I’m only 49 but I’m about to get dentures. I’m tired of these teeth hurting me, I’m ready to be rid of them! I’ve never had dentures before, so I’m kind of excited at the thought of looking good. I was wondering though, do they ever make them with gold-outlined teeth on the front? I just want the upper front two done. I love how that looks but I haven’t seen anyone with that in their dentures yet. So I didn’t know if it was something I could even have done.

Sasha

Dear Sasha,

I’m glad you wrote. The short answer is yes, you can have gold teeth set in your new denture. There are a number of variations, from full gold crowns to small amounts that hardly show at all. It will be important that you are very specific with your dentist regarding exactly what your expectations are. The safest option would be to bring in a photo of what you want the teeth to look like to avoid any miscommunication.

As you might guess, adding gold to the denture teeth adds extra expense and your fee will be higher than that of a typical denture. This fee will vary according to the amount of teeth involved and the gold required to cover them.

Understanding Dentures

I know your teeth are killing you and you are ready to be rid of them, but I want to make sure you understand what you are getting into with dentures. Even the best-fitting dentures will reduce your chewing capacity by 50%.

However, the bigger issue is bone resorption. When your teeth are removed your body recognizes that and immediately begins to resorb the minerals in your body in order to use your resources most effectively. While great stewardship for our body’s resources, it will have the unfortunate effect of shrinking your jawbone. After ten or so years, you will not have enough jawbone left to retain your dentures. Plus, the loss of bone makes you look a couple of decades older than you are.

There is a Way to Prevent Facial Collapse

If you have dental implants placed then your body will interpret that as you still having tooth roots there which need the bone to keep them secure. This will prevent the bone loss from occuring. You can have implant supported dentures placed. This uses a minimum of four dental implants and then when the bone has had time to integrate with the implants a denture can be anchored to them. Not only does this prevent facial collapse, but it is completely secure. You will have no slipping or falling out. You can eat anything you want.

If you absolutely cannot save your teeth. This is what I’d recommend. Because of how young you are, completely removable dentures will be a disaster for you long term.

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