You didn't really say why you lost your teeth (gum disease, tooth decay?), but dentures are not really a replacement for your teeth. They are a replacement for no teeth. Your natural teeth are the best option, assuming you could retain and take care of them. Next best are implants replacing natural teeth, followed by implant-supported or natural tooth-supported fixed prostheses (bridges), followed by removable prostheses (partial dentures) supported by natural teeth or implants, followed by hybrid prostheses (complete dentures supported by implants), followed, dead last, by complete dentures.

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Originally posted by Doc H.:
You didn't really say why you lost your teeth ...

To begin, I was born with not enough. 25 adult teeth. Two baby molars directly behind my bicuspids had no adult teeth to push them out. That gave me 27 total teeth. The baby teeth wore out after 45 years and were broken and sharp and would cut my tongue and cheek and I broke one lower adult molar. That leaves me with 24. The missing baby teeth are the most miserable because they're right in the middle and there's nothing to chew against.

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Originally posted by Drew136:
My father (who had a good set of teeth), had them all pulled and got dentures at 54. He hated maintenance and didn't want to deal with teeth issues or dentists into old age. He never regretted it.

Did he have any difficulty finding a dentist who would agree to such a request? I couldn't imagine doing that, myself.

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Originally posted by mark123:

quote:

Originally posted by Doc H.:
You didn't really say why you lost your teeth ...

To begin, I was born with not enough. 25 adult teeth. Two baby molars directly behind my bicuspids had no adult teeth to push them out. That gave me 27 total teeth. The baby teeth wore out after 45 years and were broken and sharp and would cut my tongue and cheek and I broke one lower adult molar. That leaves me with 24. The missing baby teeth are the most miserable because they're right in the middle and there's nothing to chew against.

Full normal adult dentition is 32 teeth - including 4 third molars (wisdom teeth), which are often non-functional, so "normal" set of choppers is 28 teeth. In your case, missing the second premolars (bicuspids), upper or lower, is not all that uncommon, and in fact lots of Orthodontists will remove those to gain space moving teeth around - leaving those folks with 24 teeth. Having a gap there can be aggravating, but again conventional bridges or implants can fix that. Don't know the condition of the rest of your teeth (hence the question about decay or gum disease), but if those are OK or repairable, full upper and lower dentures is definitely not the solution. No going back from that, and conventional, lay-on-the-gums dentures gets you about 10% of your biting force back. Implant-supported full dentures might get you back to 30 or 40%, but still not the real thing. I'd have a consult or three with some reputable providers, and start planning. Everything is fixable, and nothing is completely hopeless, but lots of ways to get your smile and ability to chew back without the nuclear option - complete dentures are always a final option. The difference in the dentures we make today and those we made for George Washington, is we make them today out of plastic. Sometimes dental schools have a great deal on prosthetic replacements, but may take longer - they do have the advantage that somebody checks their work! Good luck and Godspeed!

I have spent a fortune on my teeth over the last 10 years or so. Bridges, Crowns, you name it. I will most likely be having to make some serious decisions in a few years and everything I have read indicates dentures secured by implants is the best option...if you can afford it!!

Even in this thread no one mentions the actual cost, it's always "they were expensive". What the hell does that mean? Shoot, we talk about the exact thousands we spend on an autombile with no problem but I guess it's different with your teeth. I dunno.

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Originally posted by Sig209:
Two words: bone resorption.

Your bone needs forces against it - in this case teeth / implants.

Permanently removing them - basically tells the underlying bone 'hey we don't need you anymore' and it starts to resorb vs. the natural regeneration that should be occurring.

(I am not a dentist but work in this field)

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this. My dad had dentures for years. When the bone loss started in he went to implants. Yeah, big cost, but his last years were much better in the food, talking, etc dept.

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Originally posted by Bassamatic:
I have spent a fortune on my teeth over the last 10 years or so. Bridges, Crowns, you name it. I will most likely be having to make some serious decisions in a few years and everything I have read indicates dentures secured by implants is the best option...if you can afford it!!

Even in this thread no one mentions the actual cost, it's always "they were expensive". What the hell does that mean? Shoot, we talk about the exact thousands we spend on an autombile with no problem but I guess it's different with your teeth. I dunno.

