Q: I broke my front tooth crown clear down to the gum line over the holidays. My dentist said it cannot be saved and I will need the tooth removed and replaced with an implant. If I send you aniPhone picture and the x-ray, can you tell me if you can save it? How will you save it?
A: Boy I sure learned my lesson. Never give a critique of any political figure’s teeth. Although I received only two hate emails for my piece on “Biden’s teeth”, they were both a doozy. One lady wrote: “I am going to tell all my friends in Palm Beach not to go to you!” Another asked me: “Why did you not critique the president’s orange hair?” I merely paraphrased an article written by another doctor on Biden’s teeth and discussed how we use technology to make dental work look natural. No political angle at all.
I will say, people these past four years were at each other’s throats. I never had one complaint when for 15 years on my live weekly radio show, Tooth Talk, I had a segment called: “Teeth go to Hollywood” where I critiqued a public figure’s smile and used it as a segway into various dental topics. Every four years I did an Election Day special comparing the candidate’s teeth. No nasty calls or emails. Ever. (Until 2020.)
If a tooth or crown snaps off below the gum line, we can often save the tooth if it is not chock full of soft, rotting decay:
Ok, I hope I did not stir up more trouble amongst the population. Feel free to email or call me for advice.