Was This Just a Coincidence?

Amy Dukoff, D.M.D.
Was This Just a Coincidence?

Amy Dukoff

PATIENT presented to me with com-
plaints of chronic pain in the upper left canine and lower right first premolar. He was a gentleman in his sixties with good health. He had no medical history that would hinder or compromise treatment. He had no reported history of trauma, orthodontia, or bleaching on the teeth in question. He was not on any medication and did not have any reported allergies. He had good oral hygiene and normal healthy gingiva. The two teeth of concern both had healthy gingiva with normal periodontal pockets. The patient was very compliant and receptive to treatment.
    Both teeth were in need of conventional root canal therapy due to deep carious lesions. The teeth appeared on radiographic interpretation to have “normal” root canal morphology. I say “normal” in quotation marks, because what seem to be regular, well-defined canal spaces on radiographic interpretation can many times have aberrant morphology clinically. I debrided both canal systems in each tooth both mechanically and chemically. However, when the patient returned for the fill appointment each time, he complained of “pain” and said that he “was not comfortable” with the tooth. There was no swelling, the canal systems were dry, and the teeth were asymptomatic to palpation. Yet, the patient stated, “I am not comfortable; something must be wrong.” This was indeed frustrating.
    He was a gentleman and cordial. He would try to encourage conversation with me. At one treatment session, he remarked that he had been a vegetarian for many years. He boasted of how surprisingly good he felt since he had made the dietary change. However, from personal experience I had found that a pure vegetarian diet doesn’t always allow for the same body structure as a carnivorous diet does. I suggested to him that I had seen remarkable changes in healing when animal protein was added to the diet. He said he was not averse to doing that. He agreed to add meat to his diet and said that he’d let me know how he and his teeth felt after two weeks.
    Two weeks later, my patient returned for his regular appointment. Surprisingly, he noted, his upper tooth was totally asymptomatic. He said that he had incorporated meat into his diet. He said that his lower tooth was a little better, too. I don’t have a solid scientific reason to explain why a diet incorporating red meat might help heal bone, but in this case it was very coincidental. More cases need to be followed before any link could be established; yet it was an interesting finding.

November - December 2007

Use Ti-Core White to close the access. Just etch for twenty seconds and syringe directly into the access cavity. Light-cure for twenty to forty seconds. Done.

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