Tag Archives: Dentures

Dental Implants

Can I Get Dental Implants after 30 years in Dentures?

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 in dentures, 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.

Uncategorized

Is it necessary for my son to get all of his teeth pulled?

My son is 23 years old. He is a drug addict who is in recovery, and his teeth are completely ruined. The dentist at the clinic says he should just have all of them pulled and replace them with dentures.

Right now, I recognize that this is the only avenue open to us. The teeth have to come out. He is only able to chew with a couple of teeth towards the front of his mouth.

My question is whether or not all of this can be done in one visit. It seems like a lot–he has 26 teeth that need to come out. Would they be able to fit dentures when they’ve just removed all those teeth? It doesn’t seem like they could do that until after his gums heal

Any advice you can offer would be appreciated. This has been a long, hard road.

Serena in Overton

Dear Serena,

This treatment plan is too extreme. It may seem like the easiest solution to the dentist, but it means a lifetime of dental trouble for your son. He is much too young to have all of his teeth removed.

As soon as all his teeth are removed, your son’s jawbones will start to shrink. When a tooth is lost, the body reabsorbs the bone of the jaw at the location of the missing tooth. When ALL the teeth are removed, eventually that person will experience “facial collapse”. You have probably seen pictures of people whose faces look as if they have collapsed inward. This happens when the jawbones deteriorate to the point that the patient cannot wear any kind of denture at all.

If he is in his early 20s now, this could happen by the time he is 40. He will be unable to eat normal foods, and at that point the repairs are much more complicated and expensive.

If at all possible, the goal should be to retain as many of his natural teeth as possible. They may not be in perfect condition, but every tooth that can be saved represents a more stable jawbone. Those remaining teeth could be used to anchor partial dentures or dental bridges.

If in fact none of his teeth can be saved, dental implants will work just like natural teeth to preserve the structure of his jawbone. The least expensive option would be mini-dental implants, where two implants per arch are placed and used to anchor dentures. Having ALL the extractions done in one sitting is too much. The amount of Novocain required to numb the upper jaw for a full set of extractions is significant, and poses a correspondingly significant risk.

It is time to get a second opinion. We recommend looking for a dentist that really makes you feel like he cares about your son, and your situation. Your son is on the road to recovery, and needs compassion to get the care he needs.

This blog is posted courtesy of Lafayette Louisiana cosmetic dentist Dr. Mike Malone.