Tag Archives: Denture

Dental Implants

Dentist Only Gave Her One Option, Which Is Unethical

I had a couple of accidents when I was in elementary school I had a couple of accidents that damaged my front tooth. Over the years it has turned an ugly brown. I want to get it fixed but my dentist said I’d need a dental implant to do that because there is not enough root to do anything else. The problem is this isn’t the only dental work that I need. I’m not sure I can get the crowns I need on my molars and fix my ugly tooth. Are there any other options for me?

Abigail

Dear Abigail,

dental implant diagram

First let’s talk about your root resorption. The accidents you had in elementary school damaged the nerve and blood supply on your tooth. That causes the tissue inside the tooth to die, which leads to an infection. A root canal treatment given at that time would have had a chance at saving the root. However that is not guaranteed. It only ups the chances.

While a dental implant is the best tooth replacement, it is also the most expensive. The good news is that it is not the only treatment option available to you. Your dentist is ethically obligated to give you all of your options. The fact that he didn’t makes me wonder about his motives. This may not be the best dentist for you.

Some of your other options include:

I would get a second opinion to discuss which of these will work best for you. I will say a dental bridge suspends a false tooth between two dental crowns. This option makes sense if you already needed a crown on one of the adjacent teeth, allowing you to deal with two issues at the same time. The dental flipper, while the least expensive option, is really designed to be a temporary option while you wait on or save up for the more permanent option.

This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentists Drs. Foreman and Thimmesch.

Dental Implants

Is it Possible to Get Dental Implants after 30 Years?

I’ve had dentures for around 30 years. I’ve never been crazy about them and always wanted to switch to dental implants. Now, I’m having trouble even keeping them in. I think this may be a perfect time to switch, but I don’t know if I waited too long. Is it still possible? If not, how do I get my dentures to stay in? Not even those nasty adhesives are working.

Marilyn

Dear Marilyn,

dental implant diagram

Technically, as long as you are in reasonably good health, you can get dental implants. Though, in cases like yours, an extra step will be needed. As you can see from the image above, your dental implant will need to be surrounded by bone in order to stay in place. This bone is also what holds your teeth in place as well, along with some ligaments. After this length of time with dentures, you are missing that bone.

You’re Dealing with Facial Collapse

When your teeth were removed 30 something years ago, your body immediately began resorbing the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere. It does this in an effort to be efficient with your body’s resources. It knows you don’t have teeth anymore and assumes that you won’t need the bones in your jawbone to hold them. True. However, your dentures rest on the ridgeline of your jawbone. As that shrinks, there is less and less of a ridge to hold your dentures in place.

After ten years, you likely noticed them starting to slip. By thirty years, it is almost impossible to keep them in. This is known as facial collapse. You’ve probably also noticed your jawline shrinking,, which makes you look much older than you really are.

There is a procedure to help with this– Bone grafting. You can have either natural or synthetic bone built back up in the area so that you’ll have enough bone there to integrate with your dental implants and keep them in place.

Implant Overdentures

implant-overdentures
Implant Supported Dentures

Once the bone grafting is complete, then you will be able to get the dental implants you hope for. You won’t want to do a one-to-one replacement for your teeth. That is way too expensive. Instead, you’ll get implant overdentures. With these, you’ll have four to six dental implants placed in each arch and then have a new set of dentures anchored to them.

Your dentures will be completely secure and will protect you from facial collapse in the future.

This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentists Drs. Forman and Thimmesch.