Dentures, who's got'em ???

[Willys 717]

OK, as the title suggests, I may be a candidate for a set of dentures in the near future?
I have many spaces without teeth and after biting on a hard candy cracked the last tooth on one side, which means no teeth on my lower righthand side...Hmmm..?
So, it was suggested I may be in line for a whole new set?  I will admit my teeth aren't the best as I hate and have feared dentists my whole life. No not rotten teeth just worn out and full of fillings and now as sharp as razors waiting to snap like this one has....?
So, I'm asking for suggestions other than $$$$ implants.....augh!  I am not spending that sort of money as I need at least 4 with bone grafts to repair past extractions.  So serious pocket change is required.
So who amongst us has dentures and what are your thoughts, issues, problems if any or regrets?
I will be seeing a professional next week so would like to get suggestions before I start talking shop with the torture specialist....augh!!!

Thanks....

[MikeT 721]

I have three implants and the dental plan I was on only covered most of the fake tooth cost. Since the start of this year, it covers implants too! So if I need more I hope to get them before I retire. 

 

The implants themselves were $1900 each. Superb, they are. Most of the rest of my worn molars are crowned so perhaps at the outside I could need one or two more implants before the jig is up.

 

I don't know what dentures plus mass extractions cost but I'd be surprised if it's a lot cheaper than 4 implanted teeth. The best dentures are made in Switzerland BTW.

[Willys 717]

I have a quote for implants starting at $3000 all the way to $8000 a piece!!!!   This depending upon bone grafts to repair previous extractions. We have a dental plan but it's 50% of anything up to a limit. Which is met rather quickly after other repairs for the both of us in the past year.
I do not know the cost of the plastic teeth route yet, but plan on finding out before deciding either way. I could always just do the tooth I just broke with an implant but it again stands alone weaker if not paired with the next few so I'm told..?
Both my parents have the plastic teeth so maybe it's my fate...lol.   I do realize that things do go downhill after you remove all that structure as in gums, facial etc changes etc....but at 65 this year...looks aren't my real concern...lol.   
Also the better half has made far too much to be elligable for any gov't assistance....we can afford to do it, I just do not want to spend this sort of money on this....especially if the rest are looking semi brittle ..augh!
Hard candy now scares me...lol.

[MikeT 721]

My implant dentist was Dr. Grady O'Neill in Victoria, $1900 a pop like I said. Didn't need a bone graft, but I expect that'd not add much to the cost.

 

Maybe come out here and stay in the Empress Hotel and you'd still be better off than with your local sawteeth!

 

I spoke with a retired colleague about his false teeth and they're all porcelain, made in Switzerland. I also know that false teeth can be held in with implants, but that's probably crazy expensive.

[Willys 717]

Well, I go in today for a consultation about dentures, I have to admit my brain doesn't like this proposition.....but I knew one day it would be a reality. My teeth are worn well, enamel split, teeth now so sharp they are breaking resulting in many repairs. All have either been filled or had root canals or both and 3 have already been extracted.
The cost of keeping the regiment of repairing them will far out weigh the cost of getting it sorted once and for all I'm sure.  Yes I have been digging deep into the whole option choices and learning the good the bad and the ugly on a very steep learning curve.  My brain isn't happy with the possible issues of having this done. but.....
Hopefully they can shed some solid light on my issues and direct me correctly in the best direction considering.
I haven't had a full night's sleep since accepting the fact this could be a possibility.   Hmmm..?
I also do not want to spend ten's of thousands in my mouth which I fear will be the case which will not be the end product judging by the condition of the rest of my teeth. I have spent a few hours going over my teeth looking for well defined issues, or old repairs that are due to be updated. Most have something wrong with them, imho.  Don't get me wrong, I do not have a mouth full of rotting teeth or gums.  I just have a mouth full of possible problems which if they keep breaking off will drain a good chunk of change.

 

Yes it sounds like I'm talking myself into this I know, but....it's like having a pet with serious health issues, sooner or later you must draw a line and do the hard thing. This is where I am I think in this situation.

I almost made the mistake of watching the procedure on youtube..lol I saw a still of half the job done and clicked it off....lol.  I do not have a weak stomach for these things but this thought of being awake while someone rips all my teeth out didn't sit well....augh!
I also went to forums as I normally do and read other people's experiences after it done and how they are coping with dentures. Hmmm...some are doing very well and of course you hear about the few who wish they could go back in time. Those are the ones who I think have started my brain spinning....lol.   Those people were the very small minority but they made my brain sit up and take notice!

Yes i have seen every type of denture you can buy. They n go from basically a formed piece of plastic with teeth to what looked like something from a sci-fi flic. perfect in every way possible screwed down onto implants using a small torque wrench...lol. There is also a massive price difference between these two sets of teeth...lol. One set is the dollar store type lets say and the other is the same price as a small house, or exotic vehicle!! 

