PLEASE READ THEORY BEFORE DOING ANYTHING
I do not expect that many people will try that, but if someone is so desperate better do not repeat stupid mistakes.
In my case that was just temporary fix for few weeks and i mostly use usual dentist service.
Not everybody can afford professional tooth repairs, and free goverment subsidized service is usually so bad that they do more damage than repair.
My father lost few good teeth because dentists considered them to much damaged to repair cheaply.
I had problems with my wisdom teeth so since there was nothing to loose I decided to repair them myself. It is just temporary repair, until I will find some dentist to extract them properly.
It appears to be not so impossible as you may expect. however wisdom teeth are very hard to reach and so work is complicated so quality is questionable.
There are 2 options for tooth repair, fillings or crowns, dentists especially cheap ones are in love with fillings. They don't last long and each repair does irreversible damage.
Crowns are best solution but somehow quite expensive even if there is no reason for them to be so.
Surprisingly, crowns are not so hard to make as you think, you can find instructions how to make vampire teeth for Halloween and without modifications these methods are usable for tooth repair too.
Only difference is that you need to glue them permanently.
Big filings are much harder to do for yourself. And also you risk to be unable to remove them in case of emergency.I would not recommend permanent DIY filings unless you have dental drill. It is best to avoid them because even professional doctors cant make them properly.
tiny filings are easy to do and are worth trying.
DISCLAIMER: this looks like medical procedure, but technically it is not since none of these instructions involve any work with living flesh(I only recommend very minor repairs). However it is possible to do some damage, and I am not responsible for that. especially if you try to repair heavy damage there is big chance that something will go wrong.
I am not a doctor and I will gladly accept suggestions or critic from any dentist.
I do not expect that many people will try that, but if someone is so desperate better do not repeat stupid mistakes.
In my case that was just temporary fix for few weeks and i mostly use usual dentist service.
Not everybody can afford professional tooth repairs, and free goverment subsidized service is usually so bad that they do more damage than repair.
My father lost few good teeth because dentists considered them to much damaged to repair cheaply.
I had problems with my wisdom teeth so since there was nothing to loose I decided to repair them myself. It is just temporary repair, until I will find some dentist to extract them properly.
It appears to be not so impossible as you may expect. however wisdom teeth are very hard to reach and so work is complicated so quality is questionable.
There are 2 options for tooth repair, fillings or crowns, dentists especially cheap ones are in love with fillings. They don't last long and each repair does irreversible damage.
Crowns are best solution but somehow quite expensive even if there is no reason for them to be so.
Surprisingly, crowns are not so hard to make as you think, you can find instructions how to make vampire teeth for Halloween and without modifications these methods are usable for tooth repair too.
Only difference is that you need to glue them permanently.
Big filings are much harder to do for yourself. And also you risk to be unable to remove them in case of emergency.I would not recommend permanent DIY filings unless you have dental drill. It is best to avoid them because even professional doctors cant make them properly.
tiny filings are easy to do and are worth trying.
DISCLAIMER: this looks like medical procedure, but technically it is not since none of these instructions involve any work with living flesh(I only recommend very minor repairs). However it is possible to do some damage, and I am not responsible for that. especially if you try to repair heavy damage there is big chance that something will go wrong.
I am not a doctor and I will gladly accept suggestions or critic from any dentist.
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Signing UpStep 1: Materials and tools
If you intend to do permanent repairs, then you need good quality materials. (even then it is quite unlikely to have great success.)
Crowns can be made of fiberglass+epoxy or acrylic resin. almost all materials are ok, if you are satisfied with color and strength.
most or stuff can be obtained from medical supply shops
If you want to do filings you need something that cures fast, so epoxy is bad choice, or be prepared to walk with open mouth for 3 hours or find some fast epoxy.
Cheapest solution is acrylic resin.
For temporary filings you can use simple plaster, it is great while you are waiting for appointment of just currently do not have time to visit dentist.
To do job properly you need to prepare tooth surface somehow, cheap dremel is OK for that, but it is better to buy dental handpiece from ebay if you intent do do more repairs.
Simple sharp rod will do the cleaning job because decayed bone is very weak and easy to scrap.
But only diamond burs can defeat enamel without shaking your head too much.
Most vital tool in dental repair business is air blower, without it do not even try to do anything.
big fish tank compressor will work fine, refrigerator compressors may also be suitable but some oil filter may be necessary.
Blunted hypodermic needle will make fine nozzle.
Also you will need big syringe with blunt needle as water squirter to wash tooth surface.
Crowns can be made of fiberglass+epoxy or acrylic resin. almost all materials are ok, if you are satisfied with color and strength.
most or stuff can be obtained from medical supply shops
If you want to do filings you need something that cures fast, so epoxy is bad choice, or be prepared to walk with open mouth for 3 hours or find some fast epoxy.
Cheapest solution is acrylic resin.
For temporary filings you can use simple plaster, it is great while you are waiting for appointment of just currently do not have time to visit dentist.
To do job properly you need to prepare tooth surface somehow, cheap dremel is OK for that, but it is better to buy dental handpiece from ebay if you intent do do more repairs.
Simple sharp rod will do the cleaning job because decayed bone is very weak and easy to scrap.
But only diamond burs can defeat enamel without shaking your head too much.
Most vital tool in dental repair business is air blower, without it do not even try to do anything.
big fish tank compressor will work fine, refrigerator compressors may also be suitable but some oil filter may be necessary.
Blunted hypodermic needle will make fine nozzle.
Also you will need big syringe with blunt needle as water squirter to wash tooth surface.
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"If you intend to do permanent repairs, then you need good quality materials" --reasonably true statement
"To do job properly you need to prepare tooth surface ..."--reasonably true statement
"Most vital tool in dental repair business is air blower" -- "most vital" is an opinion, but it would be logical to say that keeping the site clean and dry is important
"Professionals" who can neither read nor think are the reason people consider doing things themselves. Thank you jlockyer2 for supporting my point-of-view by providing an excellent example!
Alternative oral healthcare providers and community dental clinics are the answer to this oral healthcare crisis across our Nation. If corporate ADA would quit squeezing out competition it would free up more chairtime for children, restorative, and emergency dental procedures but instead, the American Dental Association lobbies federal and state legislators to disregard legislation that would regulate midlevel oral healthcare providers such as denturists, dental therapists, dental health aide therapists, and independent practices for dental hygienists for more productive public health dental services.
Corporate ADA’s self-serving political agenda is hurting consumers by suppressing qualified competitors which provide oral health care services, especially to those with disparities. The American Dental Association works against its own vision and mission statement by suppressing competition which has been trained and educated in providing oral health care services to those who are unable to pay the high prices charged by dentists, leaving Americans without needed dental and oral healthcare.
Gary W. Vollan L.D. State Coordinator; Wyoming State Denturist Assn., www.wysda.org
https://twitter.com/denturist2th
http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/lookup2.php?strID=C00000729
Then I realized that maybe, really just maybe, those years in school were well spent all the same, because more than 85% of the thousands of fillings I made 30-plus years ago still serve their purpose.
Granted, Omega2 did an amazing lot of research, but that does not even scratch the surface. The suggestions posted here are very well meant but may be highly dangerous in many respects. Granted, depending on the situation, they may go well for a while, but the risk of them going haywire is just to high. The correct indication, i.e. the educated assessment of all details of a specific case in order to choose the best treatment, is one of the reasons why dentists have to go to school until they are almost old enough for retirement.
The procedures suggested here should be used only if you are dying of pain and no dentist can be reached within several weeks. Mind you, that does NOT mean you just to not want to call (or pay) a dentist. And, let's face it, where's the place on this planet where you have a Dremel at hand and can buy acrylics but cannot find a dentist?
You better spend a few bucks on a decent treatment. The procedures suggested in this instructible can cause very serious harm, including severe soft tissue damage, large bone destruction, even infections of the heart (endocarditis), kidney problems etc..
As for glass ionomer cement, as suggested by Distructable -- you are right, and it's even much less of a chemical irritation to the pulp that any kind of acrylic, but correctly mixing that stuff needs a lot of experience and practice.
Don't you mean sell the house and car so you have enough for decent treatment?
Because of poor quality dental work I had done when I was a kid, it would now cost me OVER $40,000 to have my teeth fixed CORRECTLY!
Apart from those aspects, it's a simple fact that 99% of all tooth problems can be prevented by reasonable nutrition and good maintenance (read: brushing etc.). Only accidents are included. Caries is a consequence of bad food and lousy hygiene, and periodontal decay is mainly caused by neglect too. Period.
I was one of those billions of people who firmly believe they inherited bad teeth from their parents etc., the whole gammut of excuses we all know. I had to learn dentistry to find out that it's nonsense. You can keep your teeth healthy. Everybody can -- well, almost everybody. There are a few poor folks with genetic defects that cause really bad teeth. But those people are not sitting in front of computers reading instructables. They live in nursing homes.
Avoiding regular appointments at the dentists means saving money in the wrong place. On the long run, not seeing your dentist costs you much more than having your regular check-ups. And when I say "much more," I mean ten times more per year or even worse. And DIYing around on your teeth may make the whole thing even much more expensive. Please don't say you haven't been warned.
People, don't listen to this "dentist" there are many of us out here who brush, floss and take care of our teeth only to have them fall apart regardless. Putting this all on ingorany non brushing puplic is disingenuos, you are offensive to say the least.
i work (out of my own pocket btw) with poor people and give those a free arts/craft education, boy, i see what the mening of poorness means.
How's that for generalization?
Take some responisibilty for your own life.
..no health care except for the wealthy.
LOL I have excellent health care and I am not even close to wealthy, must be that "job" thing I have. 85% of Americans are insured, why don't you actually learn the truth, those without it certainly need to be covered, but this game of ignorance you are espousing.. "no one but the wealthy" is a crock of you know what.
