17 ms·

It always struck me as funny that if you want to get into Medicine you can either do the normal MD course that covers 95% of the body (obviously, you may be abl

It always struck me as funny that if you want to get into Medicine you can either do the normal MD course that covers 95% of the body (obviously, you may be able to specialize much later on) OR you can do the other 5% as a Dentist (and again, you may chose to specialize later). Teeth suck, I'm hanging out for "I can't believe they're not teeth" implants so I can stop worrying about the damn things.

Aron 9y ago
The sucking pressure is actually created by the lungs (or diaphragm) not the teeth. It's not clear which specialty is taught that.
- kpil 9y ago
  It's primarily the tongue.
  - Aron 9y ago
    Certainly in those cases where teeth are not advised.
jstanley 9y ago
I have an "I can't believe it's not a tooth" implant, after I lost a front tooth when I crashed a tiny motorcycle. They drilled a hole in my jaw, beefed it up with a "cadaver bone" from a pig, threaded a titanium bolt into the hole, and then threaded a tooth-lookalike into the titanium bolt. The installation is a bit... industrial, but you'd never know it wasn't a real tooth. It cost £3,000 though.
- justinclift 9y ago
  There's also BioImplant (Austrian based), which uses Zirconium and has a good rep: http://www.bioimplant.at http://www.bioimplant.at Titanium screws can have issues, where's the Zirconium-moulded-to-the-original-tooth-shape approach seems better.
- dsego 9y ago
  Next time take a vacation in one of the balkan countries, get an implant, and maybe even save some money.
- EADGBE 9y ago
  What kind of deductible is that in $?
- synicalx 9y ago
  Neato, from a 'user' perspective how is it? Does it feel or work any different to a usual tooth?
  - jstanley 9y ago
    Just like a normal tooth, except the surrounding part of my mouth is a little "bulkier" at the back where the cadaver bone was placed. No complaints at all.
    - synicalx 9y ago
      Interesting! Thanks for the info though, always been something I found quite interesting
xxxdarrenxxx 9y ago
Teeth are also more intricate and "fiddly". Superficially arms legs fingers and toes are the same thing. Organic leverages. Their makeup due to evolution is advanced, but very straight to the point. They are also big. Teeth are small micro structures. The major organs are all over the place. The heart and lungs oh so important, yet they be glorified pressure pumps nonetheless. The liver on the other hand, throw any shit into there and it magically outputs clear lifeforce for the body. Very interesting. This is from a surgical point of view, as I view dentists also as surgeons in the mechanical regard. You have individual branches when you get into genetics/biology off each individual part, which is a whole different level off complexity. The brain has neurologists, neuroscientist, psychiatrists and psychologists. Also very complex. I think another reason might simply be the natural tendency to first tackle which lies in front. While genetics and such are interesting, people need direct help with broken limbs and failing organs, creating a pushing need for people requiring such skillsets. Teeth score the highest in this as well. If u break an arm it's w/e but teeth issues are often felt instantly and persist continuously if not dealt with.
nickjj 9y ago
Having an implant takes a lot more maintenance than regular teeth and no one really knows the long-long term results (modern implants haven't been around long enough). While an implant may offer a much better quality of life vs having a severely poor tooth (or none at all), don't be fooled into thinking you just get one and then you're set for life. They are considered an excellent option in a lot of cases, but you should never sacrifice your real teeth. You trade in worrying about cavities (real teeth) to worrying about a bunch of implant specific problems. All of which are waaaaaay scarier than cavities.
- TheOtherHobbes 9y ago
  Cavities are not the problem. Abscesses and infections are the problem. An untreated abscess can have very severe consequences, up to and including death from sepsis. Implants need to be kept clean, and the risk of infection is slightly higher than with normal teeth. But they rarely become a bacterial reservoir - which isn't a rare consequence for the roots of normal teeth when they're not kept as least as clean.
- synicalx 9y ago
  That's a problem with implants now, I'm hanging out for something that doesn't have those problems.
  - nickjj 9y ago
    That's where it gets tricky. Let's say something substantially better comes out 5 years from now. Do you really want to be a guinea pig for that? You may end up waiting 10 or 15 years after the new thing comes out just to make sure it's properly field tested and successful in a majority of people. Plus, you still don't know how long it will really last because there's no real world data. Then there's the whole skill level of the surgeon placing the implant. Some dentists take 2 day seminars to learn how to place implants, and are able to start doing them on real people afterwards. Do you really want that guy to do the job for you? Because it's going to take 5+ years before anyone builds up enough experience to be even be in a spot to say "I'm really comfortable placing these things because I've seen it all".
sn9 9y ago
It's really only an accident of history. This Atlantic piece goes into it: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/03/why-dentistry-is-separated-from-medicine/518979/ https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/03/why-denti...

