I would like to say there was a best of times with this worst of times, but I’ve got nothing but trouble when it comes to this treatment. I had a dental bridge that replaced all of my upper incisal teeth. The canine teeth were the supporting teeth. I think my dentist at called them the anchor teeth. Eventually, the canine teeth came loose. My dentist suggested that I get a partial denture for my replacement. I hated the partial. REALLY hate it. So, I went back to Comfort Dental and they suggested that I replace my upper teeth with implants. In order to keep it affordable, they would use mini implants, which they thought would last about ten years.
I decided to get a second opinion because I was concerned about how the partial denture went. I saw a private practice dentist and his suggestion was significantly different. It was much more expensive too. He wants to do three full sized dental implants that have a bridge attached. One each on the now missing canine teeth and the other in the the middle of the bridge. I’m torn. I want to save the money, but I am not completely confident in Comfort Dental as my experiences with them have not been that great.
Do you have a recommendation for me?
Camille
Dear Camille,
Dental Implants
I am glad you wrote. One of the things about places like Comfort Dental is that they are corporate practices that want to maximize their profits. They tend to be staffed by dentists just out of dental school who are building up experience before going into private practice. However, the bigger problem is their treatment plan. Mini implants are not intended to completely support a denture. They’re more to stabilize it. Giving them ten years is generous, at best. But, for arguments sake, lets say that they actually do last for ten years. What happens when they fail?
You cannot just place new dental implants in the same spot. This is because the loss of the implants will take the supporting bone with them. First, you’ll have to have bone grafting done, then after that has healed, you can try again with new implants.
This is a poorly designed dental bridge.
Whoever is designing your treatment plans there does not have an understanding of the engineering principles behind implant restoration. It should have been expected that using your canine teeth for the anchor teeth would cause them to come loose.
Your canine teeth would have experienced strong twisting forces that would cause them to come loose. The second dentist is addressing this issue by placing a stabilizing implant in the center of the bridge. Doing so eliminates the twisting forces completely and you will have a stable implant bridge that will last you for a lifetime, if well cared for.
My suggestion is you go with the second dentist. Just think about how much money (not to mention agony) you would have saved had your dentist done the procedure right to begin with!
This blog is brought to you by Hilton Head Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Bonnie Rothwell.
Click here to learn about implant overdentures.
