Dental work while on Reclast

4 medications that I take cause
dry mouth. Dry mouth is a total tooth killer. I got a portable water pick that I use all the time to irrigate. I am 70 and live in a senior building. Everyone walks around in pain from arthritis. They really don't have a good medication to treat arthritis. Someday.

Is there a group for lapan laser? I'm scheduled for one in April and would love to hear from people who has had it done. Thanks

Hi @hlp123, @jenniferhunter brought me into your conversation. I have a dental background and can maybe offer a little more information on your situation.

I’m wondering how far down this tooth has broken off below the gum line and if there was decay involve. If the nerve is involved it will not shrink and be fine. Usually when this happens the nerve dies and can become infected if the damaged tissue isn’t removed. (It would become an abscess at the bottom tip of that root)

That’s when a root canal treatment is done. It removes the dead nerve tissue in the root, while preserving the actual root itself. The nerve chamber inside the root looks like a tiny hollow straw, inside of that tube is the nerve. The tube is essentially cleaned out and the old nerve tissue is removed, replaced with a sterile sealant.
Where I’m going with this is, if there isn’t extensive decay on that root and the bone around that root is sound, you might be able to have a root canal treatment to preserve the root of the tooth for future use. A post could be inserted into the root and a permanent replacement tooth (crown) cemented on top. That way you would not need a dental implant in the future.

If, however, the oral surgeon is seeing quite a bit of damage to the tooth root with decay, which may be why it broke off at the gum line, he is making the right call to remove that damaged root now. As far as the Reclast injection and your having an extraction done. You should be fine. I read your comments regarding the oral surgeon’s plan for pre and post extraction. It is a ‘risk vs benefit’ situation as he stated. Your risk of osteonecrosis is minimal and he’s doing all he can to minimize infection and promote healing.

Are you feeling any discomfort with this broken tooth? Can you tell me is this an upper or lower tooth and where is it located in your mouth?

@loribmt -- Do you know if you can get a dental crown shortly before Reclast infusion? I literally just found out I need a crown, and I am supposed to have Reclast coming up. Based on scheduled dates, the crown would be 6 days before the reclast.

The crown is due to a hairline crack in one of my molars, there will be no extractions, no implant, and the dentist said he will not be anywhere close to my jawbone. It is a same-day crown, so I will not have to get a temporary and then wait for the permanent one. Since you have a dental background, I wonder what you think.

Hi @mmkrsk. You’ve already done what I was going to suggest…to speak with your dentist. There really shouldn’t be any issue or interference having the crown done now, before the upcoming Reclast injection. In fact it’s perfect timing. ☺️

@loribmt
Thank you for your prompt reply! I was thinking the timing is good too. But then today I read somewhere that you should wait 6 to 8 weeks after any dental work (other than routine cleaning or small filling) before your next Reclast. That would've been great except that I was not having any trouble w/my tooth until now.

My dentist says they are more concerned if there is an extraction or implant, but he is not worried about this crown. I have a message in to my endocrinologist too---praying he will feel it is safe b/c I definitely do not want to get behind on my osteoporosis meds. But I don't want to wait for the crown either.

I've never had this kind of dental work; when I got my dental cleaning in Jan the dentist said, "Whatever you're doing, just keep doing it. Everything looks great". Then recently I got a hairline crack in a molar that had a filling in it that's decades old. Bad timing.

Thank you again, and if you have any other insight, I'm all ears.