So that's where I stand at the moment.....still willing and accepting  the possibility of having to have this done......to saying screw it and getting one tooth yanked and saying that's it....I'll wait until I have no teeth to be able to chew a piece of meat with....lol.

[Willys 717]

Hmmm....OK, new plans....seems they can now build partials that do not require a tooth at both ends to anchor them down...?  So that is the route I'll try first.   Stress level lowered just a tad!  But getting the broken tooth remove in a day or so.....then a two month wait to allow gum to heal then he'll build a partial....fingers crossed.  Maybe tonight I'll get a full nights sleep...lol.

 

[MikeT 721]

The life cycle of a tooth:

1. adult teeth come in
2. molar cavity (especially due to genetic predisposition and/or water source)
3. filling with Hg-Ag amalgam after a good drill grind
4. filling requires replacement due to leakage, more tooth ground away. Ideal time for a crown
5. Amalgam fillings are basically a fluid and add no strength to a tooth, so when you chew on a molar, the amalgam compresses and exerts a sideways pressure on the molars, which eventually crack. Last chance for a crown, if crack is not too deep
6. Root canal - tooth ceases to have blood supply so becomes brittle
7. root canal teeth are terminally compromised, snap off at gum
8. implant or partial denture time!

[tolsen 628]

I am now 68 years old and still have my original 32 teeth mainly thanks to not adding sugar to my coffee. 

[Mjolinor 75]

In the UK the NHS had a pay per filling policy in the 70s. In my 20s this led to me suddenly going from having and needing no fillings to suddenly needing half a dozen every time I went to the dentist with caps and crowns for fun.

 

A few years later one very rich dentist did a runner back to Ireland and left loads of people with crap teeth.

 

Mine look like a burnt picket fence now due to that.

[Willys 717]

I am a person who enjoys his sweets and iced buns etc etc etc.....still do, very surprising i haven't needed the daily finger pricks. I'm in perfect health in that regard...? Treacle tart is my favorite thing....can't find it in Canada unless you make your own....so I am an expert...lol.
Sorry I went down a rabbit hole for a second, hmmmm...where's those ingrediants..lol.
Back to my teeth..lol.   
I too have had every tooth in my head minus the very 5 or 6 front teeth filled at least once if not more. Many also have had the gum recession or cavity repair done at the gum line. I've had recently(last 5 or so years) 3 teeth yanked due to them breaking off after massive filling needed to be installed for other issues. Had all 4 wisdom teeth yanked when in high school.  So this stage isn't a surprise to me at all. Sort of expected it. My father had it done when in his 40's and he suffered for weeks afterwards....I remember him crying for days in pain...back in the day maybe they didn't have our good pain meds easily available..?  Who knows?

I have 25 teeth left until tomorrow when he will yank this last busted one out.  They charge $200 and up per tooth depending upon if each tooth comes out roots intact!!!!!  Bone grafts are close to $600 per tooth if required.......not required unless bone comes out with roots which happened to me the last time! So....do the math!   Then comes what type of denture or appliance you wish to install in your mouth in the long run.  IF you thought the yanking process is expensive think almost a small house cost for the most expensive appliance!!!!!  I simply want functionability...I simply want to keep eating my sweets and general food...lol.  Eating to me is a chore......you must do it to live....I'm not a person who enjoys spending large amounts of hard earned cash to sit and wait for someone to serve me food etc....not happening!
So IF I were to get them all ripped out, I would be going for the good old fashioned plastic spit them out on your plate in the local MacDonalds style teeth...lol  

Any way, he convinced me that my remaining teeth are good, strong and usable for decades to come and they/he can build a partial that somehow works without teeth on either side of it. Time will tell.....BUT even this is thousands of $$$$.....thankfully I only have to pay 20% of it I hope...augh!  Again time will tell.

My first visit to a dentist was in England before the age of 7, Yes I had a cavity at that age.   He had a treadle machine...I can still to this day remember the sounds and vibrations that made in my head!  Even today the sounds of the drill makes me break out in a sweat!    I tell every dentist I see that I hate them, calling them modern torturers.


 

[MikeT 721]

I've lost three teeth - a front upper due to a childhood sledding accident, which had a root canal at age 9 and finally cracked to the root in 2014; and two molars due to Point 7 on my life cycle of teeth. Those are the three implants. The others are not bad really. I crowned the ones that had the huge amalgam fillings.

 

Apparently the white fillings used these days DO provide structural support for the teeth.

 

None of our three kids: 34, 32 and 29, has a filling.

 

I love sugar too.