Just adding a post to show how there are always decisions to be made. Mum broke one of her canines in the week between Christmas and New Year’s. (It amazes me how things always happen during that week! One year we had to rush mum to get a blood transfusion during that week!)
We finally were able to see the dentist this past week and he suggested a root canal and a cap. This is because mum’s molars beside the canine are all loose and will fall out sooner or later. Slowly one by one mum is losing her teeth inspite of the care we have. The aids brush her teeth after every meal and help her do a mouthwash that has peroxide in it (10 vl.) that kills germs in the mouth.
Anyway, back to the canine. It is a firm tooth and the dentist says is firmly planted in the mouth. It would help preserve her front teeth. I am very reluctant because of the treatment. Will mum sit still long enough to do a canal? On the other hand, if nothing is done, it will have to be pulled out and then the other teeth will perhaps loosen up faster.
So I guess it’s a matter of choosing between the lesser of two evils. I am going to take the bull by the horns and set up an appointment tomorrow with the dentist who does canals. Here’s hoping it will work out!
Any opinions on this?
Hi Dilys–I’m so glad you’re sharing this. It is a dilemma! I think you’ve made right decision. I guess I look at it this way: Is this a treatable situation? Will not treating the situation cause greater discomfort? (I think it will.) I look forward to the thoughts of others. And, please keep us posted on what happens tomorrow.
Good luck with he dentist! It’s amazing how important our teeth and jaws are to good health and we take them for granted until something goes wrong. There probably isn’t a right or wrong decision but it sounds like any measure of prevention that will help your mum keep her teeth is the best possible option.
.-= Stephanie´s last blog ..iRumors =-.
Hi Dilys,
I had the same questions with my dad. It took me awhile to come to the decision that it was better to keep dad comfortable and avoid anything that caused pain or stress. Even as far as the doctor went. If they could treat a disease/problem easily and without any pain or distress or too much cost, then we did. But we were mainly treating the symptoms, not the problems at the end.
I don’t know how old or in what mental/physical shape your mom is, but we found that with dad it was mostly just keeping him feeling as well as possible and not worrying about his teeth, etc. It was hard to figure out at first where the line was but it became easier as I had to face questions like that.
And we did not take dad to the hospital at all at the end. If he got sick, we made him as comfortable as possible but didn’t rush him to the ER. We did at first but then realized it was causing him more stress and discomfort and that was primarily what we wanted to avoid, more than anything, including him dying since he was going to relatively soon anyway and should not suffer in the meantime.
Dad could care less about his teeth anyway (although he asked about them sometimes). He had dentures and kept losing weight and then they didn’t fit and at first we had them adjusted but then he just wore them sometimes to eat and not the rest of the time since we could never get them adjusted right (or that he didn’t get sore spots) anyway.
Anyway, long story short, if I were you I would not worry about what might happen tomorrow about her teeth, I would just do the minimum of whatever was needed to stop that tooth from hurting. Can they just kill the nerve if it is hurting her? Can they just pull the tooth? Can they put her out for the root canal so she doesn’t feel it or know what happened? Does she and you have the money to pay for it easily? Because that is a consideration too and it is OK if not to just have it pulled or whatever minimally needs done to stop the pain.
Hope this helps and take care,
Susie
.-= Susan´s last blog ..Bigfoot Not Dead. Bigfoot Author. Bigfoot Celebrity. =-.