Technology has grown in leaps and bounds!  Before my root canal crisis early last October, I had not seen the inside of a dentist’s office since February of 2007.  Traumatic childhood experiences made it difficult to seek out a new dentist after leaving Augusta.   Pain, and thankfully good insurance,  brought me in to meet the new technologies offered by today’s dentistry.  Dr. Bunn and staff of Skyview Dentistry have made it easy to call it my new dental home.    On October 20th Dr. Bunn removed aged silver metal fillings from the two back molars of my upper left jaw, refilling them with a new bonding material that looks and feels more like the natural teeth.  I had been unaware that these old fillings shrank over time causing additional decay and damage inside the tooth.  Unbeknownst to me, one of these teeth was also headed down the road to root canal city; but never made it.  Dr. Bunn created surfaces on these two teeth that look and feel like the originals.  The experience of REALLY chewing again has been awesome.

Have I confuse you about the root canal crisis?  The root canal was perpetrated on tooth number 31 which is the bottom right molar next to the missing wisdom tooth.  The crown process had been delayed pending the higher dental insurance option effective date.  The technology shown in the picture above is the inspiration for this post.  I must also share that dental x-rays are taken and immediately appear on the computer in the patient’s record.  The picture below shows a portion of my lower right jaw showing teeth 31 and 30 respectively at the top.  The teeth are scanned with an instrument connected to the laptop which produces an image of the teeth.  Tooth 31 has been reconstructed and awaits its crown.  This scan will be transmitted to a lab where a crown will be made to precisely fit into the base shown.  It has a temporary cover until the crown arrives in a couple of weeks.  Tooth 30 had an aged filling removed and replaced with the new bonding material sporting this awesome chewing surface.  I regret not taking a ‘before’ picture of these teeth to give a good comparison.

I have a few more teeth needing replacement fillings and reconstruction; but am looking forward to a more satisfying chewing experience.  I will be much happier when I only need to go for dental cleanings and check-ups twice a year.

Until next time…