Implant Overdentures Archives

Implant Bridge Does Not Line Up with My Bite

Posted on May 31, 2023 by writeradmin.

I recently had two dental implants placed that a dental bridge was attached to on the right side of my bite. The problem I am having is that when I bite down, my right side matches up but my left side does not. Is this a problem in the long run? It is uncomfortable. I talked to my dentist about it and he said it is the surgeon’s problem and fault because he did the work first. Of course he did! How else could the dentist put the restoration on? The surgeon of course says it is the dentist’s fault because he placed the restoration. I don’t know what to do.

Rose

Dear Rose,

A woman grabbing her jaw in pain.

This does need to be fixed. When your bite does not come together properly then it can lead to TMJ Disorder. This can leave you in pain for the rest of your life. I’m a little unclear as to who determined the placement of your dental implants. Whenever you have a dentist and an oral surgeon working on the implant procedure together, it is always the dentist who determines the placement.

If the oral surgeon insisted on determining the placement himself, then he is definitely at fault. It is standard procedure for the dentist to determine the placement, if he violated that he’s to blame. However, if he followed the dentist’s instructions in placement, then it is the dentist who is responsible.

Either way, this needs to be redone. The good news is you definitely deserve a full refund here plus the cost of bone grafting, which we’ll get into in a moment. Once you get that secured, you’ve got to get a different dentist to do this. Unfortunately, you will need bone grafting done first because you will lose bone when they remove the implants. Once the grafting is completed, then you can have the implants done again.

Make sure the person you have do the procedures has a significant amount of post-doctoral training in dental implants. What is taught in dental school is not enough.

This blog is brought to you by East Cobb Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

I Can’t Keep My Dentures In

Posted on April 12, 2022 by writeradmin.

I am only 60 years old, but have been wearing dentures for 21 years. Lately, I cannot keep them in my mouth. Even using those gross adhesives doesn’t work anymore. Is there anything I can do about this?

Doris

Dear Doris,

The results of facial collapse

What you are dealing with is called facial collapse. I don’t know if your dentist warned you about this when you first decided on dentures. Hopefully, he or she did. When your teeth were removed, your body recognized you no longer have any teeth roots. In an effort to be as efficient as possible with your body’s resources, it begins to resorb the minerals in your jawbone that were used to help hold those roots in place. This way it can use them in other places in your body that the minerals can be used. The unfortunate side-effect to this is your jawbone begins to shrink. The number of years you have been wearing dentures means you do not have enough of a jawbone left to retain your dentures.

The Solution to Facial Collapse

Implant Supported Dentures

Step one in fixing this means building back up that jawbone. You can do this with a bone grafting procedure. Once that is completed, you have two choices. First, you can get new dentures. Bear in mind, if you choose this option the whole cycle of facial collapse will begin again. A second option is to get implant supported dentures. What this does is place between four and eight dental implants in your jawbone, depending on your budget and other factors. Once the bone has had time to integrate with the implant fixtures, your denture will be anchored to them.

Because the implants serve as prosthetic tooth roots, your body interprets them as teeth. It will leave those minerals in place in order to support those root fixtures and you will not have to deal wtih facial collapse again.

This blog iis brought to you by Marietta Dentist, Dr. Cristi Cheek.

Dentist Wants Me to Pull My Teeth and Get Dentures

Posted on December 28, 2021 by writeradmin.

I have had massive trouble with my teeth since I was a child. It seems every year I max out my insurance and still spend thousands of dollars. My dentist is as frustrated as I am and recently suggested that I just have all my teeth pulled and get dentures. I’m only 38 and the idea of that absolutely makes me want to cry. Is this my only option?

Carol

Dear Carol,

Please bear in mind that I have not examined you nor have I seen any of your diagnostics. That being said, I would first get a second opinion about which teeth can be saved. Some dentists are better than others at the effort they are willing to put into saving teeth. However, natural teeth are a better option than even the best tooth replacement.

Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that your teeth cannot be saved. Even if that is true, removable dentures are the worst solution for you. When your teeth are removed, your body immediately begins to resorb the minerals in your jawbone in order to use them elsewhere in your body. It does this in an effort to be as efficient as possible with your body’s resources. The downside to that is in about ten or so years you will no longer have enough jawbone left to retain your dentures. In dental circles, we call this facial collapse. You are 38 at the time of writing this. So, before you even turn 50 you could be forced into a liquid diet. Not only that, you will look decades older than you really are. The good news is there is a way to prevent this.

