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She Needs to Switch Dentists

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Several years ago I had an injury to my tooth. As the years passed, the tooth has turned an ugly brown. My dentist said that it needs to be replaced by a dental implant because there is no root left in the tooth. This is quite expensive and I have several other teeth that need fillings. I’m not sure I can afford to spend all of my money on one tooth. That being said, I am tired of being the girl with the ugly brown tooth.

Emily

Dear Emily,

illustration of a dental implant

There are a couple of things going on here that make me think that this is not the best dentist for you. First, if your dentist had treated the tooth with a root canal treatment after your traumatic injury there is a possibility that the tooth could have been saved. Without treatment, you risk something called root resorption. It could have happened anyway, but a root canal treatment would have lessened the risk.

A second issue is that it appears your dentist is not giving you all of your options. Dentists are ethically obligated to give you all of your treatment options. When you are missing a tooth, you have several replacement options.

The best option is the dental implant that your  dentist suggested. However, as you noted, it is the most expensive option as well. If you told your dentist that it was too expensive for you and he still did not give you other options that tells me a lot about his lack of character.

An illustration of a dental bridge. The next best option is a dental bridge. This is when a dentist suspends a false tooth between two dental crowns. This is less appealing if the adjacent teeth are perfectly healthy, because you don’t necessarily want to grind down healthy tooth structure.

You mentioned you had other teeth that needed work. If one or more of them is an adjacent tooth than this option might actually make more sense for you.

 

A third option is a removable partial denture. This has a false tooth that uses clips to attach it to your teeth in order to keep it in place. Finally, there is a dental flipper. This is the least expensive option. However, it is meant to be temporary. It’s most useful when you are planning on saving up for a better option.

This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.

 

 

 

Ordering Dental Implant Parts Online

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I have full upper snap on dental implants. These have four posts to keep the dentures on. I often have to replace the male retention caps. My dentist charges me $100 just for the caps. This has become quite a financial burden for me, especially the way inflation has gone. I can barely afford food at the moment.

I noticed that online you can order four of these for just $20! I tried to order them myself, but they require you to be a dentist. Is there any possible way to order these if you are not a dentist?

Ron

Dear Ron,

Snap on Dentures

Snap on dentures with two implants.

I’m glad you wrote. There is no need for you to have to choose between food and your oral health. I am saddened that so many people are in this situation these days. While it is true that dentists have a lot of overhead and need to mark things up a bit to cover their building expenses, equipment, and staff salaries, this particular material would be such an inconsequential contributor to the big picture that there is some leeway. I would start by just explaining your particular circumstances to your dentist and see if he will sell it to you at cost or much closer to cost. If he or she says no, you still have options.

First, I would call around to other dental offices in your area and explain your situation. It is possible one of them would be willing to order them for you near cost. You would not necessarily have to talk to the dentist. Supplies are often actually ordered by the staff rather than the dentist and they just use the dentist’s information.

If you cannot find someone willing to work with you, I still believe you can get this on your own. I noticed the Ebay sells these. Many are overseas sellers and do not require you to be a dentist to purchase them. The only downside to this is that you really need to know what you are needing. For example, the amount of resistance and strength you want from them. Different types give different values on this.

I hope this helps.
This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.

Ordering Dental Implant Parts Online

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I have snap-on dental implants with four posts. Periodically, I have to replace the male retention caps. My dentist charges $25 per cap, which sets me back $100.  It was already hard to do that but with inflation as high as it is, I’m having to choose between food and other bills at the moment. I see that I can get a set of four online for $20, but you can only order them if you are a dentist. Do you know of any way to get these without being a licensed professional?

Jack

Dear Jack,

Snap on Dentures

 

I am so sorry to hear about the financial hardship you are facing. I’ve heard similar stories from others, especially those who are retired. The savings that they thought would last for the duration of their retirement is being devoured by inflation.

I have some good news for you. There are several options for you to get these dental implant retainer caps at the lower cost. Your first option is to explain your situation to your dentist. Most dentists went into their field because they wanted to help people and are quite compassionate. While your dentist has overhead he or she needs to cover, this would make up such a small percentage of it, that it really would not hurt him to give them to you at cost or very close to it.

If that doesn’t work, you could call around to some other dental offices and explain your situation. It isn’t usually the dentist who orders these things, but one of the staff and they just input the dentist’s information. You are likely to find someone willing to order an extra pair for you.

