"I am a 40 year old smoker and have had dental problems consistently since the birth of my first child 10-3/4 years ago.
My two front teeth are rotting out and as you can imagine, it totally ruins my smile. I had one filled but it now has a hole in it. I do not have health insurance right now so anything I have done I will have to finance myself.
My question is, which would be less expensive, to have both teeth filled or to have them pulled and replaced with dentures of some sort?"
We believe that tooth loss leads to bone loss; which compromises your smile, and often affects speech & function. Removable appliances do not preserve bone. They may actually speed up the process. This has a profound effect on the premature appearance of aging; or a youthful rejuvenating effect when bone is maintained or regenerated. You may have difficulty determining, in the following photos, who is 94, 62 & 44 years old, without reading the notes.
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This lady was unhappy with her smile. Due to significant bone loss from periodontal disease, she was not a good candidate for a tooth supported crown & bridge reconstruction. She decided she wanted 'Teeth Right Now'.
This young man had an extreme fear of dentistry and was unable to bring himself to schedule routine care. When his situation became intolerable, he was finally able to seek help. He learned that false teeth were not a good long term option; since bone loss continues to occur under the denture. Eventually, he would show the results of losing teeth, making him look old before his time. What he wanted was 'Teeth Right Now'.
This patient was very unhappy with her smile. It was immediately apparent that her front teeth were too short & needed crown lengthening and new crowns. Radiographs indicated the left central incisor was decayed & could not be restored. This situation required extraction and implant placement. That same day an immediate provisional crown was placed by her dentist.
This patient had severe decay under the upper left lateral incisor. Since the tooth was hopeless & the apperance poor, he wished to have it replaced with an implant. He scheduled to have us remove the tooth, place an implant and a provisional crown.
This young lady was congenitally missing two lateral incisors & did not have sufficient bone for implants. The problem was solved by placing implants & regenerating bone at the same time, using Guided Bone Regeneration.
This patient's impacted canine tooth was brought into position; but unfortunately, gum infection was present and the bone was lost.(see X-ray). The two involved teeth had to be extracted. Bone & gum were regenerated. After healing, implants were inserted and crowns placed on the implants.
This middle aged man had to lose the 4 lower front teeth due to advanced gum disease, and they were replaced using 2 Implants placed into the lower jaw. The first photo is what the implants look like prior to the crowns being placed.
