Dentures...maybe

Colleen

Colleen

Senior Member
Location
Pennsylvania
I posted on here a few days ago about having an abscessed gum and when I went to the dentist, he told me I needed two upper back teeth pulled due to bone loss and being a little loose. I was shocked that I needed to have this done.

Anyway, I'm wondering if I shouldn't think about having all my upper teeth pulled and having a denture. I'll talk to him and see what he thinks.

The reason I'm leaning towards just having them out is because I have had a broken tooth (that was filled) for over 20 years that is broken clear up to the roof of my mouth. It's never given me any trouble and dentists have always said as long as it's not bothering me, they wouldn't bother with it. The front of that tooth is fractured and looks terrible. Then there's my one front tooth that's completely filling. It's been filled for many years and has to be re-filled when the filling comes loose. It has never matched my other front tooth in color or size or shape. It makes me self-conscious of my smile. I've had some really terrible dentists in the past. On the other side of my upper teeth, I have another fractured tooth, which is where I chew most of my food. I also have an over-bite that has been a problem my whole life with my digestion.

Would you consider getting dentures or would you just get the 2 teeth taken out and get a partial?
 

Have you thought of porcelain veneers for those front teeth that look bad but have been overall okay? It's expensive but not like other kind of dental work. You can also have them out and substituted by a bridge. My mother had all her upper teeth pulled years ago when dentistry wasn't as modern as today. She then did have upper dentures. It worked for her. But that's the last thing I would do before that kind of drastic decision. Yes, I know, it will be expensive and having to go through unpleasant stuff and that is really the problem.
 
I did it at age 36 because it was not only painful but expensive to keep up with my dental needs. I've never been sorry.
 

I've had an upper denture since I was 18 and a full lower for the last 20 years.

I'm looking at having them updated and the cost to remove the two failed root canals that anchor my lower denture coupled with a full set of new dentures is going to be around 4-5 thousand dollars. I'm hoping that will take care of me until I reach the finish line.

I would discuss the various options with your dentist, the cost of each, etc...

If it was me I would consider spending a couple thousand dollars on implants to replace the two teeth that he is removing.
 
Personally, I would try to keep my real teeth and only have them pulled as a last resort. I agree with Olivia; see about veneers for the damaged front teeth and a bridge/partial or implants for the 2 that need to come out. Good luck with your decision.
 
Aunt Bea said:
I've had an upper denture since I was 18 and a full lower for the last 20 years.

I'm looking at having them updated and the cost to remove the two failed root canals that anchor my lower denture coupled with a full set of new dentures is going to be around 4-5 thousand dollars. I'm hoping that will take care of me until I reach the finish line.

I would discuss the various options with your dentist, the cost of each, etc...

If it was me I would consider spending a couple thousand dollars on implants to replace the two teeth that he is removing.
Click to expand...

Implants are not an option for me for 2 reasons: 1) too much bone loss, and 2) I can't afford $3,000 for each tooth!
 
Colleen said:
Would you consider getting dentures or would you just get the 2 teeth taken out and get a partial?
Click to expand...

I've been doing a fair amount of research on dentures, vs. partials/bridges, etc. I'm missing 4 teeth, and having troubles with a couple of others. A few weeks ago, my dentist did a "temporary" fix on an old root canal which broke off, and so far it's holding up....But, for how long? To me, partials and bridges are just an expensive way to stave off what is probably inevitable..a full set of dentures. Partials and bridges, especially, can be more expensive than just going for dentures, and a person would probably require multiple partials over time which could drive the costs up Way more than dentures. It has been my experience that doing multiple "patch" jobs usually results in a lot of wasted time and effort, And money....compared to doing a complete job right the first time.

I would compare a lot of dentistry procedures to having a car with 1 or 2 cylinders going bad in the engine....and asking the mechanic to just fix the bad cylinders, rather than doing a good overhaul of the entire engine.

I've gotten exams and estimates from both my dentist and two full service/same day dental labs...and from both financial and practical standpoints, dentures is the only thing that makes good sense, long term, IMO. There would probably be a few days of some pain while the gums heal, but over the long run, there would probably be far less hassles, and certainly less expense, than doing a couple of teeth at a time.

Now, if I win Powerball, I would certainly start getting implants....the best estimate I've gotten for the normal 28 teeth is right at $65,000
 
I’d go with cosmetic veneers on the two teeth you are self conscious of but are otherwise good teeth. Once you get your teeth pulled you can’t get them back.
Good luck either way
 
Don M. said:
I've been doing a fair amount of research on dentures, vs. partials/bridges, etc. I'm missing 4 teeth, and having troubles with a couple of others. A few weeks ago, my dentist did a "temporary" fix on an old root canal which broke off, and so far it's holding up....But, for how long? To me, partials and bridges are just an expensive way to stave off what is probably inevitable..a full set of dentures. Partials and bridges, especially, can be more expensive than just going for dentures, and a person would probably require multiple partials over time which could drive the costs up Way more than dentures. It has been my experience that doing multiple "patch" jobs usually results in a lot of wasted time and effort, And money....compared to doing a complete job right the first time.

