11/06/15 -- Warning to those wanting to also glue on a broken tooth. The tooth fell off again…read moretoday. Turns out Dr. Chang was right in saying that gluing it back on would not work, but I'm still much happier with Dr. Chickinell who was willing to give it a try -- which is what I wanted. Though I was quite careful in cutting up hard foods like raw carrots, celery, apples, etc., and only chewing on them with the back teeth, when I started chewing on a wedge of a large hard persimmon with the back teeth, an end of the wedge hit the glued on tooth and knocked off. Bummer, but my fault.
10/28/15 -- Dr. Chickinell glued a broken capped tooth back on that Dr. Chang said couldn't be done (see background info below). First thing Dr. Chickinell did was hold broken tooth in place and check my bite. He noticed that the tooth below the broken one was hitting it, which likely caused the upper one to, over time, break off. By grinding on both the upper and lower teeth, he adjusted my bite to where there is no longer any gnashing. Before gluing the broken tooth back on, I told him Dr. Chang had said there was decay behind the broken tooth and the one next to it. He took a look, scratched those two areas with a metal pick and said, "you don't have a problem back there." He told me the repair is likely only temporary and have the tooth re-capped as soon as I can.
I asked him if a post could be inserted into the root of that tooth, to hold a cap, instead of having to go through an implant. He said yes, first a root canal, a post into the root, a cap on top of it -- and that he could do it in his office in a couple of days -- which is much less expensive and involved than doing an implant. I asked for a quote on that and his total price is $2,201, compared to Dr. Chang's quote of $3,464 to go through the involved procedure to install an implant, if possible, not counting the then required crown!
I'm a happy camper and am quite certain the glued on tooth will last long enough for me to have my regular dentist repair his failure.
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10/20/15 -- I broke off a top front tooth and, since I'm temporarily here in an RV, wanted it glued back in until I can have my regular dentist, who capped it just last spring, repair his failure when I'm in his area next month. I first went to Dr. Chang of Brookings Dental Arts. Dr. Chang is very personable and friendly. He told me, since the post of the tooth broke off with the crown, it could not be glued back in, not even temporarily. He said the glue would not hold and he offered to prep the tooth for a new crown by doing an implant, if possible, and then I could have my regular dentist simply place a crown on it -- estimated at $3,464 for the implant, plus $1,500 to $2,000 for the eventual crown. I asked if instead of an implant, which is an involved, drawn out and expensive procedure, a post can be inserted into the existing root and put a crown on that. He said, no the implant is the only way to go. He also glanced at the X-ray they took of two top front teeth and said the broken one and the one next to it have decay in the back under the crowns. He did not look at the decay. I have chronic dry mouth since I've had chemo a couple of years back, which is really hard on the teeth, hence why I had to have all the top ones capped once their enamel wore away and one of the two front teeth split and and the other kept chipping. I was very disappointed that I already had decay behind the new caps. I was charged their $99 discounted fee for a 1st visit, consult and X-ray. I left there quite unhappy, being on a tight budget, I wanted the tooth glued on to where I could go back to the dentist that had capped it less than a year ago.
The very next person (a senior citizen) I talked to told me she had a capped broken front tooth glued back on twice and that one time it stayed in for over 3 years, the other time about a year or more. Yes, she had also broken the dental post that was under the cap. Unfortunately that dentist has since retired.
I actually went to the hardware store looking at the various epoxy cements and super glue gels with the intention of gluing the tooth back in myself! Not being able to decide what glue to use for such a purpose, I decided to get a second opinion. I asked the next small business owner I talked to how long they've been in Brookings. 16 years. I asked if they had a dentist they were happy with and she replied, "Don't go to Chang. He's the most expensive in town." She highly recommended I go to Dr. Chickinell. My review of him is above.
