dental implants Archives

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.

Replacing Congenitally Missing Lateral Incisors

Posted on April 1, 2022 by writeradmin.

My daughter has congenitally missing lateral incisors. Now that she is starting high school, she is quite embarrassed by her baby teeth when she smiles. Our dentist suggested that we extract her teeth and get braces to close up the space. I am afraid that will look weird. Can you tell me if there are any other options?

Dolores

Dear Dolores,

Missing Lateral Incisors

I am glad you wrote. Your dentist is giving you very bad advice. I’m glad you picked up on the fact that it would look quite weird if you followed through with his guidance. As you can see from the image above, this girl had done what your dentist is suggesting for your daughter. As you can see, it does not look normal. In fact, it looks downright vampiric.

The baby teeth do need to come out, but I don’t suggest you use traditional braces. Instead, I think your daughter would be more comfortable with Invisalign. These use clear aligners. None of her friends will even know she is having her teeth adjusted. Then, once the space is opened up enough to fit adult-sized teeth, you can get her the replacement teeth she needs.

Invisalign Invisible Braces

The best tooth replacement is a dental implant. However, you will have to wait until her jaw is fully developed for that. In the meantime, she can use a temporary tooth replacement in order to hold the spot open for when she is ready for something more permanent. A dental flipper is inexpensive and will serve her well until she is old enough for the dental implants.

This blog is brought to you by East Cobb 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.

Will Invisalign Work with Missing Teeth?

Posted on March 31, 2021 by writeradmin.

I have two congenitally missing lower bicuspids and have grown up with crooked teeth. One of the lower bicuspids had to be pulled because of decay. I’ve spent a lifetime embarrassed about my smile. I don’t think having a mouthful of metal will help with how I feel about my smile. Someone recently told me about Invisalign. I would like to use that but don’t know if it can work around missing teeth. I’ve had an orthodontist say no and a regular dentist say yes. I want to believe the dentist but that may be because I really want a pretty smile. Any advice?

Trina

Dear Trina,

I’ve often found that orthodontists are more conservative with Invisalign because their training is in orthodontics. Dentists who work with Invisalign have invested more time with it and are more comfortable with it. In fact, Invisalign works well around missing teeth. I’d go with your dentist.

There is a hidden benefit to Invisalign as well that you can’t get with orthodontics. The clear aligners that Invisalign uses can also double as teeth whitening trays. This will give you a mini smile makeover while saving you money on teeth whitening.

Once your teeth are in their correct placement, you will want to replace the missing teeth in order to keep them retained in the right place. There are several options in replacing missing teeth, but in your place, I would want dental implants. They are the most like having healthy natural teeth in your mouth again. Talk to your dentist about all the tooth replacement options available to you and you can decide what is best.

Be aware that not every dentist is trained in dental implants. It is possible you’ll have to go to one dentist for your Invisalign or another for your dental implants. A third option is finding a dentist skilled at both. Whichever way you go, you will be able to have the smile you always wanted.

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,

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.

SmileDirectClub Problems

Posted on July 29, 2020 by writeradmin.

We sometimes get inquiries about SmileDirectClub from patients and others who do not feel they can afford Invisalign but want to straighten their teeth. In doing some research, we came across a warning given by mynewsmile.com. You can find the original post for that here. They talk about pages of complaints from patients who’ve tried the service and have been dissatisfied.

In an attempt to be careful with our conclusions we decided to verify the claims. Doing our own research, we went back to the dates he originally mentioned on two different websites. One that posts general reviews about SmileDirectClub and the other being the Better Business Bureau. There were more than we could reasonably place in a blog post.

One thing we noticed is the complaints fell into three different categories: First, not receiving their aligners and unable to get a refund. Second, the aligners didn’t work. Third, their teeth ended up in a dangerously worse situation.

Aligners Don’t Arrive as Promised

There were many similar reviews such as this one, including some patients who received some aligners but not others which completely threw off their treatment. Another waited months for their retainer after treatment, by which time her teeth had shifted out of place again.