Finally, I do see them for sale by overseas sellers on eBay for the price you quoted. They are not requiring you to be a licensed professional. The only real downside is that you would need to know what you want, how to pop them into your denture, as well as the strength and resistance you prefer.

I recommend going through these options in the order I gave them. I hope this helps you.

This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.

Implant Bridge Makes My Bite Feel Weird

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I needed to replace a couple of teeth so my dentist thought it best I get an implant bridge. Where the bridge meets up with the opposite teeth are fine, but on the other side of my mouth, the teeth don’t meet up any longer. Maybe it is nothing but it feels very strange and uncomfortable especially when I am trying to eat.  I am dealing with both a dentist and an oral surgeon. I don’t know which one of them to see about this. Or possibly this isn’t even a problem and I am just overreacting. I may need to just adjust to having a bridge.

Amelia

Dear Amelia,

Implant overdentures

 

I am glad you wrote. You are not overreacting. When your bite doesn’t come together properly, not only is it uncomfortable but it can also throw things off so severely that you end up with TMJ Disorder. This can be debilitating and lead to a lifetime of pain. You are within your rights to ask for a refund here because this is a serious functional issue.

Even though you were dealing with an oral surgeon and a dentist, it should have been the dentist who planned the placement of the dental implants. Your dentist would be the first person to see. If he’s worth his salt, he will recognize the problem right away. If he does not, then my recommendation is that you get a second opinion from an experienced implant dentist. Don’t tell them who did your work, just ask about the tooth occlusion.

Dental implants are one of the leading branches of dentistry with malpractice suits. For a dentist to do this well, they really need to invest in a significant amount of post-doctoral training. Before you get your second opinion, make sure you do some research on the dentist. Look at Dr. Becker’s credentials to get an idea of the type of dentist you are looking for.

If the dental implants need to be replaced, it will not be as simple as just getting new dental implants. The removal process will take bone structure with it. The bone is essential for a successful implant procedure. This means you will need some bone grafting done in order to replace the implants. Your dentist should cover this too because it would not have been necessary had the procedure been done correctly to begin with.

I hope this helps.

This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.

Did My Dentist Handle This Sinus Perforation Correctly?

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I recently had a dental implant placed, but things did not go very well at all. After about six months, the bone was still not doing what it should and the dentist decided to remove the implant. He’d perforated the sinus cavity by just a few millimeters but said that is common. However, it is the treatment after that I am worried about. He stitched the area and told me to take Flonase. He also said not to blow my nose. I asked about antibiotics and he said there was no sign of infection so I didn’t need them.  About a week later, I ended up having trouble including fever, congestion, and crackling in my nose. I returned and he said everything looked absolutely fine. I disagreed and this time insisted on antibiotics. He didn’t argue and prescribed them. Since then, I’ve been fine. Do you think he did any damage to my healing by not prescribing me antibiotics? He’s planning on us trying again on the dental implant so I want to make sure the healing was not compromised.

Lenny

Dear Lenny,

illustration of a dental implant

Not prescribing the antibiotic initially will not have damaged the healing process, especially if there was no sign of infection at the time. The Flonase was appropriate as well. Everything since removing the implant was fine. However, I do have some real concerns here. First, the fact that not only did he perforate your sinus cavity, but he did it by a few millimeters. In life, a few millimeters is nothing. In dentistry, it is huge. Despite his saying this is fairly common, it most definitely is not. I wonder if he did the correct diagnostics on you before starting this surgery.

The proper standard of care for dental implant surgery is to do whatever x-rays are necessary, this should include three dimensional ones, to ensure both proper placement of the implant, which would include NOT perforating the sinus cavity, as well as making certain there is enough bone structure available to integrate with bone and retain the implant. It does not sound like these were done in your case.

I would want answers on this before letting him perform this surgery on you again. If he can’t give you the proper answers, I would look for another dentist to do your dental implants. This is an advanced procedure. There are countless horror stories where people lost part of their jaw due to infection and other mistakes during the surgery. You want to make sure your dentist or oral surgeon has the proper training.

This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.

 

I Have to Have All My Teeth Extracted. How Can I Keep My Face from Collapsing?

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I am only thirty years old and have to have my teeth extracted. My dentist said my calcium deficiency has ruined my teeth. I have two children who are still toddlers and I don’t want to look like a grandmother, especially because I am a widow and do hope to remarry someday, if I meet someone. Is there a way to do this without my face collapsing? I’ve been in tears for days.

