What About the Other Side
片方はいいの？
The other day, a new patient came into my office. He got suggested from other dentist that he need to replace all his old metal fillings with tooth colored ones. Because he didn’t want to do that, he came to see me. I told him I would want him to keep his old fillings as well… as long as they are working fine. But if the filling needed to be replaced, then sometimes the better option is the tooth colored fillings. The tooth colored ones are certainly nicer looking!
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A few years ago, my husband needed a cracked filling replaced on his lower right side. My husband is scared of the dentist. It took awhile for him to get brave enough to come in Saturday afternoon. After looking in his mouth, I noticed that there was another filling right next to that tooth that had a piece broken off. Seeing that they were right next to each other, one shot would numb the entire lower right side and both fillings could be replaced on that day.
After his visit, the ugly black metal fillings were gone and his lower right side looked like everything was perfect. He said, “Wow! I can’t even tell which ones you did!”, I nodded and smiled. “Yes. The best kind of dentistry are the ones that only you and your dentist knows about.”
Later that evening, he started out as a simple question. “What about the other side?” “What other side?” I answered. He continued, “My fillings on the other side! When can you replace those for me?
I explained to him that those fillings on the other side are fine. But when they do need to be replaced, I can do them tooth colored as well. For the rest of the evening, he kept opening his mouth, pointing and showing me. I’ve created a monster! He kept asking. After a while, I gave up.”OK, I will do the other side for you next week.” For someone who doesn’t really like going to the dental office, this was certainly a surprise. Maybe with all the white fillings, it will motivate him to floss every night as well!
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Be sure to check with your dentist to see if your teeth are right for tooth colored fillings when they need to be replaced.
（次回は６月８日号掲載）
〈Keyword〉
tooth colored fillings：
セラミッククラウン
filling：詰め物
floss：デンタルフロス
〈プロフィル〉Dr. Clara Lee ニューヨーク大学歯学部卒業。ニューヨーク大学ブルックデール病院でチーフレジデンス修了。13年以上に及ぶ臨床経験は一般歯科、コスメティック、インプラントを含む。インビザライン認定医。Waterside Dental Care院長として古山医師と共に、多くの日本人患者さんを治療。Dentistryをこよなく愛している。記事提供：Waterside dental Care（Tel：212-683-6260）
