Dental Implant or Not?

Two prospective patients came into the office recently with the same complaint. Both were missing all of their teeth and were wearing old, ill-fitting dentures. Their dentures were loose, they had trouble eating foods they would have liked, their faces had that sunken-in look and they were in constant pain.

Their previous dentists recommended dental implants to stabilize the dentures. The problem was that as they were both retired and on fixed incomes they could not afford implants. What to do? Yes, implants are a wonderful service and have revolutionized what we can do to improve lives. I love implants! But due to the laboratory and materials costs involved, they are expensive.

My approach is different from most other dentists. I make new, custom-fitted dentures for the patient and tell them that if the new denture doesn’t fit and function well, we can then add implants. My experience is that the denture patient does very well with the new dentures and rarely decides to go ahead with the implants. Implants are always an option but they don’t have to be the first option. I believe that patients like these can be well served with well-fitting dentures.

For more information on dental implants and dentures, visit www.drterryshapiro.com.