For those of you who have had your amalgams removed, are there any of you who have not had your cavitations cleaned out as well. If so, are you doing o.k.? My dentist says I probably need cavitations cleaned out - I have had two wisdom teeth dug out and two root canals gone bad which were pulled. Just getting amalgams replaced will cost me too much - and there are others in my family that need some work done. I am trying to decide on this cavitation thing. Those who had cavitations done, is it expensive?

I'm not sure if I am having a cavitation or not. I have to have a root canal tooth pulled and the socket cleaned. How much that will cost, I don't know. I'm trying to build up the courage to have it done, lol. I am very phobic of the dentist and as much as I would like the tooth gone and as much as I know I am getting daily poisoning from the mercury, it's still hard to be able to get it out. Last time I had a tooth extracted my pulse went over 130 I was so terrified.

I need to get about 3 cavitations done on the left lower side of my jaw and I'm scared to death to have it done. My dentist says I have an infection. I have two root canals and one socket from an earlier extracted tooth. It's going to be expensive and I'm pretty sure my insurance will not cover it. I should get it done, because four years ago I had ovarian cancer and I think there is a link between the toxins from root canals and cancer.

Sorry about your cancer. That must have been scary. I hope you are ok now. Did you have your ovaries removed?

I know I need to get the strength to get this tooth out and the socket cleaned, but it's so frightening. I'm going to look into getting a local dentist to do this as I just can't face going all the way to London, especially this time of year as it's so cold and dark. If I can get this done before Christmas, then in the new year I can start to have some amalgam fillings replaced. I need to get the ball rolling and get these poisons out of me if I ever hope to get better.

Yes, I had a complete hysterectomy and chemotherapy. I'm doing fine now. I have been trying to figure out the cause of my cancer and believe my dental history has been a factor. I had 5 root canals, braces 3 times, major jaw surgery to correct an overbite and a mouthful of mercury. I never felt good again after my jaw surgery 15 years ago...anyway I think we both need to get over our fears and just do it. My brother had it done and said there was no initial pain and it was a pretty fast procedure, but the downside was the drilling the bone. (drilling the bone was fast and not painful, it was just the vibration he didn't like). He had quite a bit of infection that was cleaned out. Then afterwards he face was very swollen and there was a lot of bleeding and pain. He was back to normal in three days. He said he felt better, healthwise, after his recovery. I have to do it, I just can't put it off much longer. I think you should get it done too ASAP. It will be good for your health in the long run.

I'm glad that you are better now. 5 root canals can't have been good! I have one and I think that's caused me some problems.

No one mentioned drilling bone to me, just cleaning out the socket. Maybe that is a different thing? There's no way I can cope with them drilling the bone. If that is what they want to do, I'm afraid I will just be having the tooth out and leave the infection there. It will be either that or getting nothing done. I just can't cope with the drilling the bone. That is too much for me. I can just about handle getting the tooth extracted, and that is traumatic enough for me.

I just read up a little on this. Do you think what the dentist meant by saying "you need to have the socket cleaned after extraction" that he just wants to take out the peridontal ligament fibre thing? Does that involve drilling?

I think if there is an infection in the bone he will have to use an instrument to clean the bone and will probably involve some vibration, maybe not a drill, but something to clean out the bone. It is supposed to be a quick procedure.

Quick or not, it's too much for me. I have extreme phobia of the dentist and all things medical. It's really bad for me. When they told me I would have to have my wisdom tooth out, I seriously considered suicide, because I couldn't cope. 4 times I cancelled. I have OCD, probably because of the mercury, and there's no way I can cope with anything like that. I'm afraid I will just be getting the tooth out and will have to hope for the best regarding the infection.

Is there any way of having the socket cleaned to get rid of the peridontal fibres thing without doing anything to the bone? There's no point telling me to have sedation or anything like that because I am phobic of that and being put to sleep. I can barely manage 15 minutes in the dentists chair before I get a panic attack. It is going to be very hard for me to cope with amalgam replacement. I am trying to build up my courage. But I have to get this tooth sorted first. It's a total nightmare for me.

Is there anybody out there who has had this cavitation procedure done? We could sure use some info from someone who has been there as to what it is like to have it done, what it costs compared to having amalgams replaced, etc.
Thanks in advance.

I take it you have to have cavitations done whilst getting your fillings removed? Does they remove the tooth and clean the socket? I really have no idea...

I have to get my root canal tooth sorted first, if I want to have my fillings removed the Huggins way. I have to have it out and the socket cleaned. I don't know if this is a cavitation as the word wasn't mentioned.

I'm really not sure what to do about it, but the weather here has turned pretty bad and we're supposed to be snowed in by the weekend, so the decision is out of my hands for the moment <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

But seriously, a decision needs to be made on it. I feel like I have not made any progress since the summer, but I know that I have made some - got the compatibility testing and found a dentist to do the replacement etc. It's all a step in the right direction <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />