If it ain’t broke, fix it.
Monday, April 20th, 2009
This summer I had to replace some outdoor stairs at my home. When these stairs were built about 12 years ago, we did not use treated lumber, as a result, there were signs of rot. The stairs were still functional, but I had some concern that they could break. Not wanting to have a stair failure as Aunt Tilley was climbing down, I decided to tear out the old stairs and build new ones.
Many readers are now saying: “Brian, did you whack your head while windsurfing on Friday? This is a dental column. While we find your stair story fascinating, what has it got to do with teeth?” Let me explain.
Many times after examining someone’s teeth and going over treatment options, I hear the line “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?” While it may be true that there are no clinical symptoms at the present time, there may be advantages to treating some teeth before they cause problems. Much the way we replaced the stairs before an accident occurred.
We can often predict which teeth will eventually fail. By taking action before failure we are able to prevent dental emergencies and restorative complications and treatment of the affected teeth can be scheduled at a convenient time. (more…)
