I always hated getting that one back x-ray with the film. It always hurt. But I got through it. Now, they have digital x-rays. There is no film. It's a big plastic thing that has no give to it and hurts like heck. This thing made me cry. It was so painful. I could not even do it. And they kept trying and trying and it was cutting the bottom of my mouth. They made me feel really stupid and were very threatening because they said, well your insurance isn't going to cover it unless you take this x-ray. So here I am in the car crying and trying to find out if anybody else has this problem. Of course I should know by now that if I have a problem a lot of people have a problem. It's never just me. Has anyone experienced this digital x-ray bs? How do I get through this? I asked for a smaller one. they said they didn't have one. They only had one size. I said how can that be when everyone has different sized mouths?

Oh, Barb, what a sad and sorry tale. Poor little guy. I shudder to think. I think it is SOP to be on antibiotics after a procedure like that, though. I guess it didn't work on whatever bug had him sick. : ( I would die. I had a few tooth abscesses growing up, on my back molars, and the dentist would just slice them open and drain. Wonder why they just remove the tooth on these guys. Certainly, an abscess needs to be taken care of. Abscesses can cause systemic blood poisining too (whatever the correct term is). As far as routine care, it probably is a good idea to wipe the teeth down periodically. My vet recommends gauze and hydrogen peroxide to get the scum off, esp the back teeth. Two of my kitties would probably tolerate that well. Well, my cats get better medical care (and food!) than I do. I hadn't had my own teeth done in about 15 years. Ha, when I had them done this Summer, the hygienist looked like a deer caught in headlights when I answered that question! She was also in shock when my gums/teeth came up at 3's and 2's (very good). And I only had two cavities to be filled. Maybe that doesn't speak, overall, for what gets into my blood from chewing, but my teeth and gums are in good shape from daily care. One of the big reasons I had stopped getting my teeth done, though, was after reading about disease transferance through the dental drills and other tools. And I also remember how our family dentist had died of some weird (blood, as I recall) disease. Even with all the cleaning they do, there can be remnants from other patients stuck on or lodged in the tools. And, as I recall, there is specific difficulty in managing cross-contamination, in dentistry, with respect to prion diseases. I wonder if they're as careful with the instruments for animals as they're learning to be with people. Will have to ask my vet! They did have a new way of cleaning teeth, though, which I really liked! and the tool would seem safer. Forget the name, but it was with a strong water jet. They just blast the gums and teeth, like a power wash. Wouldn't want to take a blue light to that exam room or tech, though, lol.

I'm not a big fan of alcohol. Ginger can't have grapefruit because of a medication she's on (I realize it's not a large amount but she would be consuming some, I'd think). And grapefruit seed extract is a very weak disinfectant at best. I've done research on it when looking for a cleaner for my parrots' stuff. Thanks Mazer. She hates the taste of baking soda, I don't blame her. It's so salty. I may go with Drsfosterandsmith baking soda toothpaste because the ingredients are so limited, with no alcohol, artificial sweeteners, or alcohol. I hate paying more for s&h than for the actual toothpaste though. Seems odd.

From my experience in working at a dentist clinic for years, here's my thought. A tooth crown involves 2 people, the dentist that preps it (taking impression) and the fabricator that the dentist uses. Thus, the dentist may be good but not the fabricator that s/he uses or vice versa. Both needs to be reliable. It's also important for the fabricator to know what or how the dentist wants. Not all dentists fit a crown the same way and the fabricator needs to understand this. Crown fabricators usually are not in the same location as the dentist is. They have their own lab and normally work for several dentist clinics. Thus, it may not always be the dentist's fault. However, a good dentist will take responsibility and should make it right for his/her patients. As for your question of which is best, porcelain fused to metal is more durable. The porcelain coat crown will still match your teeth but not as well as an all-porcelain crown would. Sometime, the metal fused crown tends to turn darker in time. Whereas, the all-porcelain crown will not but it tends to chip as Kudzu9 already mentioned. If the crown was toward the front, I'd recommend the all-porcelain. But since it's a molar, the metal fused is a better choice for chewing since it can take the pressure more.