Posted by writeradmin
All of my teeth are gone with the exception of my two front teeth. I’m like a reverse eight year old. I wear partial dentures around them but they are bulky and uncomfortable. Some dentists are saying I’d be better off getting rid of those two last teeth and others are saying it is my choice. I only put in the uppers when I am eating meat to help with the chewing. Because the uppers drive me crazy, I eat everything else with just my lowers and two front teeth. What is the best solution in my case?
Brandon
Dear Brandon,
Before I give my general advice I want to make sure you understand I haven’t examined you or even seen any diagnostic tests. This is general advice.
In most circumstances, I’m begging people to keep all their viable teeth. However, eating on those two teeth against the bottom dentures will put a significant amount of stress on them. As a result, I would not expect them to last long. You would be better off, in this case, removing them and getting complete dentures instead of just partials.
You did not mention if any dentists that you’ve consulted with mentioned facial collapse. Because your teeth have been removed, especially the lower arch, your body begins to resorb the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere. This is an effecient way of using your body’s resources, however it will slowly shrink your jawbone. In about ten or so years, you will no longer even have enough jawbone left to retain the dentures.
The solution to this is to have dental implants placed and then anchor your dentures to them. These are known as implant supported dentures or implant overdentures. This will not only preserve your bone structure, which will prevent facial collapse, but your quality of life will go up dramatically. There will be no more slipping and sliding of your dentures and you will be able to eat whatever you want with ease. Even the best fitting removable dentures will reduce your chewing capacity by 50%. You will love the secure feeling you get from having them permanently secured.
This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. John Theriot.