A Trifecta of Problems

Q: Well,here I am, an older retired senior with “gas in the tank,” a great wife, and a set of teeth so bucked out I could eat a pie out of a milk bottle.

I kid you not, people see my teeth before they see me. “Must be Bob, here come his teeth.” Well, you get my drift.

And it seems they’re getting worse. The colour of my teeth is getting darker and darker and my wife even says I should do something. At the outset I should say that I’ve got some gaps in every area of my mouth, behind my front eye teeth are gaps and that compounds the appearance problem. I’ve got a broken back tooth and one that’s got so much decay that it’s a goner. I don’t know what to do.

I know I don’t want dentures, so I put it to my dentist and he said I had a bad jaw relationship that is higher on one side than the other and he said it’s hard to make me an even bite. When I smile my lower teeth jut way up on the left side and slump down on the right. While we were talking, he said, “You really are doing some tremendous grinding. You’re wearing your gold crowns down like nothing else. We’ll have to protect against that when all is done.”

Somewhere in the conversation, I told him I was going through sleep apnea diagnosis and treatment. “That’s one of the causes of excessive grinding,” my dentist said. “We’ll work with your doctors on the sleep apnea and take that into consideration if we fix up your mouth.”He told me it would be expensive so I’m wondering what’s the best to do.

A: At your age with lots of decay a problem, it’s time to seriously consider not only the aesthetics but the question, after all is done am I going to lose my teeth to decay?

Seniors can get a decay syndrome known as senile caries. In this condition, decay pops up everywhere so that you are doing fillings under crowns, replacing crowns, doing more root canals, and just hating your dental visits.

It is less expensive in the long run to go with teeth supported by implants. They accomplish many things: no more decay, bone that's harmonized so that it’s level and can receive teeth that are in the right place functionally and aesthetically.

These teeth are fixed bridges that allow great function. If grinding is a problem, bite splints can be made and should be, to make life easier on your joints, save your new teeth, and maybe even help the sleep apnea.

Look seriously at this option because it has a great track record and will solve the three serious problems you’re experiencing (decay, jaw alignment, and aesthetics).

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

Cadillac’s Break Down Too!

Q: Many years ago I had four implants put in and very nice bridge work that has worked extremely well. It was, I was told, the Cadillac treatment. It has served me well for twenty plus years. In the past while, part of the bridge came loose, so I went to a dentist to have it re-cemented, but the dentist could not get the bridge to come away from the implants. He could not figure out what the problem was, so he called the original dentist, who told him it had been cemented with temporary cement. Again, he tried but to no avail. Meanwhile I’m walking around with a loose bridge and no one can figure out how to tighten it up. I thought it just needed some new glue and I’d be right as rain – silly me! Do you know what’s going on? How can I get this fixed? I’m afraid something bad might happen. I’ve been assured that the implants aren’t loose so it must be the bridge. I’m really perplexed and another “p” word that I can’t say! Please help me to understand.

A: The problem with your bridge is one that doesn’t happen very often, but it does happen. The rationale for temporary cement is that bite forces in the mouth might overload part of the implant system. In a person with a forceful bite, temporary cement will breakdown before any part of the implant/crown system will breakdown (at least in theory). Thus, the bridge supposedly comes loose because of cement breakdown instead of breakage of the bridge. Usually the bridge is easily removed and re-cemented. In some cases, the temporary cement breaks down too frequently, which is a nuisance. In your situation, you may have experienced the worst kind of luck - i.e. part of the implant system is loose or broken. Most of the time, it is the screws that secure the housings upon which the bridge is cemented, that have come loose. The temporary cement won’t give because all of the movement is in the screw/implant connection. If too much pressure is applied to the bridge to get it off, you may strip the threads of the securing screws and the inner threads of the implant. That would render the implants unusable. To salvage this situation, the bridge will have to be carefully cut off and the housings reattached. Yes, it does mean a replacement, but you have many options. If you replace the loose part of the bridge, I’d also suggest another implant or two before doing so. Doing this will prevent this from happening again. When your type of bridge was done, the theory was that four implants were enough. Most of the time it worked. Your bite has not overpowered the implants, but it has overpowered the bridgework.

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