Instead of removable dentures, you can get implant-supported dentures. This will place between four to eight dental implants in each arch, depending on your budget, and then anchor the dentures to them. Not only will this prevent facial collapse, but your quality of life will be significantly better than it would with removable dentures.

This blog is brought to you by East Cobb Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

My Mom’s Teeth Are Falling Out

Posted on August 16, 2021 by writeradmin.

My 87-year-old mother just had some fillings done last week. Today, one of her teeth just fell out. I don’t know what to do. Shouldn’t the dentist have noticed this? Are her other teeth at risk too? What would be the best solution for her if they are?

Mary Ellen

Dear Mary Ellen,

Yes, your dentist should definitely have noticed there was a problem. To get to the point where her teeth are just falling out means your mother has extensive gum disease. It sounds like your dentist has just been cleaning and repairing and not being proactive about her gum health, This tells me he’s not checking other things either, such as looking for oral cancer.

At this point, yes, you should be concerned about the remainder of your mother’s teeth. They are all going to start all falling out. For your mother, I would just treat her gum disease as best you can and have the rest of her teeth extracted, getting her full dentures. You don’t want to wait until they all come out because she will be self-conscious about her appearance. Even the elderly want to look as attractive as they can. By the way, this advice is ONLY because of your mother’s advanced age. I would not suggest just getting dentures to someone younger for reasons I will explain in a moment.

The Danger of Dentures

When your teeth are first removed, your body recognizes that you no longer have any teeth roots, so it begins to resorb the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere in your body where it perceives they will be more useful. Unfortunately, after ten or so years, you will no longer have enough jawbone in your body to even retain your dentures. This is especially true with your lower dentures which just rest on the ridge of your lower jawbone. This is known as facial collapse, it can be devastating not just to a person’s appearance, but their health as well.

The only way to prevent this from happening is to have dental implants placed and anchor dentures to them. This is known as implant overdentures. It will signal to your body that you still have teeth and it will leave your jawbone intact. Because of your mother’s advanced age, I would not invest in these.

This blog is brought to you by East Cobb Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

A Pretty Smile after 23 years in Dentures

Posted on September 16, 2020 by writeradmin.

I’ve had removable dentures for 23 years. A friend of mine recently got dental implant dentures. These look so much nicer than my teeth and she can eat anything she wants. Is it too late for me to have a pretty smile? I’ve spent my lifetime embarrassed by it.

Elaine

Dear Elaine,

Older couple with nice smiles

I’m sorry you have been embarrassed by your smile. The great news is it is never too late for you to get a beautiful smile. The key is in the dentist you choose. Doing a smile makeover is not taught in dental school. As a result, it is up to the dentist as to how much post-doctoral training they receive, if any, in creating beautiful smiles. Additionally, there is some natural artistry that is necessary as well, as with any art.

As to the dental implants themselves, because of the length of time you have been in dentures, there will be significant bone loss. That will have to be addressed in order for you to have a successful chance for true retention of your dental implants. The integration with the bone is imperative. The best way to address this is to have a bone grafting done. This will build back up the missing bone that you will need for osseointegration.

Once that is healed, you can have the implants placed. There will be a second period of healing necessary after the implants are placed. From there, you can have your dentures anchored to the new implants. This is known as implant overdentures, sometimes called implant-supported dentures.

Finding the Right Dentist

With the right dentist, you can have a gorgeous smile you will be proud to share with the world. However, choose carefully. The first thing you will want to do is make sure they have the training they need to place dental implants. Take a look at Dr. Cheek’s qualifications to get an idea of the type of training you want in your dentist.

Once you are assured they are qualified to place your implants, be certain to look at their smile gallery. This will give you an idea of what type of results they can provide you when it comes to creating a beautiful smile for you.

This blog is brought to you by East Cobb Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

Is It Too Late for Me to Get Dental Implants?

Posted on August 1, 2020 by writeradmin.

I have been trying to save up for dental implants. Unfortunately, it took me a little over ten years, so I have been in dentures that whole time. Is it too late for me to get them now?

Laurie

Dear Laurie,

No, if you are in good general health you are still a candidate for dental implants. The one thing that may be an issue is the amount of bone loss you are dealing with. If you look at the image above with a single dental implant, you can see that the implant has to be integrated with bone, just like natural teeth in order for it to have any real retention.