Costs wildly vary from state to state and provider to provider (and country to country). Cost range for complete dentures (not including surgery) in the US can be a couple of thousand to the $10K range or more (a lot more) for a specialist in Hollywood. Crowns, depending on material, $1-5K. Bridges (fixed partial dentures), $5-15K, depending on length and complexity. Individual implants require surgical placement, which can be a couple of thousand or more, again depending. The cost of the implant itself, including restoration (the implant is just the sub-structure - still needs a crown), can be $5-6K. Hybrid prostheses (implant supported dentures), can soar into the $20-30K range. It can be easy to spend $30-50K or more on a full reconstruction. All ballpark figures, and of course, depending. You can get restorations for a lot less, or a lot more. Cut-rate healthcare is never cheap, but neither is pricey West coast bling that needs replacement in a year; dental insurance usually covers only part of it. Find a provider you trust, and shop around for quality and price. Look at credentials, and check online reviews. Get several opinions. It's your health, and you would do that buying a car.

Implants are the way to go.

Research implant stabilized dentures if you are concerned with cost.

I just had a full set installed for Tabitha for around $5000.

Extraction, X-rays, bone graft, stud, interim exams, final crown - $5000 including both dentists. My guy offered a big cash discount. Delta Dental covered less the $100.

The process should take a couple of months.

I have had numerous crowns but no bridges. I have also had numerous crowns that had to be removed as well and have looked into implants. They are a bit expensive though. I have also read about a denture like platform in which they "snap" in/on a metal post, seated permanently in the bone instead of just being held on with some type of adhesive. Not sure how prevalent these are.

For those curious about implant supported dentures (would actually recommend more than two abutments):



Even this setup vastly improves the retention of the denture, and your ability to chew, and the cost might be nominally more than a conventional denture (maybe $2K-3K per set). You're still left with no teeth, but the bone in the jaw will be less prone to resorb and the denture will last longer. Implants, BTW, are not 100%. They can fail after placement, and right now in the literature the best success rates are in the 90%+ range; good, but not perfect, so you might be prepared to have additional implants if needed and if possible. And everyone is not a candidate for implants, depending on several factors - overall health, social history including smoking, condition of bone in the jaw, etc. Increased risk factors = increased failure rates.

A big thank you to those providing the details. I appreciate it.

going through it now. I am a tetracycline baby from the 60s where they gave it to pregnant women and small children and it caused discoloration and soft enamel of teeth.

they were always stained looking and had to be whitened and then there were all the fluoride treatments that caused more problems than they helped. I always had cavities and some teeth were more fillings than teeth and they eventually just started to crumble and crack.

Had top teeth pulled last year. the Dentist pulled all my top teeth except three teeth in the front and waited about 3 weeks and made a mold and when my teeth came in he pulled the remaining three and put the denture in.

It takes awhile to get used to as it is like wearing a sports mouth guard all the time.

It takes a year or more for your gums to shrink so the plate will get loose and they will tell you to just glue it in. the glue sucks as with the glue you just can't pull the plate out and rinse it off after you eat or just to get it out of your mouth for a min. the glue is also a pain to get off your gums. there are plenty of youtube videos about it.

I use a product called densurefit as it is a silicone product that fills in the gaps and makes the plate fit like new again. it allows them to fit tight but you can easily pop them in and out when ever you want. it lasts about 30 to 90 days. I highly recommend looking up the videos on youtube and it only takes about 10 min to put in and lasts.

after about 6 months the dentist will do a reline where they take an impression and send your ill fitting teeth out and put in a new layer of hard plastic in and make them fit again.They will also do this again after a year is up.

after a year I had them make me a new top plate and then started the process on the bottom. On the bottom I kept my 6 front teeth that were still in good shape as it makes it easier to bite through stuff as it doesn't push the front of the bottom plate down and flip it up off your gums.

I can eat almost anything I want but you have to learn to chew using both sides of the back of your mouth. If you chew food on just one side of the back of your mouth it can cause the dentures to move up and down on the side you are not eating on making it more difficult to eat and can cause sores.

you also can't take big bites of food as they make it harder to chew. you also have to learn how to talk with them in as they take up some room in your mouth and takes awhile to get used to them.

over the last year or so I have had a love hate feeling for my dentures but as time goes on it gets easier and easier until you don't really think about them anymore.

I wish I had done it a long time ago. I just don't have the money for implants and if you look around there are several horror stories about issues with infections and other problems with implants just as there are with dentures.

I had mine all pulled. Waited till my gums healed and then they did the molds and made my dentures. Not going to lie, dentures suck... I am who I am, so I take mine out to eat. If you don't like it, I think it's more your problem than mine... I can eat just about anything except peanuts and the like. I wish I had real teeth again but it's never going to happen...Be happy, be real and live life the best way you can with whatever health problems come your way...