Dr. Noah's Dentistry Blog

Questions About Dentistry Answered

I Think My Dentist Should Refund Me For Not Finishing My Dentures On Time!

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I went to the dentist in January of 2020 to consult regarding a new overdenture over my 4 existing mini implants. I was leaving the state in March 2020 and needed to know if it could be done in time. The dentist told me he would have it done in 3 weeks, but it took him 9 weeks. When I went in for the final denture, it didn’t fit properly. So he forced it in and sent me home.

It was very hard to eat with it, and taking it out was extremely hard. Putting it back in wasn’t happening; it wouldn’t go in.

I called his office the very next day and explained the situation, but the dentist I saw was out of the office. I saw a different dentist in that office, and he said it wasn’t drilled out properly around the attachments. The denture slanted slightly backward. His office called me on the 14th and said he ordered the parts and everything should be fixed.

I am very unhappy with this dentist, and I am leaving the state, so I have no time to wait for them to fix it. Do I have the right to ask for a refund?

Thank You!

-Pam from California

 

Pam,

Yes, you do have the right to ask for a refund. You made an agreement with this dentist for your overdenture, and he agreed to have it done in three weeks. He didn’t have it done in three weeks, not even close, and he didn’t deliver an acceptable product.

You have the upper hand here. You can leave him a bad review, which no dentist wants. However, you can also offer to leave him a good review regarding his integrity if he makes this right with you.

If that doesn’t work, you can complain to the dental board. Lastly, you can file a malpractice lawsuit, although I don’t think this case will need to go that far.

As far as the dentures go, it should’ve only taken him the three weeks and the fact that it took three times that long shows poorly on him. Then when he did get it done, it didn’t fit. His promise of ordering the parts and fixing it isn’t something I would bank on because he hasn’t been able to follow through with his other promises.

There isn’t typically very much training in dental school for implant dentistry, so dentists need to take post-graduate training to become experts in that area.

I would start by nicely asking this dentist for a refund and offer to write a nice review for him. If he resists, I would get tougher and threaten to go to the dental board. Make sure to follow through with that threat if he still resists. Dentists do not want complaints made to the dental board, so I suspect it won’t have to go that far.

I wish you luck and hope everything turns out fine.

Thank you

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Don’t Like My Invisalign Dentist

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I’m probably sounding like a prude but I don’t like my dentist who has been providing me with my Invisalign. He is crude and tells off-color jokes every time I’m there. I did mention it to the desk once and they apologized and said, “That’s his way of keeping things light.” He’s not my normal dentist anyway. Mine planned to get Invisalign certified but hadn’t done it yet, so I’ve just bee seeing the other dentist strictly for Invisalign. Do I have to stick it out with him or can I switch to another dentist? Will I have to start over? I’m happy with the Invisalign, just not the dentist.

Kim

Dear Kim,

Upper Invisalign Aligner

You don’t sound like a prude to me, just refined. That’s a good thing. It sounds like your dentist lacks some professionalism. I’m glad to hear you are happy with your Invisalign treatment, though. It has a very high patient satisfaction rate.

You can certainly switch dentists at any time, even if you are in the middle of a particular treatment. Ethical obligations require your dentist to cooperate with your new dentist by providing all the materials, scans, x-rays, treatment notes, etc. needed to continue your treatment.

While you’re looking, keep wearing your aligners. Be sure to check the dentist’s reviews to ensure you don’t end up with another dentist who makes you uncomfortable.

Invisalign Pro Tip

When you switch dentists, you can ask him to provide you with tooth whitening gel during your treatment. Many patients don’t realize their Invisalign aligners can double as teeth whitening trays. This allows them to whiten and straighten their teeth simultaneously.

It’s like getting a mini smile makeover. There is only a minimal cost for the gel, which saves you money having your teeth whitened later.

Obviously, this isn’t necessary, it’s just a way to be proactive saving money down the line. Best of luck finding your new dentist.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Are Orthodontics Required to Replace Crowns?

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I have had two crowns on my front teeth for a while. They are starting to show their age and really need to be replaced. For some reasons, my dentist is insisting that I do orthodontics first before he’ll replace my dental crowns. It’s not that I don’t want straight teeth, but I just can’t afford them. Is this just a preference thing or will I face this with every dentist?

Miranda

Dear Miranda,

A dentist and patient
It is unfair to patients when a dentist insists on the ideal treatment, regardless of circumstances

I have to admit that it annoys me when dentists behave this way. Yes, having straight teeth is the ideal, but if you cannot afford orthodontic work, then you can’t afford it.