Aron 9y ago

The sucking pressure is actually created by the lungs (or diaphragm) not the teeth. It's not clear which specialty is taught that.

kpil 9y ago
It's primarily the tongue.
- Aron 9y ago
  Certainly in those cases where teeth are not advised.

jstanley 9y ago

I have an "I can't believe it's not a tooth" implant, after I lost a front tooth when I crashed a tiny motorcycle. They drilled a hole in my jaw, beefed it up with a "cadaver bone" from a pig, threaded a titanium bolt into the hole, and then threaded a tooth-lookalike into the titanium bolt. The installation is a bit... industrial, but you'd never know it wasn't a real tooth. It cost £3,000 though.

justinclift 9y ago
There's also BioImplant (Austrian based), which uses Zirconium and has a good rep: http://www.bioimplant.at http://www.bioimplant.at Titanium screws can have issues, where's the Zirconium-moulded-to-the-original-tooth-shape approach seems better.
dsego 9y ago
Next time take a vacation in one of the balkan countries, get an implant, and maybe even save some money.
EADGBE 9y ago
What kind of deductible is that in $?
synicalx 9y ago
Neato, from a 'user' perspective how is it? Does it feel or work any different to a usual tooth?
- jstanley 9y ago
  Just like a normal tooth, except the surrounding part of my mouth is a little "bulkier" at the back where the cadaver bone was placed. No complaints at all.
  - synicalx 9y ago
    Interesting! Thanks for the info though, always been something I found quite interesting

xxxdarrenxxx 9y ago

Teeth are also more intricate and "fiddly". Superficially arms legs fingers and toes are the same thing. Organic leverages. Their makeup due to evolution is advanced, but very straight to the point. They are also big. Teeth are small micro structures. The major organs are all over the place. The heart and lungs oh so important, yet they be glorified pressure pumps nonetheless. The liver on the other hand, throw any shit into there and it magically outputs clear lifeforce for the body. Very interesting. This is from a surgical point of view, as I view dentists also as surgeons in the mechanical regard. You have individual branches when you get into genetics/biology off each individual part, which is a whole different level off complexity. The brain has neurologists, neuroscientist, psychiatrists and psychologists. Also very complex. I think another reason might simply be the natural tendency to first tackle which lies in front. While genetics and such are interesting, people need direct help with broken limbs and failing organs, creating a pushing need for people requiring such skillsets. Teeth score the highest in this as well. If u break an arm it's w/e but teeth issues are often felt instantly and persist continuously if not dealt with.

nickjj 9y ago

Having an implant takes a lot more maintenance than regular teeth and no one really knows the long-long term results (modern implants haven't been around long enough). While an implant may offer a much better quality of life vs having a severely poor tooth (or none at all), don't be fooled into thinking you just get one and then you're set for life. They are considered an excellent option in a lot of cases, but you should never sacrifice your real teeth. You trade in worrying about cavities (real teeth) to worrying about a bunch of implant specific problems. All of which are waaaaaay scarier than cavities.

TheOtherHobbes 9y ago
Cavities are not the problem. Abscesses and infections are the problem. An untreated abscess can have very severe consequences, up to and including death from sepsis. Implants need to be kept clean, and the risk of infection is slightly higher than with normal teeth. But they rarely become a bacterial reservoir - which isn't a rare consequence for the roots of normal teeth when they're not kept as least as clean.
synicalx 9y ago
That's a problem with implants now, I'm hanging out for something that doesn't have those problems.
- nickjj 9y ago
  That's where it gets tricky. Let's say something substantially better comes out 5 years from now. Do you really want to be a guinea pig for that? You may end up waiting 10 or 15 years after the new thing comes out just to make sure it's properly field tested and successful in a majority of people. Plus, you still don't know how long it will really last because there's no real world data. Then there's the whole skill level of the surgeon placing the implant. Some dentists take 2 day seminars to learn how to place implants, and are able to start doing them on real people afterwards. Do you really want that guy to do the job for you? Because it's going to take 5+ years before anyone builds up enough experience to be even be in a spot to say "I'm really comfortable placing these things because I've seen it all".

sn9 9y ago

It's really only an accident of history. This Atlantic piece goes into it: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/03/why-dentistry-is-separated-from-medicine/518979/ https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/03/why-denti...