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.
Dental Implants Keep Falling Out
You know that nightmare you have were some of your teeth just fall out? Well, I feel like I’m living that. I had four dental implant placed on my lower ridge. These were supposed to eventually have dentures anchored to them. I’m also getting two individual implants on my upper arch. Here is my problem. I’ve only had the implants about a week, and two of them have already fallen out. I have a few questions. First, should I be expected to pay for dental implants that fall out? Second, do I need to be worried about the other two? Third, should I bother getting the two upper ones? Fourth, is it possible to get working dental implants or do I need to find another alternative? Finally, if I do need to find the alternative, what do you recommend?
Wallace
Dear Wallace,
I am sorry this has happened to you. I will tell you that most trained implant dentists have a 5% failure rate. Even then, most of them won’t fail for at least a year. Your dentist has a 50% failure rate in a week. There is something really wrong here. Priority number one will be figuring out why your dental implants failed.
Some Reasons for Dental Implant Failure
- Development of an infection. This is generally accompanied by pain and/or a fever. This can happen if the dentures are not fit properly., often because of poorly fitting fixtures.
- Diagnostic shortcuts. It is important for your dentist to determine if you have enough bone to support the dental implants. If you don’t, there is a bone grafting procedure which can be done.
- The use of substandard implant fixtures. Some dentists will do this to increase their profits without raising their prices.
- Incorrect placement of the implants.
- Placing the dental crown before the bone has had enough time to fuse with the implant fixtures. Dentists call this premature loading.
As for your questions, here are my thoughts:
First, no, you should not have to pay for the failed dental implants, especially ones that failed this quickly. Should you be worried about the other two? Absolutely. Before you do anything else, I want you to see a dentist who has extensive post-doctoral training in dental implants. Don’t tell them who your dentist is, just what happened and ask if they can tell you what caused the failure. Without that information there is no point in moving forward.
Once that is pinpointed, he or she should be able to tell you how to proceed. If you are in good general health, there should be no problem getting dental implants or even the implant supported dentures you are working on. It will require some bone grafting first, but it is very likely you needed that anyway and, failure to obtain that information on the part of your dentist, was why they failed to begin with.
This blog is brought to you by Moline Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Thomas Goebel.