I would compare a lot of dentistry procedures to having a car with 1 or 2 cylinders going bad in the engine....and asking the mechanic to just fix the bad cylinders, rather than doing a good overhaul of the entire engine.

I've gotten exams and estimates from both my dentist and two full service/same day dental labs...and from both financial and practical standpoints, dentures is the only thing that makes good sense, long term, IMO. There would probably be a few days of some pain while the gums heal, but over the long run, there would probably be far less hassles, and certainly less expense, than doing a couple of teeth at a time.

Now, if I win Powerball, I would certainly start getting implants....the best estimate I've gotten for the normal 28 teeth is right at $65,000
Click to expand...

I'm with you on the financial end of it. To have 2 teeth pulled and a partial made, it will be $2,000. I'm hoping this penicillin will take care of the infection and I can just forget about it for a while.
 
Keesha said:
I’d go with cosmetic veneers on the two teeth you are self conscious of but are otherwise good teeth. Once you get your teeth pulled you can’t get them back.
Good luck either way
Click to expand...

Veneers are not within my pocketbook range. They would be $1700 a tooth for front teeth...maybe more.
 
I feel you on this isssue, Colleen and Don. I recently had a back molar extracted due to a gum infection, despite my vigilant dental care including twice annual professional cleanings.

The tooth loss doesn't show when I smile and is the last tooth on that side of my mouth - next in line would have been a wisdom tooth. Can't have an implant without a "sinus lift" - meaning a $3000 surgery that may or may not work, plus $2000 for the implant. I declined.

The dentist is now pushing me to do a bridge that would add back that molar, but be attached to two healthy teeth by drilling them down, crowning them and attaching the tooth. $2500 all told for that.

My reluctance is primarily that I don't want to mess with two other "anchoring" teeth who are happily minding their own business and performing as they're intended. I've heard and known of too many people who've broken bridges - and are then back to square one, meaning another few thousand to create another bridge with an average lifespan of 5-15 years and more work on the adjacent teeth to get them to accept the new bridge.

The dental office is pushing me to do something (the tooth was extracted in January), saying that my other teeth may shift. Here's part of what I don't get.... since the gum will not recognize anything being there (the new tooth would be on the surface of my gum only), what would prevent the other two teeth from shifting back as a pair?

What to do, what to do? For now I'm in a holding pattern and am inclined to take a wait-and-see attitude by doing nothing at all unless and until the need becomes obvious.

Am I being an ostrich here? Any recommendations from people who have been here, done this?
 
As with any type of medical treatment, it seems that the most expensive options are often offered. I still have all my teeth (thankfully), but I have one of those old amalgam (or whatever that stuff was) fillings in a molar. The dentist is always nagging me to have that removed and a tooth-colored ceramic filling put there. I say, if it ain't broke, leave the damn thing alone. :laugh: If the filling starts to leak or give me a problem, then we'll talk.
 
StarSong said:
I feel you on this isssue, Colleen and Don. I recently had a back molar extracted due to a gum infection, despite my vigilant dental care including twice annual professional cleanings.

The tooth loss doesn't show when I smile and is the last tooth on that side of my mouth - next in line would have been a wisdom tooth. Can't have an implant without a "sinus lift" - meaning a $3000 surgery that may or may not work, plus $2000 for the implant. I declined.

The dentist is now pushing me to do a bridge that would add back that molar, but be attached to two healthy teeth by drilling them down, crowning them and attaching the tooth. $2500 all told for that.



My reluctance is primarily that I don't want to mess with two other "anchoring" teeth who are happily minding their own business and performing as they're intended. I've heard and known of too many people who've broken bridges - and are then back to square one, meaning another few thousand to create another bridge with an average lifespan of 5-15 years and more work on the adjacent teeth to get them to accept the new bridge.

The dental office is pushing me to do something (the tooth was extracted in January), saying that my other teeth may shift. Here's part of what I don't get.... since the gum will not recognize anything being there (the new tooth would be on the surface of my gum only), what would prevent the other two teeth from shifting back as a pair?

What to do, what to do? For now I'm in a holding pattern and am inclined to take a wait-and-see attitude by doing nothing at all unless and until the need becomes obvious.

