Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Second LANAP

Second LANAP

If you are squeamish, medical procedure-phobic or otherwise like to keep away from the icky details of life, please do not read this post.
This post is to be read if you are considering LANAP and have periodontal disease or comprimised periodontial spaces.

How will I know? you might ask.
Answer: You will probably not know, and yet the bacteria will still set up a tiny castle colony in your mouth, next to your teeth. This creates a pocket of icky stuff under the gum line which cannot be reached with floss. The icky stuff sometimes goes into your bloodstream and helps form plaque in places like those little cardiac vessels or brain vessels.

Why and when should I have surgery?
Answer: When a good periodontist looks in there and says, it is time.
How can I afford it?
Answer: I cannot help you with finances, nor with the fact that dental insurance is helpful but not much. You have to prioritize your health costs. I do think a heart attack, from untreated silent periodontal disease costs more in a "real cost" kind of way.  An ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure kind of thing.

What is it like?
Mary's Answer: Not bad, like a long cleaning on one tooth. novacaine, chit chat, suction, grinding, clicks of the laser.Gross taste from the burned dead bacterial castles and the chemicals/rinse, etc. Overall...not a bad day in the chair. I liked them doing one side and then another side later. Now the liquid and soft diet which is mostly inconvenient and not like the other people are eating. Nobody really notices or cares. Trying to type one handed so I can keep the ice pack on my jaw.

I have heard what you said, but why do I really care?
Answer: You will care, when your teeth are too far gone, or one falls out and when you have a heart attack. You may not care but the people who care about you will cry and wonder what happened to cut you down in your prime. If you think this is harsh, just imagine bacteria, tiny little animals, breeding and building castles in your jaw, one day traveling to your heart or brain.

What can I do now?
Answer: Take care of your teeth, get info, go to a dentist you like, that is clean, gentle and talks to you.

Someone who loves you may never know that you cared enough to stick around.

Let us use the technology that space travel gave us. Laser those bacterial castles and start a new world with less heart attacks, and ? can it reduce alzheimer's disease too? Stay tuned.

this is a public service announcement brought to you by travelogue for the universe, mary gerdt, monkton, vermont

6 comments:

  1. you made me laugh with the way you wrote this. =)

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  2. Thanks for stopping by and for the comment. I wanted it to be light and serious at the same time. I worked for 8 years in a cardiac ICU and saw first hand what a tiny piece of plaque can do. I was amazed at this new procedure and want others to consider the benefits...without being bored.:)

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  3. The LANAP procedure is proving to be very beneficai in terms of eradicating the virulent bacteria in the mouth and potentially preventing the bacteria from spreading to other parts of the body.

    We have been practicing our specialty of Periodontics for 26 years and we have found this modality of treatment is extremely effective and patient friendly. It is our first choice for our patients when it possible to do but only after a thorough clinical exam and review of a quality set of digital x-rays. This office procedure is often done in one visit.

    www.drgums.com

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  4. Thanks Dr. Linden, I have had a very positive experience with my local periodontist carefully examining, thinking out, doing surgery and supporting with home care planning. More public education can only do good.Mary

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  5. These lasers were created by dentists, receiving extensive clinical trials before receiving Federal Drug Administration approval. This technology is set to reinvent periodontal surgery as we know it.
    lanap
    laser periodontal surgery

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  6. Thanks, Mouth Surgery for your comment. This is indeed a great new procedure to save teeth and to improve overall body health and hopefully prevent emboli.. Mary

    ReplyDelete

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