Hydrocodone Reclassified as Schedule II

October 5, 2014 by
Hydrocodone and acetominophen tylenol combination prescribed at the dentist

Hydrocodone and Acetaminophen (brand name Vicodin).

On October 6th, hydrocodone containing medications will be re-classified as a Schedule II controlled substance. Hydrocodone is a high potency prescription level painkiller included in the combinations known as Vicodin and Lortab. Hydrocodone is considered a narcotic and is classified as an opioid type medication. In addition to relieving pain, hydrocodone can cause drowsiness and has the potential for addiction.

Many physicians and dentists, including our Orange, CT dental office, prescribe hydrocodone-containing products to treat pain. As a result, this change affects all dentists and many patients.

Why the Change?

In the past several years, a new epidemic of prescription drug abuse has emerged, with opioid pain killers being the most frequently abused drug. In fact, on average, narcotic painkillers cause or contribute to approximately 16,000 deaths per year in the U.S.

Map of Connecticut Prescription Drug Deaths

Prescription drug deaths in Connecticut. Fortunately there have been no deaths in Orange. Image courtesy the Connecticut Mirror.

In Connecticut, including the greater New Haven area, there has been an average of 272 drug overdoses per year, with many of them from painkillers such as Vicodin. Although there have been no deaths in Orange, our office has seen our fair share of patients who have had abuse problems with these types of medications.

In order to combat this epidemic, the DEA is now making it more difficult to obtain hydrocodone containing prescriptions. Some of the changes are listed below.

How it Affects Dental Offices

All dental offices that prescribe these types of medications are affected. In our office, where we do a significant amount of oral surgery such as tooth extractions, we will be adhering to the new requirements. These include:

  • We can no longer call in prescriptions.
  • In general, we can no longer give prescriptions with refills.

While this may pose a slight inconvenience to our patients, we hope everyone understands that this is not being done to annoy them but to reduce drug abuse in Connecticut and beyond.

Mouths of Prescription Drug Abusers

We all know how devastating prescription drug abuse can be on individuals. The abuse can lead to disastrous effects on the oral health. Below is a photo of a patient who had abused these medications for years:

Photograph of rotting teeth from abuse of percocet and vicodin

Teeth with untreatable decay due to abuse of Vicodin and Percocet. The only solution is a denture. Photo Dr. Nicholas Calcaterra.

We realize that the above photo is graphic and may be disgusting to people. However, it should hit home the point that prescription drug abuse is a serious problem.

By adhering to these new regulations, we hope to be part of the solution to our nation’s prescription drug abuse problem.

 

Filed Under: Dentistry and Medicine Tagged With: , ,

A Bridge Over Troubled Water

September 14, 2014 by
Standard tooth model with perfect teeth

Very few of our patients have teeth like hers!

Many of our patients have perfect teeth without a single filling. Many others do not.

While we are tempted to only post photos of our patients with beautiful teeth, that would not represent what many people face today. So why do that? We’re out to help our patients achieve the smile and confidence they want, not create fake, airbrushed Vanity Fair models.

Our patient John was the furthest thing from a smiling model on the cover of a magazine. He came to us because he was impressed with our ability to help all types of patients. Let’s take a look:

Lower dental bridge with canines and incisors before and after photos

John was finally able to smile again with a new bridge! Photos and dentistry by Dr. Nicholas Calcaterra.

John had a bad experience at the Aspen Dental in Orange, CT. As you look at his photos, you can see he has multiple missing teeth, large silver colored fillings, and generalized stain. His biggest concern was the gap between his lower front teeth. He was unable to smile and could no longer eat the foods he used to enjoy. We listened.

We presented John with all his options. As a current smoker, dental implants would have been less predictable. We ultimately decided upon a dental bridge to replace this missing lower teeth. Given his past dental problems, this was going to be a bridge over troubled waters.

On cementation of the bridge, John was a changed man. He was able to smile again and enjoy all of his favorite foods. John’s experience was a testament to the fact that anyone can benefit from modern, twenty-first century dentistry.

The Best Dental Bridge Photo Ever!

cool dental bridge photo showing teeth and pontics

John’s bridge before we permanently cemented it into this mouth. Photo Dr. Nicholas Calcaterra.

Patients often ask us what a bridge actually looks like. Well there it is! For John, given his past history of dental problems, we used a durable style that has a thin layer of metal underneath. But no one can see the metal.

John’s experience was so positive that we are happy to say that there are no more troubled waters. Just a happy patient comfortable with his smile.

Do you have a less than ideal smile? We won’t judge you – we’ll listen to you and work with you to identify the best solution. Contact us anytime.

Filed Under: Clinical Success Stories Tagged With: ,

Ugly Dental Implants!