Am I being an ostrich here? Any recommendations from people who have been here, done this?
Click to expand...

Thank goodness my dentist does not push for a bridge or implant. He said I could just see how the gum heals and quite often those gums "harden" up enough to do the job of chewing. He also said that at "our age" (meaning him and me), teeth do not shift like when we're younger.

I never had any wisdom teeth so there wouldn't be anything back there to anchor a bridge to. I would have to have the kind that has the wire that comes around to the back of my front teeth. I don't think I want to mess with that. My one front tooth is dicey as it is because it's nothing but filling and I can't actually take a bite of anything with it. It's fragile and I just see all kinds of additional problems down the road with that kind of bridge.

Then there's the expense. We don't have any dental plan so it would all come out of our pocket. I don't think I want to spring for a $2000 bridge that "might" work.

When you had that molar extracted, did you take Halcion to calm you? If you did, how did it make you feel? I've read some reviews from people that have taken it and had some side effects. I don't like putting anything in my body, although, I'm taking penicillin for clear up the abscess. I remember years ago, it use to be Valium.
 
C'est Moi said:
As with any type of medical treatment, it seems that the most expensive options are often offered. I still have all my teeth (thankfully), but I have one of those old amalgam (or whatever that stuff was) fillings in a molar. The dentist is always nagging me to have that removed and a tooth-colored ceramic filling put there. I say, if it ain't broke, leave the damn thing alone. :laugh: If the filling starts to leak or give me a problem, then we'll talk.
Click to expand...

I have several of those old-time fillings and the dentist told me that he would not recommend removing them as long as they are not bothering me...he'll just leave them alone. Sounds like your dentist is looking to make a few extra bucks...haha.
 
Sorry, Colleen. I wasn't clear. I never got wisdom teeth either so there was no extraction there. The top edge of my mouth went from the (now extracted) 12 year molar and then gum. So there would be nothing on the back side to anchor the bridge, just the two teeth that are closer to the front of my mouth. The kind of thing that you described.

How interesting that your dentist said that tooth shifting tends to not be as much of a problem as we get older.

No dental plan for us either. All comes right out of pocket.

They gave me nothing for the extraction and I have to tell you it was a bitch on wheels. Not painful but extraordinarily unpleasant. Extraordinarily. Never again would I do anything like that without some serious meds.

p.s. If I were a candidate for a straightforward implant, I'd do that in a heartbeat. Because of the need for surgery and the possibility of failure, infections, and other complications, I'm declining. When it comes to complications from medical procedures I'm spectacularly unlucky.
 
StarSong said:
Sorry, Colleen. I wasn't clear. I never got wisdom teeth either so there was no extraction there. The top edge of my mouth went from the (now extracted) 12 year molar and then gum. So there would be nothing on the back side to anchor the bridge, just the two teeth that are closer to the front of my mouth. The kind of thing that you described.

How interesting that your dentist said that tooth shifting tends to not be as much of a problem as we get older.

No dental plan for us either. All comes right out of pocket.

They gave me nothing for the extraction and I have to tell you it was a bitch on wheels. Not painful but extraordinarily unpleasant. Extraordinarily. Never again would I do anything like that without some serious meds.

p.s. If I were a candidate for a straightforward implant, I'd do that in a heartbeat. Because of the need for surgery and the possibility of failure, infections, and other complications, I'm declining. When it comes to complications from medical procedures I'm spectacularly unlucky.
Click to expand...

Oh, my!...We must be soul-sisters! I, too, am very unlucky when it comes to "complications" from anything! Other people sail right through things without a care...not me...nope. Even getting new eye glasses has been a pain in the butt. I have a "lazy" left eye (born with it) so my left eye will never see well. The doc told me that my cataracts are progressing "nicely" so I asked him if I'd have perfect/near perfect vision after they were taken out. My husband, who's 78, had his done 4 years ago and he has 20/40 distance and no glasses...except for near-vision, he's blind as a bat..haha. Anyway, the doctor said I'd probably have perfect vision in my right eye but never in my left because of it being a lazy eye. It was further ruined years ago when I had lasix done. They never said I shouldn't have it done on my left eye. They just wanted to make money from my husband's insurance. So, I get a new Rx last month and get new lenses made. The gal told me I should get Progressives. I tell her I've tried them years ago and couldn't get use to them. She says things have changed and I should try them again. Mind you, the doc told me last year I could never wear Progressives because of my lazy eye...it just won't focus where that tiny, tiny space is for the bifocal. I tell her that and she looks at me like I have two heads. She says she's never heard of that, sooooo...yup, you guessed it. I got Progressive lenses. Tried them for 2 weeks and, again, I could not see out of the bifocal area. I took them back in last week and asked to have regular lenses with regular bifocals. I'll have a line but at least I'll be able to see.

