Dealing With Conundrums

Q: I’m in a state. My life has had all kinds of ups and downs. It seems that I go from emergency to emergency, putting out fires. It’s a drag, physically and emotionally. The latest is my teeth. They are a mess. Decayed and broken down. I have about three left standing, and the rest are decayed to the gum. I’d like to have something to smile with, and I’m afraid of dentures because I saw my mother and grandmother with their teeth out, and it grossed me out. But then, I don’t smile for fear of grossing everyone around me out. So I have seen some dentists, and most have said the same thing – there’s nothing to save. It’s really discouraging because what is next is dentures. I’ve read about implants, and I like that idea, but they’re expensive, and I need them for both top and bottom teeth. 

I reached out to a dentist and he said I could go with an upper denture for a period of time and put implants and a bridge on the lower. He said the lower denture is very hard to get used to and I’d really be compromised in chewing. He also said he’d have to graft bone in the sockets of the upper teeth because it would keep the right amount of bone in place for future implants. 

The thing is that I can’t smile, and I need my upper teeth to smile. Since I can’t do both with implants and a lower denture is terrible, I just can’t make up my mind. Any advice? My lower is worse than my upper. I’ve got a partial that’s barely hanging on. 

A: Your situation is not uncommon, so let’s talk about specifics. First of all, function – the ability to just chew your food. Loss of lower teeth replaced by a lower denture reduces chewing forces and efficiency to less than 25% of your own teeth. Replacing the denture and unsavable teeth with an implant supported bridge gives you all the support of normal, healthy teeth. The teeth are fixed to the implants, so your confidence and smile is natural looking and feeling. The upper denture uses your palate for suction and is far more stable than a lower denture.

There are compromises to force and taste, but it’s a much better intermediate step. If you go this route, you will be happier functionally and still get to smile. Yes, the root sockets that are left after the teeth come out are grafted with a mixture of human and bovine bone. This prevents bone resorption (dissolving) during the time you have your upper denture. On your schedule, implants can be placed.  

The placement of implants and construction of lower bridgework on those implants, in your case, on the day of extraction, is extremely successful, cuts healing time, decreases pain and anxiety, and best of all it provides natural tooth function and strength. 

If we can help, we’d like to. Call 778-410-2080 for a consultation or visit us today.

Based on actual patient cases

© Calvin Ross Crapo

Victoria Implant Centre 778-410-2080

www.VictoriaImplantCentre.com

A Deep and Steep Grind

Q: I’ve had trouble with my teeth all my life. I’ve had big fillings, crowns, root canals and extractions. I never seem to be able to catch up with the dental work; no sooner is something done than something else crops up. It’s discouraging. I’ve asked several dentists why it happens and mostly I get the “floss more – brush more” brush off. I really was upset when several months ago one of my upper front teeth had to be pulled. I’m left with this tooth fastened to pink plastic that holds the tooth in by friction. My dentist called it a flipper. It’s better than having a hole but I don’t like it. I’m supposed to get an implant in a couple of months, so I guess that will be better. Two weeks ago I saw another dentist. He looked at my mouth, examined my bite and told me that I needed my bite attended to before any implant and crown was permanently affixed. I know I have a deep overbite and my teeth do wear. I was told that I’ve worn away over half of my front teeth and that the wear is accelerating because I’ve worn off the enamel of the front of my lower teeth and the backs of my upper front teeth. I’ve also got a lower right tooth broken off and I’m missing my upper left molar. The guy said I might need braces and surgery to correct my bite but I’m nearly fifty and I can’t see myself going through jaw surgery. Oh, he said that my overbite was 150%, whatever that means. Is there something else I can do?

A: The comment that you have a 150% overbite is important and helpful to future treatment. It simply means this – when you close your teeth together so that the back teeth are touching firmly, your upper front teeth not only cover the whole length of your lower front teeth, they actually go beyond and cover the gums to a distance of one half the length of your lower teeth again. By all accounts that is a very deep and steep overbite.

The mechanics of front teeth is such that they glide against one another to provide proper force distribution in one’s mouth and to cut off or bite off food for intake and chewing.

Your bite has double-trouble in that the gliding takes in the whole length of your front teeth and the forces of function are increased due to the tightness of fit in deep overbites.

A new relationship can and should be created on laboratory models which duplicate your bite. The goal is to reduce the overbite. This can be done without braces or surgery. Carefully done, you can have a long-lasting result without further extreme wear.

If we can help, we’d like to. Call 778-410-2080 for a consultation or visit us today.

Based on actual patient cases

© Calvin Ross Crapo

Victoria Implant Centre 778-410-2080

www.VictoriaImplantCentre.com