Please save me from my fate. I’m losing my teeth. It’s my own fault, but at the same time, I’m only 42. When I think of people with dentures, I picture my grandmother. The most vivid memory I have is also one of the worst memories. It was my tenth birthday. We just finished singing and I blew out my candle. My dad told a joke (I don’t remember). Everyone laughed and my granny’s dentures fell out right smack dab in the middle of my cake. This cannot be my fate. What do I do?
Melissa
Dear Melissa,
Take a deep breath. It’s going to be okay. I’m assuming you are losing your teeth due to gum disease. That is one of the main reasons adults lose their teeth. Has your dentist taken aggressive action to try to save your teeth? You should be having extra appointments, specifically for periodontal therapy. Gum disease is always easier to treat in the early stages, but if it’s advancing it’s better to come in every three months instead of every six.
If those don’t work there is always the option of periodontal surgery as well, which can take treatment further. There’s also a new technique called the pinhole technique. It doesn’t even require sutures.
Implant Supported Dentures Keep You From Granny’s Fate
Even if all of that fails and you end up as a worst case scenario losing all your teeth, it doesn’t mean you have to end up like your grandmother. We’ve had many advancements in tooth replacements since granny’s days.
Dental Implants
Chances are you won’t lose every tooth. I’m guessing treating your gum disease will save most of your teeth and hopefully, if you need to replace any teeth it will just be one or two. These are the top of the line-tooth replacement. You’ll have a prosthetic root surgically implanted into your jaw. Then, after a period of healing, a porcelain crown will be placed on top. They look and function just like normal teeth. You can eat, drink, and brush your teeth normally.
Implant Supported Dentures
If you lose all of your teeth, those same implants can be attached to dentures. These are called implant overdentures. Obviously, the more implants you have the better and more stable they’ll be, but Dr. Pumphrey will place them with as few as four implants.
The great thing about implants is they protect you from facial collapse, which is the result of years of dentures. That gives the squashed facial look you see in the picture at the top of this page. Facial collapse is also why your grandmother’s dentures fell onto your cake. This won’t happen to you.
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