Obviously, you can have dental crowns placed when your teeth aren’t straight or you wouldn’t have any now. This is a preference issue on the part of your dentist.

In all honesty, I’m going to suggest you find another dentist. Look for one who is willing to work within the budget of his patients. You could do an internet search for an “affordable dentist” in your area.

Benefits of an Affordable Dentist

If you find an affordable dentist, they’ll be willing to work within your budget. They’re also willing to stage treatments, so you don’t have to do everything at once. Additionally, they will often have payment plans. Some of them have in-house plans and some of them work through Care Credit.

Getting a Crown on Your Front Teeth

One thing you want to be careful of, regardless of where you go to get your crowns done, is that they only give you all-porcelain crowns on your front teeth.

A metal-based crown will not look right on front teeth. They will be too opaque. They will also develop a gray line on the gumline.

If You Ever Decide to Get Orthodontics

When you do decide you are able to get orthodontics (and that should be completely up to you) you no longer have to get metal wires and brackets. These days, you have the option of “invisible braces”.

Invisalign is the most popular brand which utilizes clear aligners. These gently guide your teeth into their correct position.

I hope this helps you. This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Emergency Dentist for Gum Injury

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We don’t yet have a dentist in this area. We’ve been busy relocating and haven’t had the time. My husband recently complained about an injury to his gums that is swollen. He can’t remember when he did it or what happened, but it looks to me like it resembles a giant swollen pimple. Of course, I know we don’t get pimples on our gums so it must be inflamed from an injury. Will this go away on its own or does he need an emergency dental appointment?

Karen

Dear Karen,

Tulsa emergency dentist

Relocation is stressful, so I completely understand you not getting to finding a new dentist. However, what you described on your husban’s gums doesn’t sound like a gum injury. Instead, I think he has an abscessed tooth. This manifests in what looks like a pimple on the gums.

This is considered a dental emergency, so he will need to see a dentist right away. It means his tooth is infected. These infections can blow up quickly and become life-threatening.

I know you don’t have a dentist right now, but there are dentists who will treat non-established patients in cases of emergencies like yours. You can do an internet search using the term “emergency dentist“.

It’s Important He Doesn’t Put This Off

The tendency for men is to “tough it out” and hope it goes away. This won’t go away. Eventually, the tooth may stop hurting, but that is because the pulp of the tooth will die, That won’t stop the infection from spreading though.

It’s always better to take care of these things sooner rather than later. Better a root canal treatment and dental crown than to need a tooth extraction and replacement.

If the Tooth Can’t be Saved

There’s always a chance, depending on how long this has gone that the tooth can’t be saved. In that case, you’ll need to look at tooth replacement options.

Two of the best are to get a dental implant or a dental bridge. A dental implant is the better treatment, but it is more costly than the bridge.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.



Solution For My Tooth Gap

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I have a huge tooth gap. It’s about 8mm in width. I don’t want braces. I’m too old for that. One dentist suggested snap on smile. Another suggested porcelain veneers. Which is better?

Carl

Dear Carl,

I’m very glad you wrote. I think we can prevent you from some serious disappointments here. First, I’ll go over the options you’ve been given, then I’ll make an alternate suggestion.

Snap-On Smile

image of snap-on smile

This will cover the gap you are concerned about. Snap-on Smile is a decent way of improving the look of your smile. However, I want to manage your expectations. These snap over your teeth, which some patients find make their teeth look bulky. They’re not meant to be permanent.

Usually, when well cared for, they’ll last a few years. You can eat with them, but will have to take them out afterward to rinse them off as well as brush and floss your natural teeth.

Porcelain Veneers

This is considered the top of the line smile makeover. Bear in mind it is expensive and requires someone with expertise. Your case, especially, would require one of the best cosmetic dentists in the country.

The reason for that is the size of the gap between your teeth. It’s large enough where you could fit an entire tooth there. It will have to be handled by someone at the top of their field. That will come with an additional price tag.

The pluses for this is it will look much nicer than snap-on smile and is considered a permanent solution. The veneers are bonded directly to your teeth.

Invisalign: A Better Solution

Two images: one of a woman placing her Invisalign aligner. The other, she's smling with it in.
Invisalgin is comfortable and Invisible

There is another permanent solution which won’t cost you a fortune. I know you said you didn’t want braces. When most adults think of braces, those horrible middle-school years come back to mind with a mouth full of metal wires and brackets.

Fortnately, there have been many advancements in orthodontics. We now have Invisalign. These are clear aligners which straighten your teeth without anyone knowing. They’re truly invisible, even at a conversational distance.

