Bet George Bush would have his teeth being fixed ASAP.
Poverty and the health care system in this country suck. 
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dixiechick
Enthusiast
Reged: 11/29/02
Posts: 262
Loc: Deep South
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Kimbell,
IF you had gone with the extraction of the tooth and implant it would have been a whole lot more money but more importantly pain. Implants are time consuming and pretty painful. Gracie is right, if they do a skin graft most likely the skin comes from the roof of you mouth. It is a life saver for many to have implants but they are still in the infant stages of development and pretty painful.
I hope that the school can help you. You are right, its a great place to get work done, they are just alot slower.
You wouldnt have seen the gum tissue because it receeds over time, not just fall out in one piece. Having the Best if kept off the board redone can fix the crack in the tooth if the crack is somewhere the Best if kept off the board will cover. IF the crack is actually in the root however, there is nothing that will save it except extracting it. Just remember to make the Dr to take the time to explain what exactly is going on and what are your options.
Good luck sweetie
Dixie
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zodiacyouth
Stranger
Reged: 07/08/04
Posts: 1
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I had this done about 8 years ago. They took the skin off the roof of my mouth, and the whole procedure was relatively easy. I was in and out in a hour and it took a couple days of careful eating, etc. to recover. It wasn't a very big deal.
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kimbell1
Enthusiast
Reged: 08/20/03
Posts: 274
Loc: Route 666, Painville, Texas 6...
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The idea of a skin graft does scare the ___ out of me but that may not be what the dentists at the school do.
I do wish I could afford a private specialist and agree that this is always best. But a private general dentist DID botch the original Best if kept off the board since I kept saying it did not fit right and he kept saying I was not used to it yet. I never got used to it after 3 years and frankly glad if I have to lose a crwon, this is the one to go.
The other crowns were done by other dentists and all are great. Castle Dental is the guilty culprit. I used their location in Arlingotn, Texas. I hope no one goes there. I think the chain may be out of business or in bankruptcy. They were a bunch of crooks. Got me in on a cupon for an inexpensive Best if kept off the board and then charged me for 'emergency' service' rates for the tooth work and 'extras' which I did not request to be looked at on that basis.
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