CT Scan For Tooth Growing Through Gums?

[ilovethesea]

What would cause a tiny bit of tooth to grow through the gums? This is the closest photo I could find to what is going on with me... http://www.studiodentisticoventura.it/public/glossario/zoom/128_FISTOLA.jpg

Dentist said it could be tooth or bone but is 99% sure it's some extra tooth. Not bothering me at all, but he said there is a chance of infection later on, so my options are:
1) Get a CT scan or
2) Have a specialist just cut into my gums to look at it.

He recommended the CT scan and then to decide whether to remove it or not, but I already submitted to a full set of X-rays today and do not think I should do any more damage!

I'm wondering if infection is even a worry, as he said my teeth were very clean (despite not having gone to the dentist since 2012!). Probably all the dairy and K2. I do have 2 cavities but in baby teeth.

Could good nutrition be the cause of this freak tooth growth? And I take it CT scans are something to be avoided at all costs? I'm already feeling guilty about today's x-rays....

 

[bohogirl]

I feel like I have a bump in the same spot but it's not exposed.

 

[Queequeg]

I think you are right to be concerned as I wouldn't want them to do a CT anywhere near my brain. I am surprised the xrays they took didn't capture the size of what is coming out of your gums. If not couldn't a new xray tell them what it is?

 

[ilovethesea]

I think you are right to be concerned as I wouldn't want them to do a CT anywhere near my brain. I am surprised the xrays they took didn't capture the size of what is coming out of your gums. If not couldn't a new xray tell them what it is?

I think it's because of where it is in the mouth, their x-rays aren't able to tell whether it's part of an existing tooth or a whole other new tooth! Never even knew that was possible.

I came across this in another post. Scary!!! How can doctors recommend this in good faith - or do they not even read studies???

It is a study about CT scans done on 680 000 people with mean follow-up years of 9.5 . Overall cancer incidence was 24% greater for exposed than for unexposed people. We saw a dose-response relation, and the IRR increased by 0.16 (0.13 to 0.19) for each additional CT scan. The IRR was greater after exposure at younger ages The IRR increased significantly for many types of solid cancer (digestive organs, melanoma, soft tissue, female genital, urinary tract, brain, and thyroid); leukaemia, myelodysplasia, and some other lymphoid cancers

http://www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.f2360

 

[ilovethesea]

I feel like I have a bump in the same spot but it's not exposed.

Mine isn't in the same spot as the photo, it's on the bottom beside canine tooth. So it's not even noticeable... that's why I'm wondering if I should just ignore their advice and leave it alone.

 

[Queequeg]

I think it's because of where it is in the mouth, their x-rays aren't able to tell whether it's part of an existing tooth or a whole other new tooth! Never even knew that was possible.

I came across this in another post. Scary!!! How can doctors recommend this in good faith - or do they not even read studies???

It is a study about CT scans done on 680 000 people with mean follow-up years of 9.5 . Overall cancer incidence was 24% greater for exposed than for unexposed people. We saw a dose-response relation, and the IRR increased by 0.16 (0.13 to 0.19) for each additional CT scan. The IRR was greater after exposure at younger ages The IRR increased significantly for many types of solid cancer (digestive organs, melanoma, soft tissue, female genital, urinary tract, brain, and thyroid); leukaemia, myelodysplasia, and some other lymphoid cancers

Cancer risk in 680 000 people exposed to computed tomography scans in childhood or adolescence: data linkage study of 11 million Australians | The BMJ

Scary is right. I remember hearing on a podcast that the greater access you have to healthcare in the US the lower you life expectancy. Xrays were the big problem.

I am thinking that somebody on the net must have had this problem before and sought advice for it. If you haven't already, you may want to do a google deep dive. If you find nothing I'm sure that there are dental forums out there that would do a much better job helping out with this than us.

 

[DrJ]

I would avoid the CT scan for that. It's a lot of radiation. Can they use ultrasound?

 

[ilovethesea]

I showed it to another dentist today at the same office (I was there to get my cavities filled) and she just extracted it no problem! Said I didn't need x-rays or a specialist at all.

It was a tiny tooth not even the size of a pearl, and was meant to be where I still have a baby tooth. I seriously believe my mega doses of K2 made it grow!

Anyway, goes to show you can't trust dentists. I'm glad I didn't x-ray my head for something she fixed in 5 minutes!

 

[Regina]

I showed it to another dentist today at the same office (I was there to get my cavities filled) and she just extracted it no problem! Said I didn't need x-rays or a specialist at all.

It was a tiny tooth not even the size of a pearl, and was meant to be where I still have a baby tooth. I seriously believe my mega doses of K2 made it grow!

Anyway, goes to show you can't trust dentists. I'm glad I didn't x-ray my head for something she fixed in 5 minutes!