This can naturally close your tooth gap, giving you the smile you want. It has a side benefit too. The aligners can double as teeth whitening trays. So, if whitening is somethng you’re interested in, it’s like getting a two for one.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Orthodontics before Crowns?

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I’m hoping you can help me. I have had two crowns on my front teeth for a long time. They’ve always looked a little pastier than my other teeth, but now they have this unsightly gray line and they are discolored. I need to get them replaced, but my dentist is insisting I get braces first. I really can’t afford that. Isn’t there any way they can do the crowns without my teeth being perfectly straight?

Martha

Dear Martha,

Tulsa braces for othodontic dental treatment

What your dentist is doing is unfair to you. He is insisting on the ideal treatment. Well, not everyone can afford the ideal. He should be able to do these crowns regardless of whether or not you have orthodontics done. How else would they have been placed on your teeth originally? I’m assuming the needed orthodontics isn’t a new thing.

You may have to see another dentist to work within your budget, but that’s okay. there are affordable dentists who take into consideration that sometimes a patient can’t get everything done at once. This is called phased treatment.

You can either get the crowns done now and put off the ortho until later. You can even skip braces altogether. It is completely up to you.

Orthodontics for Adults

If you decide later on you do want to straighten your teeth, you no longer have to get a mouth full of metal wires and brackets. There are better options for adults these days. Most prefer a brand of invisible braces called Invisalign.

These use clear aligners which allow you to straighten your teeth without anyone even knowing. They truly are invisible, even at a conversational distance.

Crowns for Front Teeth

There was a reason your dental crowns looked pasty when you first had them placed. Your dentist placed porcelain fused to metal crowns. While these are perfectly fine for back teeth, they are way too opaque looking for front teeth.

Plus, as you’ve experienced, they also eventually develop a gray line at the gumline. For front teeth, we recommend all-porcelain crowns. These look much more natural and will never develop that unsightly gray line.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.



One Orthodontist Thousands Less

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I don’t know how it is possible for one orthodontist to cost so much less than another. It’s appealing, but I don’t want to make a mistake about this. I’m out of college and in my first PR job. My appearance is important which is why I want to straighten my teeth. However, I’m still paying off student loans, and will be for a while, so I don’t want to spend a fortune. The first dentist suggested Invisalign. The next one suggested Six-Month Smiles. The second one seems to work faster and is thousands of dollars cheaper. How is that possible?

Karyn

Dear Karyn,

A woman placing her Invisaliagn aligners

Do you remember in Algebra when they said you can’t add x’s and y’s? Well, this is sort of like that. Invisalign is a complete orthodontic treatment It will shift your bite into proper position, changing aligners every two weeks.

Six-Month Smiles is a completely different orthodontic option which doesn’t correct your complete bite, but just straightens the front visible teeth. This is also why it takes less time and doesn’t cost as much.

This means the second orthodontist isn’t charging less but offering a completely different treatment option.

Which Option is Best?

Which one you choose really depends on your goals for your smile. Do you just want it to appear straight and beautiful and saving money is the higher priority or are you wanting your bite fixed, while looking straight and beautiful?

There’s not a right or wrong answer unless you’ve had jaw pain or persistent headaches. If you have had those, fixing your bite would likely alleviate both of those. Not fixing it could lead to TMJ problems. I don’t say that to scare you. Headaches don’t necessarily mean TMJ, it is just a symptom.

Combining Procedures

One thing you can do with Invisalign which you can’t do with the Six-Month Smiles clear braces is whiten your teeth at the same time. The aligners can double as teeth whitening trays. Then, by the time your treatment is finished you’ll have both straight teeth and a white smile.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Dentist Won’t Fix Crown

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I don’t know what to do. I’ve had massive trouble with a dental crown I had placed less than xix months ago. My dentist adjusted them three times. Nothing he did helped. The crown still hurt like mad every single time I bit down. Now he’s saying there’s nothing wrong. Well, last night I was eating at a restaurant and it broke. I called him and he feels he’s done enough and says I must have done something. He said he’s willing to make a new one, but I’ll have to pay for it. Even if I felt that was fair, I don’t trust him to get it right any better than he did last time. What do you recommend?

Marla

Dear Marla,

Tulsa Emergency Dentist

You have been through the ringer with this, not to mention your dentist is being unfair. It will be fairly easy for you to get a refund for this crown regardless of how your dentist feels. He hasn’t met even the minimum standard for the lifetime of a dental crown.

However, you’ve got to get this problem taken care of. Because you can’t trust your dentist and you’ve been handed a time sensitive situation, I’m going to recommend you look up dentists who treat emergencies in your area. It shouldn’t be too hard to find one. Many of them will use the search term “emergency dentist”.

The Possible Problem with Your Dental Crown

When your crown gives you pain upon biting down there is usually one of two reasons.

The first possibility is a lingering infection. While most of the time an infection is dealt with by a root canal treatment, there are some tricky canals in there and it’s possible one was missed. An x-ray should reveal that. If your dentist didn’t do an x-ray, the emergency dentist will as a standard procedure.

Another possibility is the crown is seated too high. You said he tried adjusting it three times. While that’s good, when it wasn’t making a difference he should have kept investigating the problem.

I think this is the most likely issue with your crown. The reason I say that is it broke when you bit down.

While our biting forces are quite hard, they’re usually spread over all out back teeth. If you have a crown seated too high, your bite will hit that and only that with its full force. That type of force on a single crown will make it vulnerable to breaking.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Dentist Advertised as Affordable to Practice on Patients

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I’m a little worried. Part of me is like, “This is my own fault”, and the other part of me thinks the dentist should have done better. I needed a dental crown, but had been putting it off because of the cost. Fast forward to last week. I received an ad by email about a local dentist. He’d just invested in some crown machine and wanted to get some extra practice on it so he was running a special on dental crowns. It sounded like an inexpensive way to get my crown so I jumped on it. First, the appointment took FOREVER. I was in the chair for more than half the day. I would say close to five hours. He kept going back and working on it. I’m a few days past this treatment and my tooth is super sore. Is this normal or could the “affordable” dentist have damaged the tooth?

Laura

Dear Laura,

porcelain crown being placed on prepared tooth
A cheap crown and an affordable crown aren’t the same thing.

There are three possibilities going on here. The first is normal soreness. Your tooth was messed with for quite some time. It’s normal for the tissue around it to be worn out from that and a little swollen. Take some ibuprofen and give it a couple of days. If the swelling and soreness hasn’t gone down then it is time to be seen again.

That leads me to the two other possibilities:

  • You could have an infection.
  • You could have some tooth trauma.

When Affordable Dental Care Goes Wrong

We’ll start with the infection, because it wouldn’t be the dentist’s fault. You mentioned you’d needed a dental crown but put it off because of cost. It is quite likely your decay spread during your procrastination. This could mean it reached the pulp. If that happened, you now have an infection and need a root canal treatment.

You won’t want to put this off because it is considered a dental emergency. The infection will spread, causing wide spread problems and increasing the cost of repairs significantly. The sooner this is looked at, the better.

The final possibility is the tooth suffered some trauma during the extended procedure. It would be hard to prove, if this were the case, but an honest dentist would want to know and fix any problems he or she caused.

Going into it, this dentist was upfront with you that he was practicing. Whenever someone is new to a procedure or method, it does take them longer. Muscle memory takes time to develop.

If you run into this situation again where you need work but don’t have money, look up affordable dentists on the internet. Many of them will be willing to do the work right away but work with you on payment plan options.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Invisalign for Spacing Problems

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I had braces as a young teenager, but over the years I’ve had some spacing develop between some of my teeth. I don’t feel like I’d be comfortable with traditional braces at my age. In that case, would I be able to get Invisalign for this type of issue?

Andrea

Dear Andrea,

Two images: one of a woman placing her Invisalign aligner. The other, she's smling with it in.

It’s normal for our teeth to move some over the years. If your teeth and gums are healthy, you would be a fantastic candidate for Invisalign. This is a lovely way to straighten your smile without anyone even knowing you’re wearing anything. In your case, you can probably get Invisalign Express which works in even faster.

Aside from enabling you to repair your smile without anyone knowing and without a mouth full of metal, the Invisalign aligners can double as teeth whitening trays. This will give you a sort of mini smile makeover.

Orthodontist Versus Dentist

It used to be that you’d have to see an orthodontist anytime you needed to straighten teeth. Now, it’s not necessary in most cases. Dentists can do Invisalign. Some even do braces. There are still times you would have to see an orthodontist when you have a very complicated case.

That’s not you, so you shouldn’t have any problems. You just need to find a dentist who provides Invisalign. I think you’ll find it a wonderful way to get the smile you had and loved.

One Word of Caution

While some movement of teeth is natural as the years go by, you want to make sure there isn’t another reason for your shifting. Specifically, you’ll want to make sure you don’t have any gum disease. If you see a dentist regularly and have good oral hygiene at home that shouldn’t be an issue.

Your dentist will do an exam ahead of time to make sure you’re gums are healthy enough. If not, you’ll just have to treat the gum disease and then you can get the Invisalign treatment.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.