I have been in dentures for ten years. I have hated them the whole time but have not had enough money to do anything about it. Now I’ve inherited some money and I’m wondering if it is too late for me at this point? If not, how do I approach this?

Adam

Dear Adam,

 

I am glad you wrote. It is never too late to get dental implants. Because you have been wearing dentures for the length of time you have, you will have lost a significant amount of bone in your jaw. This is a natural thing that happens to everyone who wears dentures and I hope your dentist warned you about it when you first were given your options.

When your teeth were extracted, your body goes into a mode of preservation. It wants to use your body’s resources as efficiently as possible. In order to do that, it resorbs the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere in your body where it feels they would be more useful. Unfortunately, that means your jawbone will slowly shrink because it is losing its density. That bone density is necessary to keep dental implants in place.

The good news is there is a bone grafting procedure that will restore the lost bone structure. Once that is done, your next step will bet the dental implants themselves. You’ll want about six dental implants and then a new set of dentures will be anchored to them. This is known as implant overdentures and it will completely change your life.

The first thing you will notice is no more slipping or sliding. The next thing you will notice is how much more of a chewing capacity you have. Even the best fitting dentures reduce your chewing capacity by 50%. You will have teeth you can use again.

This blog is brought to you by San Antonio Dentist Dr. Tostado.
We offer holistic dental care.