So....if anything is going to be weird...it's going to happen to me.
 
I want to express my gratitude to you for bringing this up, Colleen, because I never would have approached the subject. I have strong embarrassment and shame at having had this molar extracted. Although I take very good care of my teeth now, as a child and adolescent I was hardly vigilant about dental care, and as a young adult I avoided the dentist whenever possible. Some of that came back to haunt me during adulthood.

Many in our age group suffer the visible and invisible results of a lifetime of eating poorly, being out of shape, playing games with diabetes or other conditions, smoking, heavy drinking, or a myriad of other bad health habits - and we often feel shame and regret over our lack of discipline in those areas.

In any event, upon pondering this, and having paid for three kids to wear braces, I think I'm going to take a page out of the orthodontist's book. When my kids finally got their braces off they were fitted with nighttime retainers and told that if they didn't wear them religiously their teeth would shift back. Why wouldn't that work for this situation?

So... I'm considering a chat with my dentist about a nighttime retainer/appliance. Something that prevent my teeth from shifting, but isn't permanent and isn't worn during the day.

Has anybody tried this strategy?
 
StarSong said:
I want to express my gratitude to you for bringing this up, Colleen, because I never would have approached the subject. I have strong embarrassment and shame at having had this molar extracted. Although I take very good care of my teeth now, as a child and adolescent I was hardly vigilant about dental care, and as a young adult I avoided the dentist whenever possible. Some of that came back to haunt me during adulthood.

Many in our age group suffer the visible and invisible results of a lifetime of eating poorly, being out of shape, playing games with diabetes or other conditions, smoking, heavy drinking, or a myriad of other bad health habits - and we often feel shame and regret over our lack of discipline in those areas.

In any event, upon pondering this, and having paid for three kids to wear braces, I think I'm going to take a page out of the orthodontist's book. When my kids finally got their braces off they were fitted with nighttime retainers and told that if they didn't wear them religiously their teeth would shift back. Why wouldn't that work for this situation?

So... I'm considering a chat with my dentist about a nighttime retainer/appliance. Something that prevent my teeth from shifting, but isn't permanent and isn't worn during the day.

Has anybody tried this strategy?
Click to expand...

That's an interesting thought. I'd be interested to know what your dentist has to say about it. However....from what you've said about him, it wouldn't surprise me if he said it wouldn't be the right thing to do and that you should buy a bridge/partial (whatever). He doesn't sound like someone that would want you to go the "cheap" route. Hope I'm wrong. Let us know.
 
fmdog44 said:
I lost some bone in one of my back teeth and a Peronists simply replaced the bone for $500.
Click to expand...

Was this for an upper or lower jaw tooth, and did you get an implant afterwards?

The reason I ask is because upper jaw teeth can have other complications when it comes to implants. Apparently I have either large or low sinus cavities, meaning that the jaw part of the implant would jut into that open space. That's why my jaw would require surgery before they could do an implant, to "lift" (whatever that means" the sinus cavity. While this procedure is undoubedly successful for some people, when it comes to me I can see disaster written all over it.
 
StarSong...here's my story regarding implants. Years ago I felt a "front" tooth descending. Now, I've had excellent dental work over the years. My former dentist was also JHW Bush's (41) dentist and we were good friends. So with that said, I'd always expected things to be presented clearly and work performed efficiently. In fact, I'd never ever had a bad experience at a dentist's office. I went in like a lamb. The dentist said (after an x-ray) I was a perfect candidate for an implant. Who am I to question - hey, it was just one tooth. That sounded reasonable, right ? Wrong. Found out later the main reason for implant failure was "infection". Well, let me tell you, they kept trying and trying but this sucker just wanted to "wobble" and finally, after a horrific bout with antibiotics (found out later that dentists can prescribe the strongest antibiotics, when a "penicillin" derivative would do fine, so their malpractice rates are keep low. My mother in law had complications that put her in the hospital for 2 months.

Well, come to find out, they used "X-rays" to determine my frontal bone was good enough to use the "titanium" implant -( another joke - not much of the expensive metal stuff here, guys), as when I was 16, had been in a car accident where my nose was broken in 5 places - the bone structure appeared "ok" on the x ray but was
full of fissures - God knows how it had held the tooth for all those years. If I'd have had an MRI, it would have showed this.

Long story shorter - I lost $4,800 bucks for a lost implant. Wound up getting a partial which I still have today, by the way. And had an unforgettable bout with the strong antibiotics.

Moral of the story - think, think, think, and ask for a "warranty repair"...LOL!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top