Dentures / Implants - Options

david_now

Hi,
I am male , late 50s and have had gum disease for a while and have lost a number of rear teeth. I currently have no dentures / bridges or implants.

My lower front incisors are now loose and my NHS dentist has advised having dentures made and then extracting the teeth.

I was wondering what my options were regarding getting implants done privately. I realise that is not a cheap option. I am cost conscious but prepared to pay , and I would consider treatment in Poland if that kept the cost down.

I have a few questions I hoped someone out there could help with.

My NHS dentist was non commiital but said I may need a bone graft before any implants. What does this involve ? Is it taking bone from other part of body or is it a procedure using synthetic materials ?

Having 4 contiguous incisors replaced, would this require 4 implants , or could it be achieved with 2 and a bridging arrangement ?

Would it be better to present for private work with the teeth in situ and have all work done there, or would it be ok to have the extractions and dentures prepared on NHS and then present for private implant treatment ?

Thanks

brook2jack

Gum disease can affect implants as well as your own teeth. If you are a smoker , then stop because most implantologists will not place implants on smokers as the failure rate is so much higher.

If you have unstable diabetes that can also increase the failure rate of implants.

Implants are not a fit and forget treatment , they need very careful cleaning on your part , and ongoing maintainance. They are not a quick treatment particularly if you need grafts , which can be from you eg from hip , from animal origin , artificial or cadaver (a dead body).

You should ask your dentist for recommendation for implantologist. You will need to wear dentures whatever happens during the healing phase of implants before they are loaded and grafting (if necessary).

The number of implants will depend on the quality and quantity of bone which can only be assessed by your implantologist.

However your first task is to get your gum disease under good control so you can hold onto as many of your own teeth as possible and keep any implants placed in the future.

david_now

Thanks for the informative reply.

I am a non smoker, and as far as I am aware I don't have diabetes. My BMI hovers around the 29-30 level , yo-yo ing into obese territory , so guess I should have that checked.

My gums were in worse condition a few years back but I have taken better care over the last 4 years or so with regular check ups , cleaning and improved oral hygiene. I used to regularly spit blood on cleaning but this happens rarely now.

So, I could go down the denture route , and this would not prevent me looking into implants at a later date if I found they were too problematic ?

Or, by having the extractions/dentures done on the NHS, am I making it more difficult to get implants in the future ?

Toothsmith

The key thing with implants, as Brook said, is how much bone you have to put them into.

Having had gum disease, this will be quite markedly reduced (that's why your own teeth have had to come out) You can have dentures and 'see how it goes', but once your teeth have gone, the bone will carry on disappearing, possibly more quickly.

As Brook also said, you can have the bone built up with grafting - but this adds to the expense and complexity.

The best thing is to talk to your own dentist about how suitable it all is for you, individually. If the teeth came out now, would implants be possible without grafting, and if you waited, how long might it reasonably be before it all got more complicated & expensive.