A 2000 report by the U.S. Surgeon General called dental disease a “silent epidemic. since 2006, three children have died in the U.S. because of a dental infection that went untreated because the parents weren't taking the kid to the dentist. In one case in Maryland, the mother of 12 year old Deamonte Driver couldn't find a dentist who would take Medicaid.
The death wasn't exactly a freak occurrence. "I don't think there was anything unusual in Maryland that wasn't happening nationwide," says Harry Goodman, the state's director of oral health.
According to the CDC, each year, Americans make about 500 million visits to dentists.
Although children from lower-income families are almost twice as likely to have decay as those from higher-income families, they are only half as likely to have sealants.
The Republicans and Libertarians are very outspoken about accusing the working class of being lazy and feeling entitled to government hand outs. They are successfully ending subsidized health care among other tax funded programs. A tax burden that is carried on the working class's back. Republicans and Libertarians rant on about the working poor envying the wealthy and wanting to redistribute the wealth.
Ironically most working poor are so busy working and paying taxes they are too tired and too pre-occupied to even know about this slander being propagated, let alone care.
Now, when they come together to begin tackling the issue of creating their own health care in the face of NO health care you chase them down to denigrate them for working at low wage jobs instead of trying to become wealthy enough to afford your elitist health care.
Guess what, the working class don't envy the wealthy. They do not want your wealth or your values. Instead of whipping everyone up to chase white imperialistic colonialism just go look into the world wide destruction those values are wreaking on innocent civilians and the planet we inhabit.
Working poor do not pay taxes.
If you are paying taxes you are well above the poverty line.
Not being able to buy a 47" LCD does not make one "poor".
what was your tax burden, how much did you end up paying the government last year?
You need to keep your full tax refund in the equation, paying taxes out of your paycheck and then getting it all back at the end of the year is the same as not paying taxes. If you paid ANY taxes and did not get a refund equal or above the total tax taken from you during the year then you are most certainly not poor.
wow, I saw your other comment and thought you were just ignorant, now it is clear you are way beyond that. How do you even start to call someone a white supremist because he comments on DIY dental??
3 kids in 5 years due to tooth decay is not an "epidemic", more kids die in 12" pools every day in the summer. More die from Skateboarding accidents each week, I could go on, but your fuzzy logic won't be able to reconcile it.
Is it a national tragedy? Nope.. only those without money count somehow. For shame, if only we spent more of someone elses money on them.
As DIY side, dentin regeneration is interesting and some of the methods will not appear in standard dental care for years, might be area for bold experimenters.
One might look at:
http://annalsofneurosciences.org/journal/index.php/annal/article/viewArticle/ans.0972-7531.2010.170104
The scaffolds are relatively easy to manufacture using modified inkjets, provided the scaffold materials can be aquired.
I have several dead teeth 'they have had root canal treatment and the roots sealed with gutta-percha) which were filled rather than crowned and have now cracked. There is no nerve and so no pain, but they look awful, cut my tongue and cheek, and pieces of food get stuck causing bad breath and weakening what enamel remains. I'd have no hesitation in fixing these teeth myself. In fact I've just bought some GIC (which also releases flouride, strengthening the remaining tooth) for the purpose. Enough GIC for up to 30 repairs cost me about $25 - one filling at my dentist costs $50-100. A crown for even one of my 'dead' teeth is way out of my reach. Additionally, dental care here in Japan is very hit-and-miss. I'm reluctant to see a dentist here after having a root canal with only topical anaesthetic (owwwwwwwwww!)
If you have teeth which are already dead and the roots sealed, I'd say have at it! If there's still any tissue left or the roots have *not* been sealed, you could trap infection which can get into the bloodstream via the root, which could cost you your tooth, your jaw, or even your life.
Toothache Plant you can find seeds on www.seedrack.com it numbs your mouth and makes you salivate, but at least it will lessen the pain from a cavity until such time as you can get in to see a dentist and can find one who will take payments. good luck!
Wow good for you sir!
Anything can be toxic if the dose is high enough, even water. The dose of mercury that is released from amalgam is very small. The amount of damage one cigarette does is much more toxic than a lifetime working around amalgam. If you will look at all the research done on the matter, the people who are most exposed to this mercury vapor (dentists) are at no risk. A good dentist has their patient's well being first and does not want to do anything that may put their patient in harms way. Here is a research article done about amalgam fillings, i hope you find it interesting: http://jada.ada.org/cgi/content/full/132/3/348
Tuffleye
It's an acrylic that's cured with light. It's what dentists use to fill cavities or at least very similar. Just a lot cheaper. It's available in several consistencies. It can be colored as well.
Check it out.
if your filing detaches from surface, crack will do terrible damage because decay will get inside.
if you are asking how well epoxy works as dental glue, then I don't know yet first attempt went wrong because surface was wet.
Second time I used old acrylic filing material, which hardens really fast,
There are no problems currently.
I think this one should be similar to mine
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6404
or here is another strong fast epoxy
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5390
Amalgams should be quite good material. because they can seal cracks.