Treatment Doesn’t Work

It is hard to imagine going through orthodontic treatment, investing all that time and money, and then having no improvement on your teeth. Imagine then trying to get this rectified and being given the run around over and over again.

Teeth End Up Damaged

One of the biggest issues of not having your orthodontic work done with a dentist is things can get overlooked. For instance, before Dr. Cheek would move forward with any orthodontic treatment, she would do a thorough exam. This simple, but imperative step protects the patients. As an example, let’s say a patient had the early signs of gum disease. That would get addressed before moving forward with any type of braces. Otherwise, you risk something like this patient above experienced. Your teeth can come loose.

If that happens, you will no longer be looking to straighten your smile but to replace missing teeth.

Based on these reviews, I would say approach this option with caution. If finances are what are drawing you to a mail order service, talk to your dentist. They may have payment plans for you. Another option is to try Care Credit. They are a medical loan service that offers low-interest plans enabling you to get your treatment and pay it out over a period of time you can choose.

This blog is brought to you by East Cobb Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek. You can read more about SmileDirectClub here.

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.

Are Steriods the Right Option After a Root Canal?

Posted on January 27, 2020 by writeradmin.

I had a root canal treatment which seemed fine at first, but then I started to have tooth pain several weeks later. I went to see the endodontist, who then prescribed me a course of antibiotics. That helped and she said I’d be fine now. However, a few weeks later the pain returned. She’s since placed me on a course of steroids, but I’ve gotten worse instead of better. I’m not sure what to do.

Adrian

Dear Adrian,

While we do sometimes prescribe steroids with a root canal treatment, it seems like your endodontist doesn’t understand the science behind it. Steroids are an anti-inflammatory. There are times this is an appropriate treatment. Generally, with a root canal treatment, there can be some irritation at the end of the tooth root. This can happen for several reasons. The file could poke through the end of the root or some materials, such as the infected pulp, the disinfection solution, or the filling material itself can make their way out. This causes a vicious cycle of pain and inflammation, but there is not necessarily an infection.

The inflammation causes swelling of the tissues around the end of the tooth, This, in turn, pushes the tooth up causing traumatic occlusion (how the teeth meet together). That then aggravates the inflammation, causing more swelling, starting the cycle over again. Prescribing steroids, in this case, can help stabilize the body’s response.

Because sometimes there could be infected tissue being pushed through, a brief course of antibiotics is generally prescribed along with the steroids.

However, this isn’t your problem. The best dentists will find the cause before prescribing a treatment. In your case, it was the wrong treatment. We were dealing with an obvious infection here. In that case, prescribing steroids is the WRONG treatment. Steroids are an anti-inflammatory. However, that inflammatory response is necessary in the case of infection. It brings necessary white blood cells and antibodies necessary to fight the infection. By prescribing steroids your dentist actually hindered your ability to heal.

Root Canal Treatment Failure

Your situation sounds more a case of root canal treatment failure. This doesn’t mean your endodontist did the root canal incorrectly. While I’ve been harsh on her diagnostic and follow up treatment skills, you can do everything right in a root canal and it will still fail.

The canal system inside a tooth is complex. It is easy to miss a small canal. Plus, some shoot off at a 90-degree angle and there is no way for the tool to reach everything. When a tooth flares up weeks after the treatment, it means there is an infection present and the root canal didn’t succeed. This is why your antibiotic treatment she gave you after the first flare-up made your tooth feel better. It brought the infection under control.

However, without getting in there and ridding the tooth of the infection completely it will rear its ugly head again. This is what you’re experiencing now. In this case, steroids are a hindrance rather than a help. You have some options here. The first is to have another root canal treatment done to try to completely get the infection. You should be aware the risk of failure increases with each root canal re-treatment. That doesn’t mean it is a waste of time to try, just be aware of the statistics. Two other options are root canal surgery or having the tooth extracted.

If you do end up extracting the tooth, don’t wait too long to replace it. There are more than esthetics to factor in. Your other teeth will begin to shift into the empty space. You can ask your dentist about tooth replacement options, including dental implants. Then decide which is best for your situation.

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