Allie

Dear Allie,

I am sorry you have so much to deal with on your own. My condolences on the loss of your husband are included in that. Is it your dentist who told you that your calcium deficiency is why your teeth need to be removed? If so, he or she is making excuses. Your teeth are fully formed before adulthood and any deficiency you have now will not have an impact on your teeth. I am going to highly suggest you get a second opinion before going forward with your dentist’s recommendation to remove your teeth.

Different dentists vary in their willingness to save teeth. Some do not want to do anything except extract. Others will work like mad to save even teeth that are far gone. You want a dentist who is willing to fight for your teeth. It is possible your teeth are in bad condition because you have had two pregnancies close together. If you had a lot of morning sickness, this can be very hard on your teeth. That does not necessarily mean they are unsavable. However, we will go over what to do if they do need to be extracted.

What is facial collapse?

before and after facial collapse For those who may be unfamiliar with this term I want to go over what happens when your teeth are removed. Our bodies are designed to be remarkably efficient. When your teeth are removed, your body recognizes there are no longer tooth roots and will begin to resorb the minerals in your jawbone that were helping to retain your teeth. It does this in order to use its resources in the best way it can. While a fantastic way of distributing resources, it has the unfortunate effect of slowly shrinking your jawbone. After ten years or so, you will no longer have enough of a jawbone to even retain your dentures in your mouth, effectively making you a dental cripple.

The Solution to Facial Collapse

If it turns out you do need to extract all your teeth (which I am still not convinced of), then you can get implant supported dentures. Implant overdentures use four to eight dental implants in each arch. Then, once the bone has integrated with the implants, your dentist will anchor a denture onto the implants. Because of the prosthetic roots that dental implants provide, your body interprets them as the roots of your teeth and therefore leaves your jawbone completely intact. This would be my recommendation if your are losing your teeth.

This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.

Will Antibiotics Fix an Infected Dental Implant?

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I had a dental implant placed in the early 2000s. They put a crown on top of it. In the last month, it started getting wobbly. I went to see my dentist who told me that the dental implant was infected. His suggestion was to remove it and then replace the empty space with a dental bridge. I really do not want to grind down healthy teeth. Why can’t I just take antibiotics to get rid of the infection and keep the implant, leaving my healthy teeth alone?

Paula

Dear Paula,

illustration of a dental implant

When a dental implant gets infected, it is actually the surrounding bone that develops the infection, which causes that bone to be lost. This is why your implant feels wobbly. Even if an antibiotic eliminated the current infection, it would not be able to regenerate the lost bone. A loose dental implant will fall out.

Options for Replacing Your Dental Implant

While the plan your dentist presented is a valid option, it is not your only option. Dentists are under an ethical obligation to provide you with all of your options. I am sorry that yours did not.

If your adjacent teeth needed work anyway, then a dental bridge would make sense. However, your teeth are healthy. I definitely understand your hesitation to grind them down.

If you would still like to have a dental implant, then the path to take would be to remove the dental implant. After the infection is cleared up, you can have a bone grafting procedure done to build back up the lost bone structure. Once that has healed, you can have another dental implant placed.

There are also less expensive options such as a removable partial denture or even a dental flipper, neither of which would require grinding down your teeth. If you want the implant but don’t have the money at the moment, you could get one of the cheaper options as a temporary solution while you save up for the secure replacement.

This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.

Problems with My Dental Implant

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I had a dental implant placed. A few weeks later, the crown came loose. I called my dentist who suggested I come in. He did an x-ray then assured me that the dental implant itself was fine and it was just a matter of re-cementing the crown back on. However, when he tried to remove the dental crown it would not come off. He tried using a special tool, but when he did the dental implant came out with it. Do dental implants usually come out this easily?

Candy

Dear Candy,

dental implant diagram

Dental Implant Diagram

 

No, they do not. It would be obvious to any competent dentist that it was the dental implant that was loose the entire time. When a dental crown is loose, it is incredibly easy to remove. In fact, it would generally fall off of its own accord. It sounds to me like either your dentist was totally incompetent or he is unethical and was trying to cover up the fact that the implant was the problem. Fixing a loose crown is simple. Dealing with a loose dental implant is much more complicated. Either way, you need a new dentist.

