Hi all,

I am glad to have found this forum and hope to get some helpful feedback. I am a 54 year old male and have had a lifetime of dental problems. I had my first root canal at 14 years old and never looked back. I believe every year of my life thereafter I have had something major done dentally. Five years ago I decided to move from the U.S. to Mexico and was thrilled to find a superb dentist (state of the art technology) with tremendous skills. Prices are also extremely low in comparison to the states (20% of U.S. prices).

After having my first few visits for needed procedures I decided to have him replace my "old" crowns on the bottom six teeth, due to the fact that he is a spectacular dentist and the price for all six was $1200 USD. I was thrilled with the results.

But problems kept on coming and recently I began to have decay under crowns, which means that you have to get rid of the crown, which is in great shape, repair the decay and get fitted for a new crown. I have even needed two root canals in the past three months for bad decay under good crowns. Today I had an appointment with my dentist and a very knowledgeable periodontist. The periodontist wants after looking at all my x rays and mouth to have all my crowns removed, have my gums treated and then new crowns that are a bit different put back on. These crowns are not very astethic and the gum line will be seen and there is also some space between the upper part of each crown.

After hearing this my dentist and I went into a private room to discuss what I heard and to tell me my options. He said that I would be disappointed with the way the new crowns look, as my gums need to be easier to clean, therefore there would be the space and a dark type of line on top of my crown. He also said that this was not a guarantee that the procedure will be successful. I do have a lower partial now that is full except for those front six teeth.

Then I asked the question that many are faced with. Is it time to have false teeth put in instead of sinking more money and time into a problem that has been happenning my whole life? He told me that as a dentist he was trained to save teeth and not pull them unless absolutely necessary, but this is something I need to think about, talk to others about and also research. He said that if I opted to go the dentures route that it did not have to happen right away. He said that when I had decay under a crown again he could drill off the crown and replace it with an inexpensive type of single tooth removable partial, and when it happenned again, we could do the same. Then he said one day, maybe in 2-5 years I would say that it was time to get rid of all the removable things and get a full set of dentures.

I am at step one right now - researching. Has anyone here had the shock and experience of having to put in dentures even though they thought they would live with some of their own teeth the rest of their life? I think of the investment I put into my mouth my whole life and it saddens me that I will lose all my teeth. Also the fear of all the negative things we all hear about false teeth is a scary thing as well. It is not the money that is completely forcing this decision; in due time I would have no choice either way.

Please all of you denture wearers, help me out with the good and the bad. I thank you all in advance so much.

Hi...

I can't answer your question but my feeling is for sure the same as your dentist....always save your teeth if possible.

I think you should get a second opinion for sure. Eveyrone is out to make $$$$ and a periodontist is out to make money for sure as well. What exactly is wrong with your gums?

SECOND OPINION!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for responding, but my dentist actually said that it would soon be time to have all my teeth pulled regardless and was actually offering some un-dentist like advice. The problem with my gums is that I am a small % of the population that appears to promote decay when any part of my gum covers the normal top of my tooth. I never heard of this before and yes I will get an 2nd opinion. Again, this is what the periodontist stated, not my dentist. Thanks again.

Hi,
you actually sound as if you have a really helpful dentist who is not encouraging you to just have your teeth out, but suggesting what can be done in the meantime until the time comes when you can do no more. I think alot of us wish we had dentists like that, and I personally don't think you will find anything better if you seek a second opinion. Just go with the advice of this dentist, hang onto your teeth if you can, but when you can't, well- you have done all you can and that is all any of us with problem teeth and gums can do...

Thanks so much for the feedback and I have been more than happy with my dentist and his integrity. What I don't know anything about is the horror stories I have heard about full dentures. If anyone has experienced the good or bad with dentures please let me know about your experiences, it's part of the process I need to prepare myself for. I sure appreciate the helpfullness here.

Oops, double post...sorry,

bob,

First off, let's see if I have the picture.
You are talking about ONLY the bottom jaw that has 6 capped teeth in the middle and a removable partial denture that hangs on these teeth for the other 8 or 10 "teeth" on the bottom...maybe 4 on each side.

Assuming I have that right, here's how I'd look at it. The bottom middle teeth are slowly saying goodbye in the form of caps that need replacing and root canals and THEN periodontal disease. (Remember though periodontists make their money FINDING disease...that is quite an incentive to, shall we say kindly, LOOK a bit too hard for it.
In any case, I would go status quo and remove any teeth that begin to hurt and ADD another pontic to your partial denture...not separate "flippers" because I think one removable per jaw is about upper limit for comfort.
They can just cement one and another, even around teeth for the middle ones, on at very little cost. You may get YEARS this way...don't pull them out unless necessary becasue even one or two makes for a better hold than a full lower denture.

I think if you have periodontal cutting and scrapiing and then have all the teeth recapped you will HASTEN rather than retard their eventual removal.

I have a friend who has been adding one after another to an upper for over a decade and he may be down to the last 2 or three...but it's a better hold than a full denture.

I hope I've helped you make your decision.

GOD, I SOOO envy your Mexican prices...but for me (NYC area) the transportation is too onerous to consider for several visits.

Not to denigrate the dentist though, perhaps if he was REALLY great you wouldn't be facing:
But problems kept on coming and recently I began to have decay under crowns,
Properly done, those crowns should have lasted more than 5 years. But I recognize that you could have spent the $6 Grand in the States and STILL had the same outcome.

