Hi I am new to the forum and having a really hard time with making a dentist understand that dentures are not an option. Has anyone run into this problem? I feel like I'm running into brick walls. My teeth are severely rotted and need to be replaced with dentures. I tried to explain to the dentist I need implant dentures so there isn't a struggle and to not have to go under surgery and waste money down the line. Can anyone answer or help me trouble shoot this?
Because of complications for me with implants, I am looking at dentures. 1 have 4 bad molars that I use fo for chewing and about 10 other teeth and crowns left.
Because of Sjogrens and chemo, I had to get an upper denture and lower partial. I was advised against implants because of my lo immune system. There is more chance of infection and rejection. Some people have them but after reading from another website, I wasn't taking a chance. I had 3 dental opinions.Once you get used to dentures, they are okay.
Good luck with your decision
First of all, you can do a search on this site using dentures and implants and you will get a ton of threads as this is always a big topic.
Now, I will tell you that I have had dentures for about 10 years and would never even consider implants. I was offered them but refused. They are terribly expensive. The most important thing is that many people with sjogrens develop an immune deficiency which can put them at high risk for infection. Implants are a breeding ground for infection and can lead to big time problems. Bone infection is known as osteomyelitis and this is a nightmare. It is extremely hard to cure and has the potential to travel to the brain and be fatal. I am an old RN and I can tell you that these infections these days are very hard to cure and sometimes people with this type of jaw infection end up having some of their jaw bone removed surgically. This makes having the regular dentures look like a walk in the park. Dentists want to sell implants because they make megabucks on them.
I has so many wicked infections from root canals and abscesses that it was unbelievable. My dentist was really mad at me but my gut said "no". It turned out that after having the rest of my teeth removed under anesthesia that I had so many chronically infected teeth that it took many months with antibiotics off and on. It also turned out that 2 years later I was diagnosed with an immune deficiency of low t-cells. If I had the implants I would probably been in big time ttouble and could have developed a blood infection or even infection in my heart.
I have never been sorry that I got dentures. I can eat everything except caramel and I can suck on that. If you use a denture paste glue you can even eat corn on the cob. Good luck. Irish
Thanks for this excellent information Irish. I have two very loose teeth in my uppers and I'm wondering if that warrants me getting dentures. I'm thinking my dentist will recomend a bridge, but I don't want to waste money on that if my teeth keep getting loose and falling out. Do you think I should get dentures at this point? Thanks for any info, sixty
I did get a bridge early on and it was the cheapest one they had. Made the dentist mad on that one also. I also had molars removed on both sides on the bottom and had root canals and caps soooo had the caps with the artificial tooth attached in between. Forget what they called that. It was spendy but lasted for many years.
By the time I had the rest of my teeth removed I only had 19 left. I had beg, fight, etc. to get them pulled. I had to find a new dentist who was willing to work with me and work slowly towards pulling them. At one point he pulled the bottom 4 front teeth and I went without teeth there for about 9 months. He wanted to see if the pain would go away and it slowly did. Good luck in your qwest. Don't give up on this. Irish
I think it is an individual thing as everything else is. I have 15 teeth left all front teeth except 2 molars.I was hoping I could get partials and I had them made but could not wear them. They made them 3 times with no luck. I went to another dentistwhen I was having jaw and ear pain. He said the partial will not fit because my lower jaw has fallen back. back of lower jaw dropped so they will not fit. He said I have TMJ. I was mad at first dentist for not seeing this and having me pay for partials I could not use. I can't eat anything that is had to chew because I have no back teeth. I am on medicare/medicaid and they won't pay to repair the jaw so I will be stuck with no teeth if I lose the front ones. Sucks when you don't have choices. Please get a second opinion before you do anything.
I am wondering why you are so against dentures. I have had them for about 11 years and it took me years to get a dentist to listen to me. Many, Many pulled teeth, abscesses, root canals, and getting dentures was the best thing I ever did. I can eat everything except caramel. I glue my teeth in and eat the con on the cob. Works slick. A little inconvenient at times but not a problem. Life is too short to fret about it I have learned. Good luck Irish
Dear Sunninginfl ,
I know exactly how you feel about dentures. It isn't all logical, but it is a very strong feeling.
I also have known MANY people who could wear full upper dentures but could NEVER get used to full lower dentures. The pressure on the lower jaw from full lower dentures is enormous.
I know that you can have dentures that are supported by implants, that are NOT removed and 'glued in' with denture paste.
A lot depends on whether you have the jawbone material that will support implants.
You need a 2nd OPINION. Find a dentist that specializes in implanted dentures and spend the time and money on a 2nd opinion.
Do not try to convince a dentist who doesn't want to do implants to do them. That is a recipe for failure.
If the second dentist agrees that you are not a good candidate for implant dentures you can stop there, or you can seek a 3rd opinion.