When your teeth were removed for your complete dentures, your body recognized you no longer had any teeth there. As a result, it begins to resorb the bone in your jaw. While it does this in an effort to be efficient with your body’s resources, it has the unfortunate effect of shrinking your jawbone. Depending on how much bone you have lost, you have one of two choices.

Build the Bone Back Up and Get Implant Overdentures

One option is to have bone grafting done. This builds up the bone in your jawbone. After a period of healing, you will be able to get your implant-supported dentures. You’ll feel a major difference in your quality of life. Your chewing capacity will skyrocket and you’ll finally be able to eat whatever you want again. You won’t have any embarrassing slips and will never have to worry about them falling out in public.

All-on-Four Dental Implants

Another option is to get all-on-four dental implants. This allows people with some bone loss to still get dental implants. Not everyone is a candidate, however. A lot depends on the type and amount of bone structure you have left in your jaw.

Either way, you want to make sure you use a dentist with post-doctoral training in dental implants, as well a success rate of about 98%. This is an advanced procedure, which requires advanced training.

This blog is brought to you by East Cobb Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

Will Medical Insurance Cover My Dental Implants

Posted on June 25, 2020 by writeradmin.

I’ve lost quite a few teeth over the years, several not replaced, and have three dental bridges, all of which are over 30 years old. Because of this, I’ve had a hard time eating. I’d like to replace everything and get a dental implant denture. Will my medical insurance cover this because it is affecting my health?

Stephanie

Dear Stephanie,

Dentists get this question a lot. While it is true that not having teeth affects your overall health, medical insurance almost always has a dental exclusion in their policies. This is unfortunate because while many people have health insurance, not nearly as many have dental insurance. All that being said, you need teeth. If you’re removing or lost all of your teeth, the best replacement would be dental implants. It sounds like you already know that though. What you may not know is how important they are.

Once your teeth are gone, your body senses there are no longer there. Always striving to be efficient with its resources, it will then resorb the minerals, which your jawbone no longer needs to support your teeth, in order to use them elsewhere. Unfortunately, this begins to shrink your jawbone. In as soon as ten years, you’ll start to notice it is hard to keep your dentures in. A short time after that and it will become impossible. This is known in dentistry as facial collapse. Once this happens, you won’t even have denture teeth to eat with. Talk about impacting your health!

The solution to this is having implant-supported dentures, as you’ve expressed. The dental implants signal to your brain you still have teeth. Because of that, it leaves the minerals intact, thereby protecting your jaw.

Paying for Implant Supported Dentures

While your medical insurance won’t cover the cost. There are some ways to make this easier. First, most dentists don’t make you pay for the whole procedure upfront. Instead, you’ll cover the surgical part first. Then, when you’ve had time to heal and the bone has integrated with the implants, your dentist will then do the denture and you can pay the second part.

I realize, for many people even, that can be challenging. Some dentists let you pay it out as you go. Those who don’t almost always offer Care Credit, which is a medical credit card. They’ll pay for your procedure upfront and then you pay them out. They have low-interest payment plans and you get to choose which plan you go with.

This blog is brought to you by Marietta Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.

Implants versus Implant Dentures

Posted on May 23, 2020 by writeradmin.

I am curious. I’m losing all of my teeth and really wanted to get dental implants to replace them. When I priced how much it would cost to replace each tooth that way, it was astronomical. However, I’ve heard there is something called implant dentures. Will these do close to the same thing or is it just like regular dentures?

Rita

Dear Rita,

I hope your dentist didn’t imply that you needed a dental implant for each tooth. That would be too expensive for anyone, except for the wealthiest of individuals. It’s also totally unnecessary. When you’re talking about replacing all of your teeth, you’ll actually want implant overdentures (pictured above).

These use four to six dental implants in each arch and will completely secure your denture to your jawbone. They also give you all the protection of dental implants.

Advantages of Implant Supported Dentures

Your dentures will be completely secure
Your chewing capacity will allow you to eat whatever you want
The implants protect you from facial collapse

The Biggest Danger of Dentures

When your teeth are removed, your body will immediately begin to resorb the minerals in your jawbone. After ten or so years, you will no longer have enough jawbone left to even support dentures. This is known as facial collapse. Getting those dental implants placed signals to your brain that your body still has teeth and needs those minerals to support the roots of your teeth. This protects your jawbone and protects you from facial collapse.

This blog is brought to you by East Cobb Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.