Can’t Keep My Dentures In
I have been having massive trouble with my dentures not staying in. When I went in to see a dentist, he told me that most of the ridge is gone that supports the dentures. I’ve been wearing dentures for 23 years, even though I’m only 59 years old. I’m too embarrassed to go anywhere. Is there anything that can be done? The dentist I saw seemed to indicate it was too late.
Evelyn
Dear Evelyn,
I have some fantastic news for you! There is definitely a solution for what you’re going through. First, let me explain what has happened. When your teeth were first removed, your body instantly recognized that. In an effort to be as efficient as possible with your body’s resources it began to resorb the minerals in your jawbone that are no longer needed to help support any teeth roots. This way it can use those minerals elsewhere in your body where they may be more needed. It’s a beautiful design in efficiency.
The unfortunate side effect, though, is your jawbone begins to shrink. Eventually, as you are experiencing now, there is no longer enough jawbone left to retain your dentures, which depend on that bone. In dental circles, we call this facial collapse.
When you first lost your teeth, your dentist should have warned you about the long-term consequences of wearing dentures. However, there is nothing that can be done about the past, so… we move forward.
The Solution to Facial Collapse From Dentures
The first thing you’ll need to do is build back up the lost bone structure. This can be done with a bone grafting procedure. Once that is completed and healed, you have two choices. You can get dentures again. Just bear in mind that the whole process of facial collapse will start again. Second, you can get what is known as implant supported dentures.
With this procedure, you will have between four to eight dental implants placed, then after a period of time, allowing the bone to integrate with the implants and healing to take place, a set of dentures will be anchored to your dental implants. This will signal to your body that you still have teeth and it will leave your jawbone intact.
As a side benefit, you will also enjoy a higher quality of living. No longer will you have to worry about the dentures slipping or sliding. Plus, you can once again eat anything you want. Even the best fitting removable dentures will reduce your chewing capacity by 50%. With dental implants, that is no longer a problem.
This blog is brought to you by Moline Dentist Dr. Thomas Goebel.
Antibiotics with a Sinus Perforation
I am a bit frustrated. I had a dental implant placed. Then, it was removed again six months later because the dentist said that the bone never filled in properly. He mentioned that the implant had perforated my sinus cavity, but that it was no problem because this happens all the time with dental implants and that it was only a few millimeters. I worried that I would need an antibiotic, but he told me there was no need. I started having some pain and popping in the nose area. I called the dentist and he told me to take some decongestant. I did that but it didn’t help. In fact, then I developed yucky drainage and a fever. I called back and this time insisted he give me an antibiotic. He relented and wrote me a prescription. That’s when I finally started getting better. Should he have given me the antibiotic to begin with? Also, he said we could try again in a year or I could just get a dental bridge. Do you have a recommendation?
Avery
Dear Avery,
I’m glad you wrote. There is an even bigger issues here that we’ll get to in a moment. First, I want to answer the question you wrote with. Not giving you an antibiotic at the beginning is not a problem. He’d want to wait until there were signs of infection. That being said, there was some sign there when you began having pain. I am glad that you had the courage to put your foot down when the fever developed. At that point, you should not have had to insist.
Now, let’s get into two huge issues I see here. First, the perforation of the sinus cavity. While it does happen sometimes, I wouldn’t say that it happens all the time, at least not with skilled dentists who do proper diagnostics. However, JUST a few millimeters is misleading. In most cases in life, a few millimeters is no big deal. In dentistry, however, a few millimeters is HUGE. He should not have made light of that.
When you have dental implants placed, it is important to have some 3-dimensional diagnostics done, such as a CT scan to avoid what happened to you, among other potential serious problems.
A second issue is the fact that your bone never integrated with the implant. This is why it had to be removed. In a way, you are fortunate that it did not integrate because if it did, your infection could have gotten into the bone and been very serious.
As for whether you should get a dental implant or a bridge, I would recommend a dental implant unless the adjacent teeth needed crowns anyway. If they do, you can knock two problems out with one procedure. If they don’t need a crown, it seems a bad idea to grind those teeth down if you don’t have to.
That being said, I would make sure you had a good explanation for why the bone didn’t integrate before you move forward.
This blog is brought to you by Moline Dentist Dr. Thomas Goebel.
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