New to the forum, want to offer whatever advice or knowledge I can in the way of helping with dental related needs for both preparedness and normal everyday knowledge. Hope I can help someone with something, I know its a bit esoteric.
EEEK! Home dentistry! Hey there. Welcome to the forum from upstate, NY! Man, the idea of dentistry gives me the heebie-jeebies as it is, let alone post SHTF dentistry.
I do have a sort of dentistry question... what gauge needles does one use to inject an anesthetic? Feels like a 14 or 16, but I'm sure it's just me.
Well a skilled practitioner often uses a 30 gauge long. Downside to this is that it will deflect from the intended path to the proper anatomical site for a block, and you risk a needle fracture. Needles lost in the face are BAD NEWS, I can't even begin to image what a person with no surgical experience would do if this happened. The other needle choices are 25 and 27 gauge long and short. The upside is that they don't deflect and they also won't ever break. Some nerve blocks such as the second division block require the needle to be inserted 30mm into the greater palatine foramen into the pterygopalatine space, so a longer needle is needed. If you were going to stock needles for local injections, as well as drug admin, I would (and do) stock 25 gauge long and 27 gauge short.
Welcome John Tlag....
Am sure that both your knowledge and denistry experience will come in handy now...and after the SHTF. I think prevention could help a lot too. I brush everyday, and floss sometimes...but it sure wouldn't hurt if it was done more often. Be sure to share your helpful tips...and thanks again for joining here.
Thank you for your kind offer of help. I'm a retired LPN and am seriously thinking of obtaining dental hygienist credentials as it would hopefully be of assistance in a SHTF scenario. Would you recommend this plan of action?
To be honest I would recommend becoming a hygienist just because it is a great job! The General Dentists I know around pay their hygienists $35 an hour, and it is a stress free fulfilling job. Some hygiene schools teach a local anesthesia course which would be very helpful! I would say that prophylactic cleanings would go a long way to lessen periodontal problems in a survival situation, but nothing other than brushing with fluoridated toothpaste will prevent decay.
No I hadn't even heard of that book until I read "Patriot", and remembered thinking that I would never have to read it. But I think it would be interesting to take a look at it, and suggestions as to where I could find a cheap copy?
The other thing I want to add is that I also did a general surgery residency as part of my training. Thought at the time I focused all my rounds on head and neck related surgeries I wish I had been exposed to more ER and Trauma related surgeries. The general principles are the same, and since I decided to begin preparing, I will be hitting the books again and heading back the ER to at least observe as many GSW's and trauma surgeries as I can. I will communicate to you all the latest in surgical techniques that are applicable to this forum as I learn them myself.
Hi John and welcome to the forums.
I havent seen to many dentist hire male hygienist around these parts. These guys love the eye candy. John can you tell us how healthy teeth are related to a healthy heart? Better use small words and the short versiion. Im sure there are allot of ppl out there that dont know one can affect the other. thanks
My friend you have stumbled upon one of the most hotly debated issues in my field. Here are a few things we are sure of. 1) Individuals with periodontal disease are 7 times more likely to have premature births. This is due to the increase in inflammatory mediators in the general circulation secondary to the chronic periodontal infection. 2) The bacteria of the mouth is the most common bacteria found in vegetative plaques causing infectious endocarditis. This does NOT mean that you need to worry about dental visits and bacteremia leading to the infection. The research shows that you are just as likely to cause the same transient bacteremia while eating and brushing. This means that it is MUCH better to keep a clean hygienic mouth than to worry about this type of infection after you need to treat an infection. 3) The idea that periodontal disease predisposes a patient to hear attack or MI is NOT confirmed. This evidence is weak at best, and should NOT be considered a possible cause of general heart dysfunction at this point.
It depends on the specific cause and extent of the attachment loss. If there is basic periodontal pocketing, then with exquisite oral hygiene measures, a patient can expect reattachment and decrease of the pocket depth rather rapidly. But if there is actual attachment loss and recession, without periodontal surgery, the best a patient can hope to do most often, is to simply halt the progression of the disease, again with exemplary oral hygiene measures.
The way I see it is that I am going to be taking so much more info away from this forum than I could hope to impart to it, that it is more than a fair value for value trade on my end!
Thank you Dr. Tlag, and if I may, another question--are dental hygienists trained to perform periodontal scaling? Or is further/advanced training required?
Not usually. If there is not more gingiva covering the tooth the best a patient can hope for is to regain about .5mm of attachment and only then if the cause of the recession was an infection instead of trauma. The patients with deep periodontal pockets, where there is a space between the tooth and the gingiva due to inflammation will have reattachment when the infection is cleared. Otherwise periodontal surgery is usually needed to graft healthy tissue over the exposed part of the root.
Water picks can be good for certain things, but mostly you will want to simply floss. Just as a joke, one of my friends from school got the license plate on his car that said "FlosrDIE"
I want to make a disclaimer at this point. At no point do I condone doing anything yourself or a friend or loved one when there is a dentist available. All the knowledge I am passing along would be for emergency situations ONLY. So if you are missing a crown have the dentist put it back on. To be honest I can't think of a comparable cement like those used in dentistry that one would have available in an emergency, I will look into it though.
Now you've got me paranoid...lol. I brush twice a day but floss once a week from your previous posts, I'm going floss everyday and brush 3 times day! I can't end up getting bacterial infection after SHTF because of my teeth! Time to stock up on floss, toothpaste and tooth brushes!
John for those that are considering dentures what are the advantages with those vs new type of "permanent dentures" or is this just another fad type money waster?
Hello sir! This all comes down to the individual patient's needs. Dentures are NOT replacements for normal teeth in the sense that most people think. The newest research shows that chewing efficiency is only 20-30% of natural teeth. Implant supported dentures are infinitely more comfortable for most patients because there is so much less support structure needed. They are still too new to have a great deal of information available as there is with traditional dentures. In the end, it always seems to come down to the cost. Implant supported dentures are a huge advancement in the field but again it requires surgery to place the implants and this is not for every patient. But you will have to discuss this with your dentist because it is such a patient specific choice.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Survivalist Forum
11.6M posts
167.1K members
Since 2007
A forum community dedicated to survivalists and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about collections, gear, DIY projects, hobbies, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!