Teeth Falling Apart – Dentures are Cheaper than Repair

Question submitted by Laurie:

I’m in a pickle and don’t feel like I have any options. My teeth are falling apart. I’ve had four pregnancies where I threw up for almost nine months. Then, I had cancer and the treatments tipped my teeth over the edge. I got the cost of fixing everything and, while some of them cannot be saved, to save the ones that can would cost me about $6,000 but I can get upper dentures for $1400. Double that for both, but the lower teeth aren’t as bad. My dentist is really berating me about just giving up and going with dentures, but I can’t pull money out of thin air.

Laurie

Dear Laurie,

First, let me say that I am sorry you’ve been berated. You have been through a lot, all of which have put your teeth at a disadvantage, and I know how expensive treatments are for cancer. What you need is compassion.

While it is always better to have natural teeth, sometimes there are exceptions. Before you give up, see if he’s “triaged” the procedures needed in a way that you can do them a little at a time, which would be more affordable, putting the most urgent work first.

If that’s not possible, then dentures could be your solution. Bear in mind that dentures have their own problems. They’re rarely comfortable and move around. Upper dentures are safer than lower dentures though, so I would do what you can to save any lower teeth.

This is because the upper dentures will be held in by suction. However, the lower dentures just rest on the ridge of your lower jaw bone. Unfortunately, once your teeth are removed, your body recognizes that and in an effort to be efficient with your body’s resources, it begins resorbing the minerals in your jawbone that you “no longer need” in order to keep your teeth secure.

This has the effect of slowly shrinking your jawbone. Eventually, you’ll lose so much of your jawbone that you won’t be able to even keep the denture in. The way to prevent this is by anchoring them with some dental implants. This signals to your body that the bone is still needed.

I’m not saying that to frighten you. Just to make you aware of what you’ll be looking at with your lower teeth so you can be prepared ahead of time.

This blog is brought to you by Tucson Prosthodontist Dr. Howard Steinberg.