While I was having a look at the click-throughs to Dental Fear Central from a well-known search engine, it came to my attention that bad teeth, rotten teeth, bad tooth, and rotten tooth were some of the most popular topics through which people arrive at our website.
I also noticed that people had to trawl through hundreds of pages of results to eventually find Dental Fear Central! So I thought I’d put the words rotten teeth and bad teeth onto a web page, so that people can find us more easily. And this page seemed to be the most suitable, seeing how it doesn’t have much in the way of text on it!
It shouldn’t have been a surprise that people are looking for information on bad teeth or rotten teeth or tooth decay, rather than more technical terms such as dental phobia… which only goes to show how easy it is to get things wrong for your audience. It should have been obvious that, if you have avoided dentists due to fear for a long time, terms such as bad teeth or rotten teeth might be an obvious choice.
For years, it was common practice for dentists to perform repeat root canals and other procedures to save teeth compromised by extensive decay, gum disease and bone loss. Today, the American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID) said times have changed and patients should forego prolonged dental heroics to save failing teeth and replace them with long-lasting dental implants.
"There really is no justification for undergoing multiple endodontic or periodontic procedures, and enduring the pain and financial burden, to save a diseased tooth," said John Minichetti, DDS, speaking for the AAID. "The days are over for saving teeth till they fall out. Preserving questionable teeth is not the best option from both oral health and cosmetic perspectives."
Losing a tooth is an emotional decision and patients must clearly understand the oral health and cosmetic implications of preserving questionable teeth. Even though patients often resist losing natural teeth, in many cases the best outcomes occur from extracting them and inserting implants, which look and function like natural teeth.
"Our patients expect restorative dental procedures to make their smiles more attractive and long- lasting. In most cases, implants deliver the best results, as the ultimate goal is to achieve an esthetic and functional restoration for years to come," said Minichetti.
Published studies have shown there is a higher failure rate of
root canal procedures vs.
dental implants. In some cases, root canals fail because abscesses occur, and oral surgery is required to clean out the infected area.