August 11, 2014 by
A beautiful pre-operative dental implant photo

Not all of our implant cases begin like this!

If you’ve made it this far, you might be wondering what dentist would be stupid enough to brag about ugly dental implants?!?

That would be us!

You see, many dentists, us included, post our best cases where people have perfect teeth and smiles. Many other dentists actually just buy “stock photos” of “tooth models” of patients they’ve never treated (note that we don’t do that!). We dentists often assume that patients ONLY want to see those cases. A great example we did is How Tom Got His Tooth Back.

But many of our patients don’t have perfect teeth. They have older, mismatched crowns. They have staining and receded gums. They have silver fillings that date back to the Kennedy administration. On top of all that, they’re missing a tooth or teeth and just want to be able to smile again without a gap or eat their favorite foods.

The patient then proceeds to receive life changing treatment with implants. They can eat again. They can smile again. They feel like they have their life back. We take before and after photos, but are reluctant to post them because they don’t look like the smiling tooth models.

But that ends with this post. So, without further ado, let’s look at some ugly dental implants!

First Before and After Photo

Ugly dental implant before and after photo at Calcaterra Family Dentistry

She didn’t have a Hollywood smile but the results are what counts! Photos and Dentistry by Dr. Nicholas Calcaterra.

The patient above did not have a Hollywood smile. She suffered from years of gum disease resulting in gum recession, black triangles, and numerous dental crowns. Unfortunately, she had to lose her upper right canine due to dental decay. She wanted a replacement so that she could smile and eat the foods she wanted. That’s exactly what she got!

Second Before and After Photo

Pre and Post op dental implant photos done in our dentist office

A past history of gum disease did not stop this gentleman! Photos and dentistry by Dr. Nicholas Calcaterra.

This gentleman is in his mid 50s. After a history of gum disease after growing up in another country, he had numerous missing teeth. He wasn’t looking to become the next Tom Cruise. All he wanted was to be able to eat his favorite foods and smile without showing a gap. It wasn’t Mission Impossible – it was Mission Accomplished!

The Truth About Dental Photos

Model with pretty teeth that we did not do dental treatment on

Warning! We did not treat this woman!

Do you see the woman to the left? Do you actually think she is one of our patients?

We didn’t think so!

As we mentioned before, many dentists “buy” stock photos like these, post them on their websites, and think you are gullible enough to believe that those are patients of theirs

We don’t do that.

We only post photos of patients that we’ve treated. You’ll find dozens of before and after shots – all completed here in our office in Orange. While some may look pretty (see here and here), others don’t have the Hollywood look. But they all have one thing in common: our patients left happy because we listened to their concerns and gave them what they wanted.

As usual, new patients are welcome. Visit our appointment page or call us at (203) 799-2929.

 

Filed Under: Clinical Success Stories Tagged With:

Beat the Black Triangle with Bonding!

July 1, 2014 by

Many of our patients come to us with the dreaded black triangle! Our experience in our Orange, CT dental office is consistent with the published research: approximately one third of all adults have unaesthetic black triangles. Before we discuss the details of this, let’s look at before and after photos of a case we just completed:

Before and After Photos of Black Triangle Correction

Before and after photo of dental black triangle being fixed with bonding

Black Triangle correction using dental bonding. The results speak for themselves! Case and photos by Dr. Nicholas Calcaterra. Clicking on the photo will show an even larger version.

The patient above is a middle aged female in our practice. She was very self-conscious about her smile. She stated that for family photos, she would put her tongue behind her front teeth so that the black hole would not be visible.

We discussed her options at length. While porcelain veneers could have achieved an even better result, we collectively felt that option was overkill (too invasive and too costly). So we decided on bonding. We were able to achieve the above result in one hour and she left a changed woman!

Here is a photo from farther away:

Before and after picture of dental bonding to eliminate black triangle

Another view. Photo Dr. Nicholas Calcaterra

About Black Triangles

The term black triangle is more slang than anything else. The technical term is an open gingival embrasure. An open gingival embrasure can lead to multiple issues, including:

  • Esthetic concerns.
  • Greater likelihood of decay – because food is more likely to be chronically trapped there.
  • Speech issues – air can escape through the gap(s) while speaking which can affect the pronunciation of certain sounds.
  • Ejection of saliva while speaking – we’ve seen this happen on a couple of times but several patients have asked us to fix their embrasures over this very issue.
  • And others.

Remember that not all open embrasures need treatment. And if you don’t want to treat them, that’s fine too! We’re very low key and we do not push treatment. However, we have helped many patients address these with either bonding, porcelain veneers, or all ceramic crowns with great results. Just ask our patient above! Contact us if you would like a consultation.

Filed Under: Clinical Success Stories Tagged With: ,
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