Lenin,
Thanks very much for the reply. Yes you do have the scenario correct for the bottom, six crowns in the middle and a partial for the teeth on each side. Also I will be losing teeth on the top one by one considering the rate of decay; two are already too far gone to save them. I agree and believe the periodonatal route is a bad one. I trust my dentist's judgement and have 100% confidence in him and know that my best interests are first. In the five years I have used him he has done about ten porcelain crowns (better quality than I ever had) for $200-250 USD each. The root canals were $200 USD each, but it's a shame that it just won't work anymore.

It is truly amazing about dental and medical care here in Mexico (Puerto Vallarta is where I live). The practitioners actuallly are extremely competent and really do care about their patients. Of course there are bad ones, like any place else. So many people do come here for their major dental work, many even plan a vacation around the whole thing.

My concern now is how will I, when the day comes feel about full upper and lower dentures? I sure hope I will get some positive replies because the thought of losing all my teeth is a scary one, but there is no alternative anymore.

Thanks in advance for anyone that will share their experiences with getting dentures, I sure appreciate any support even though I still have a few years left.

My concern now is how will I, when the day comes feel about full upper and lower dentures?

All I can add as a person with no dentures or partials YET (partial lower will be 'round the corner soon,) that your fear is shared by EVERYONE on this board. Full uppers and lowers is a scary scenario indeed. We all have the god-awful image of an aging relative with porcelain ratting around her mouth whenever she talked burned into our subconscious.

Look into what they are doing with IMPLANTS in Puerto Vallarta...hideously expensive in the states but maybe far less so for you.

Hi all,

I am glad to have found this forum and hope to get some helpful feedback. I am a 54 year old male and have had a lifetime of dental problems. I had my first root canal at 14 years old and never looked back. I believe every year of my life thereafter I have had something major done dentally. Five years ago I decided to move from the U.S. to Mexico and was thrilled to find a superb dentist (state of the art technology) with tremendous skills. Prices are also extremely low in comparison to the states (20% of U.S. prices).

After having my first few visits for needed procedures I decided to have him replace my "old" crowns on the bottom six teeth, due to the fact that he is a spectacular dentist and the price for all six was $1200 USD. I was thrilled with the results.

But problems kept on coming and recently I began to have decay under crowns, which means that you have to get rid of the crown, which is in great shape, repair the decay and get fitted for a new crown. I have even needed two root canals in the past three months for bad decay under good crowns. Today I had an appointment with my dentist and a very knowledgeable periodontist. The periodontist wants after looking at all my x rays and mouth to have all my crowns removed, have my gums treated and then new crowns that are a bit different put back on. These crowns are not very astethic and the gum line will be seen and there is also some space between the upper part of each crown.

After hearing this my dentist and I went into a private room to discuss what I heard and to tell me my options. He said that I would be disappointed with the way the new crowns look, as my gums need to be easier to clean, therefore there would be the space and a dark type of line on top of my crown. He also said that this was not a guarantee that the procedure will be successful. I do have a lower partial now that is full except for those front six teeth.

Then I asked the question that many are faced with. Is it time to have false teeth put in instead of sinking more money and time into a problem that has been happenning my whole life? He told me that as a dentist he was trained to save teeth and not pull them unless absolutely necessary, but this is something I need to think about, talk to others about and also research. He said that if I opted to go the dentures route that it did not have to happen right away. He said that when I had decay under a crown again he could drill off the crown and replace it with an inexpensive type of single tooth removable partial, and when it happenned again, we could do the same. Then he said one day, maybe in 2-5 years I would say that it was time to get rid of all the removable things and get a full set of dentures.

I am at step one right now - researching. Has anyone here had the shock and experience of having to put in dentures even though they thought they would live with some of their own teeth the rest of their life? I think of the investment I put into my mouth my whole life and it saddens me that I will lose all my teeth. Also the fear of all the negative things we all hear about false teeth is a scary thing as well. It is not the money that is completely forcing this decision; in due time I would have no choice either way.

Please all of you denture wearers, help me out with the good and the bad. I thank you all in advance so much.

I made the decision to go with dentures last December (06). Huge mistake. Remember one thing, once gone the teeth will never come back. It is a life altering situation. If you enjoyed eating that will change. If there is anyway that you can keep your teeth, do it. However, if you do go for dentures, don't go economy, get the best you can afford and whatever you do, don't go to "Affordable Dentures". This outfit is affordable because they are cheap, poorly made and just so-so quality.

Thanks Doecon for your reply. I have gotten second opinions and it appears that now I have no option as my gum disease cannot improve. I will have to have my teeth pulled as they get bad, one by one and we will keep what teeth I have until it becomes too uncomfortable. Then I will have to have the remaining teeth pulled and dentures put in. I will use the best possible dentures and I thank you for pointing that out. My dentist told me this can happen anywhere within the next 2-5 years, so I am doing everything possible to keep the teeth I do have. He also told me that I will "hate him" when he eventually puts the dentures in and don't believe anyone that says they liked having them right away. My dentist is a tremendous practioner and a great friend as well.

I do have a question for the board. What were the things that those that do have dentures dislike the most when you first got them? Also, how long was it before you became comfortable with them? Thanks in advance for your responses.
Bob