There are a few reasons your dental implant could have failed. One of the most common is an infection. However, I don’t think that was your issue. You didn’t mention anything about any pain or a fever, both of which would be common symptoms of a dental implant infection. The most likely options have to do with the integration of the bone with the dental implant.

I don’t know what type of diagnostics your dentist did before your procedure, but one possibility is that you didn’t have enough bone to begin with in order to support the implant. A second issue is that the bone did not have enough time to integrate with the implant. I don’t know the time period between when the implant was placed and when the crown was, but there needed to be a significant period of time between the two so there is enough osseointegration.

Fixing a Failed Dental Implant

This is not as simple as just putting in a new implant. First, when the implant was ripped out by your dentist, it took even more of the bone with it. You will need a bone grafting procedure to build back up the missing bone. After that, you could have another implant placed.

In your place, I would insist your dentist pay to have all of this repaired by the dentist of your choice. This time, make sure you go to a dentist who has significant post-doctoral training in the implant procedure. Look at Dr. Becker’s bio to get an idea of what type of dentist you will need.

This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.

I Can’t Keep My Denture In

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I have been in dentures for over 30 years. I first lost my teeth when I was just 30 years old. I can’t keep them in. there is no ridge left on my lower jaw which means I cannot keep my dentures in anymore. I’m guessing I have to replace this but I’m not sure if it will do any good without the ridge on my jawbone.

Evelyn

 

Dear Evelyn,

Implant Overdentures

Implant Overdentures

I am sorry you are in this situation. I wish your dentist would have warned you about this when you were first fitted for dentures. Once your teeth were removed, your body immediately began to resorb the minerals in your jawbone. It did this because your body recognizes you do not have any teeth that need support anymore. In an effort to be as efficient as possible with your body’s resources, it resorbs those minerals in order to use them where they will be more useful in your body. The problem with this is that your jawbone slowly shrinks until you no longer have enough support for your denture. This is known as facial collapse in dental circles and is what you are going through.

The prevention for this would have been to get implant overdentures. This places dental implants as prosthetic tooth roots in your jawbone and then anchors your dentures to them. The implants prevent the loss of any jawbone as well as giving you a denture that is completely secure. No slips and your chewing capacity would be significantly increased.  Unfortunately, you don’t seem to have been given this option.

 

snap on denture

Snap-on Denture

 

At this point, you have a couple of options. Before any of them are viable, however, you will have to build back up your jawbone. In order to do that, you will need to have some bone grafting done. Once that has healed, that is where decision time begins.

First, you could just replace your denture. However, you are still young and will face the same problem as your body, once again, resorbs all the minerals. Your second option is to get implant over dentures, as described above. They will cost a significant amount of money. If that is too much money, don’t give up. Even as many as two implants for a snap-on denture will help preserve your bone.

This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.

I Need Help with Dental Care

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I am done with my cancer treatments and am finally in remission (yay!). Unfortunately, my entire body has suffered, including my teeth. I have some teeth that have less than half their structure intact. I need fillings, crowns, and probably some extractions. I will be honest, even with insurance the treatments cost me everything. I have no savings left and haven’t been able to work for the last six months because of the intense chemotherapy. Is there anyone who could help me get my teeth in shape knowing I have no money?

Laurie

Dear Laurie,

dentists with a heart logo

I am sorry for what you have been through, but am certainly thrilled that you are now in remission. There are ways to get free, charitable dental work done, but it takes some digging to find them. I want to keep your expectations realistic, though. They will certainly help with fillings and even a tooth extraction, but I would not expect dental crowns or dental implants. It is maybe possible that you could get a dental flipper, which will be a temporary replacement. These clinics don’t work all year. They are more of a pop-up option so you need to find out when they’ll be open.

Ideas for Finding Charitable Dental Work

First, start with the obvious. Do an internet search. I would not search for “free dental work” because these type of things depend more on word of mouth. Very few, if any, have a website. You can do a search for the local dental society. Then, call and ask them. Another option is to call a local dental school if you have one in your area. Sometimes dental students will staff charitable clinics in order to gain more experience.

Something that could also work, but is a bit more work for you is to look up dental websites and read the dentist’s bio. If their biographical page mentions anything about doing charitable work, you can call and ask if and when a charitable clinic will be open for service in your area. Finally, you can look up the website for “Dentists with a Heart”. This has dentists that are willing to do free work for people in situation like yours.

I hope this helps and you get the help you need.

This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.