Root Canals

Root Canal. Just hearing the word can cause the imagination to go wild. Some would “rather have a baby than have a root canal”. President Obama says “fixing our economy will be about as popular as having a root canal.” As a laser owner, you need not fear! I just had a root canal myself, and thanks to the Q1000 Laser (and my laser trained dentist, Dr. Kelly Lytle, which I introduced to you last month) it was a pain free, totally comfortable experience.

True Story. The night before I was scheduled to leave for a 2 week business trip I was awakened with one hell of a toothache. If you haven’t ever had one, consider yourself lucky. For those of you who have , it was the kind where you feel each and every heart beat pounding inside of your tooth. The kind that you would give anything to make it stop!

Since my laser is always within arms reach, I placed the QLaser 660 probe directly on the throbbing tooth for 2 minutes. That was followed up by putting the 880 probe on jawbone where the root tip is. Within minutes, the pain had totally stopped and I was back sleeping like a baby. In the morning I made my plane, kept my lecture tour. I continued to laser the tooth daily until I got home and could get into the dentist. The laser kept my pain at bay for two full weeks!

Had I not owned a laser (or have raised a fabulous dentist that would take care of her ol’ dad even if it was 2am) it would have certainly meant a trip to the hospital ER that night. I also would have had to reschedule my AM flight, missed my scheduled lectures, disappointed hundreds of customers and who knows how much business would have been lost. One thing I do know for sure….it certainly would have been more than the cost of the Q1000 Laser!

But moving along. I made it home, had my root canal and have 3 pointers to share with you should you ever need one yourself.

#1. Avoid them in the first place! Teeth need root canals when they become traumatized by either decay, injury or a “bad bite” and the nerve dies. A neuromuscular dentist aligns the teeth and jaws to eliminate these problems. Call me biased, but I’d recommend Dr. Kelly Lytle. Visit her website at www.dakotasmiles.com or call 605-342-0989 to inquire about becoming a Destination Dental Guest.

#2. Take the Q1000 laser with you to the dentist. Laser the tooth as described above then ask the doc to begin treatment without numbing the tooth. If the nerve is already dead, you won’t feel anything other than vibration. (If it isn’t fully dead you will know it and the doc will get you numb.

#3. Partner with your doctor. Doing a good root canal requires that the root be cleaned and sealed down to its tip, but not past it. X-rays are used to guage this but sometimes can be misleading, and not all dentists have the special instrument called an “apex locator” that can measure it…but they do have you! If your tooth is not put to sleep during the procedure you can tell the doc if the cleaning instrument goes out the tip of the root. It no big deal, just feels like a “pin prick”.

So that’s it…my “up close and personal” story about how the Q1000 Laser (and the best laser, neuromuscular, cosmetic, biological dentist in the country… who, by the way, you too can see!) made it a pleasant, comfortable and totally painless experience!

Living with TMJ?

Do you know someone who is making excuses about living with TMJ pain? It happens all the time. Whether it is the popping and clicking jaw, the soreness caused by grinding teeth during sleep, headaches or other pain in the head and neck area, for some reason people tend to avoid TMJ pain. So they take pain relievers or prescription medicines to mask the pain. However, it is not a cure and things tend to get worse if not treated.

One of the main reasons why people tend to put off treatment is that they think major surgery is needed to repair the problem. They may have read this in their research or have been told that by a doctor. If they are thorough in their research, they will also discover the non-invasive neuromuscular treatment. This is the treatment that neuromuscular dentists administer for TMJ that does not include surgery.

My neuromuscular training comes from the world’s leading post-graduate institute on the subject: The Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies. Every day, TMJ suffers are treated successfully by LVI graduates without one jawbone being broken and reset. Our specialized treatment resets the jaw without surgery and places the jaw and all the interconnected tissues back to a normal, functioning position, eliminating the pain and discomfort.

This is good for you to know because many of us know someone who suffers in this condition. They think surgery is the only option and therefore decide to live with their pain. Sometimes simply mentioning the non-invasive neuromuscular option is all that is needed to make a difference.