You have not said WHY the dentist thinks you should have dentures, by the way. The reason could make a lot of difference.
I have fought tooth (literally) and nail to keep my teeth. The molars are all crowned, capped and root canal-ed and one is an implant.
And at 73, I am hoping to go out with everything solidly in place.
Hugs, Elaine
I am small and have pre-osteo. Dentist mentioned implants but I really do not think my bones are now "or will be in the future" strong enough to hold them. Let along the cost of them. Wow Wee!
There is no way to get the perfect fit on dentures. My second set of dentures didn't fit as well as the first set but with the denture paste it is easy to find the places to put the paste to help the dentures rest on the gums and not rub .
The bottom dentures are the ones that can float away so to speak. The paste works wonder and they will not move. In fact, I have to be very careful not to put too much paste on or I can hardly get my bottom or top teeth out at the end of the day.
I know a lot of people who have dentures and I swear that I don't hear many complaints. I do believe that the dentures of many decades ago are where all the bad remarks are coming from. They give such good ways of measuring for the dentures these days that I think they do fit better than years ago. Some dentists are better than others at measuring also.
Also, if you have your teeth pulled and then get the new dentures it takes quite a few trips to the dentist to get the rough edges sanded down. These trips to the dentist are a pain,but they are also a good investment in having an eventual good fit of the dentures. If your dentures eventually do not fit well even after all the sanding, etc., then complain to the dentist and demand that he do something. You can threaten to complain to the Better Business Bureau or some type of agency that protects. I know this is a pain cause the dentist has to take the dentures for a day or two and you have to go to work.
The dentist should have face masks for you to wear to work---some look like a Disney mask with silly stuff printed on it. I have worn them to work myself when I was "toothless" for a couple of days. The big thing is getting over the idea that the whole world is watching----they aren't and those who watch usually don't remember much due to all the stuff going on in the world these days. I had to go about 9 months without 4 bottom front teeth and it was a small bump in the road compared to some of the other health stuff I have gone through. Good luck. Irish
I have my dentures as irish and do what she said. One of my sisters has dentures, but it wasn't long after that she quit wearing the bottom ones for the reasons of floating I guess.
How do people do that? I wouldn't have my jaws go together right if I tried that. I certainly couldn't eat. lol..
I love having both in, and as irish said with the denture tubes with the stuff that seals them in good they feel great. I am guilty of not having them in at night when sleeping, and sometimes if sick or sores in my mouth having them out at home.
With them in I can eat pretty much anything. They are usually prettier than regular teeth. After I first got mine, the first thing I had to do was buy me a new tube of pretty lipstick and I smiled a lot. hehe..
susanep
One more thing I want to add is I went through all the painful abscesses, and it was horrible. My teeth no matter what got to where they would just crumble at the gum line. When I did have a tooth or teeth pulled it was a traumatic ordeal to have them successful get me numb, and I am not one to say a thing if mine were really numb.
Finally the day I went to this oral surgeon scheduled to pull the rest of my teeth, he told the two assistants in there, "this is what a sjogren's mouth looks like".
I was never so glad to have those teeth out of there, and causing me no more torment. I have never ever regretted it.
I will add that implants are a personal decision, but when you have an autoimmune disease and are probably at high risk for an immune deficiency the chance of having an infection in the jaw bone is higher. Infections in the bone are called osteomyelitis and they are not to be taken lightly.
Bone infections are extremely hard to cure and many times some of the jaw bone has to be removed as the infections are prone to spread into surrounding tissues. The spread of the infection in the head is extremely dangerous as it can spread to the brain and spinal cord.
I had so many infections and such severe infections that I of often shook my head in amazement that I had not died from them. My dentists were of no use to me during all this. I was extremely vigilant about getting antibiotics cause I knew things were not good. Just to make you think ahead and about the potential for complications. Dental issues are not to be taken lightly. Root canals are a good breading ground for bone infections. Not all dentist are good at root canals and my dentist wasn't. I was made aware of this too late. Irish
I am in the process of reading the book cited below. In it, he says that dental implants can cause the body to have some type of an autoimmune response. He explains, if I remember correctly, that the implants are a foreign object, not recognized by the body.
Uninformed Consent : The Hidden Dangers in Dental Care
By Hal A. Huggins
He also wrote another book entitled, It's All in Your Head: The Link Between Mercury Amalgams and Illness
I have two implants, both of which had cadaver bone implanted to strengthen my own bone,before the implant hardware was implanted. Once the bone graft healed, the implant hardware was implanted, it healed, and then I had the "crown" put in place. Like Caroline, I am fighting tooth and nail (pun intended) to keep my teeth. I have crowns, root canals, implants, and tons of large, deep fillings. I will go down fighting. Lol. It boils down to (a) if you are a good candidate for an implant; (b) you have someone who has a lot of experience with implants; and (c) you're willing to spend the time and money on getting them. Good luck with whatever you choose to do!!