Dentures vs Dental Implants

Implants are the best! My mom has them and loves them.
$54k seems a bit steep to me - how many teeth? Get a second opinion from another dentist that specializes in implants.
YMMV
LBC

How many teeth?
It is my understanding that implants are FAR superior to dentures. With dentures, there is no tooth root/teeth roots and the actual jaw bone will deteriorate over time. With implants, an artificial root is implanted (hence the name) into the jaw bone, and then a crown/tooth applied to the artificial root. This gives a much more natural function and appearance, and keeps the jaw bone itself in better condition.

My husband is 42 and lost a tooth last winter. It cracked in half then crumbled. In order to prevent his other teeth from shifting around, the dentist said he needed an implant.

It is a lengthy process. First the mouth must heal from the extraction. Then the implant is actually put in (fully anesthetized surgery). This is titanium that the jaw bone actually fuses to! (really amazing.) Then there is several month wait while the jaw bone heals and fuses. Then the "tooth"is applied to the "stem". My husband is in the waiting stage now. Any week he should be scheduled for the actual tooth to be applied. Then he'll be done. So, about a 6-7 month process over all. That is for one tooth. I don't know if they would do all of your husband's at once or in groups.
I must say, that $54,000 sounds like a lot though. My husband's is not covered by insurance, and total, the one tooth is costing around $3500.
I had a friend that about 15 yrs ago that had almost her whole mouth done. I think it cost around $20k for her back then.
Does the dentist who gave you the estimate actually DO the implants himself? Or is he giving you a ballpark on someone else's work? Our dentist doesn't do the actual implant procedure (the titanium implant into the jaw bone). A dental surgeon did that (and they were top notch!). And then my husband will go back to the dentist for the crown/tooth application to the implant "root/stem".
For my husband, the implant procedure was done first thing in the morning, and I had to wait in the office with him during the procedure (took less than 30 minutes) and then take him home. He was on pain meds and "out of it" for a good 5 hours afterwards. The next day he was fine. During the first day, he had to eat very soft foods like scrambled eggs, jell-o, yogurt.. that sort of thing. But within 2 days, he was eating normally(except he wasn't allowed to have popcorn or peanuts for a while longer - his 2 favorite snacks!!).

I don't know if this is any help to you or not. Good luck with whatever he ends up doing. Be kind to him. It's no fun.

My DH's mouth is a mess as well. Our quote is 4k per tooth (includes the bone matrix grafting, tooth construction, and implant surgery several months later).

For what my Dh needs... the implants are far superior to the the alternative (bridges & crowns). We saw 3 different oral surgeons doing our research... and he'll be getting them as we can afford them. Essentially 1 per year. But we haven't don them yet.

My hubby also has some teeth issues, although they're not quite that bad yet. He and several other people have talked about going to Mexico for work. There are apparently alot of dentists in the border towns that do very high quality work, I have seen some ads and heard from some people that have gone. Might be an option? Good luck!

My mother went the route of implants. She only needed 4 teeth done, so it was not $54K, but it was expensive. And SHE HATES THEM. She is tortured by constant irritation in her mouth. She doesn't feel that they fit right, and her tongue is constantly drawn to where they meet her gums, and as a result, is constantly irritated. She's had them now for a few years, so it's not that she just hasn't adjusted to them yet. She is actually considering dentures now, even after spending all that money, because she hates them so badly.

I know lots of people have better experiences with implants, but just know that not everyone loves them and it's a darn lot of money to spend to come out dissatisfied with them. Miserable even, if you're my mom. :(

D.,
I can relate to this post as my husband, also 45, has horrible teeth and on top of that doesn't deal well with pain. He started seeing a dentist who kept saying he could save them and one by one they had to be pulled. Long story short this February he had all his remaining upper teeth pulled and dentures placed. On the bottom he had a partial placed as he only had the front 6 teeth left. He says it is the best thing he has ever done. He is finally without pain and constant headache from the rotting teeth and diseased gums in his mouth.

We looked at implants and were quoted about $30k for the uppers. We have no insurance and leave paycheck to paycheck so this was not an option.

The extractions and dentures including his follow up visits cost us about $4800. We had $3000 in savings and borrowed the additionally $1800 from his mother. The partial on the bottom cost $500 which the dentist allowed us to pay in payment form.

Not sure if that helps but his teeth look very natural, do not cause him pain or discomfort and his general health has improved. It does take time to get used to them and for the gums to heal and of course adjustments do have to be made occassionally to the denture but he is well satisfied.

Success with implants depends on a few factors one of which is bone density of the patients jaw. Why he's losing his teeth in the first place is a big factor, too. If you can't afford it and there's no dental collage anywhere nearby (who might do the work for a more reasonable price), then dentures are the way to go.

My husband who is only 32 has a lot of problems with his teeth, he has his whole life. We were looking into implants also and yes they are VERY expensive. I feel so bad because my teeth are close to perfect I've never even had a filling. And I can only imagine how he feels since his teeth don't look that nice. I told him he could decide on what he wanted to do... He decided to go with a top denture this year and next year he will get bottom implants. I would go with the implants if you have the money or if they are willing to set up a reasonable payment plan with you. But def shop around first. If you can't afford it dentures aren't the end of the world. My husband said he will just be happy when he has a nice smile again :)

I have heard that there are good dentists in Mexico that will do this kind of work. We used to live in Yuma and lots of people go over the border to Algodones to get dental work done and a much lower cost than they could have had it done in the US. My husband also has issues with his teeth and we are considering taking him to Mexico to get it fixed. If you ask around or ask someone in the 55+ communities I am sure they will be able to suggest a dentist to you that they or one of their friends have gone to see.

I have friends that go to Mexico and have there work done. I could get the name of the Dr they go to for you if you want. It seems they really do good work. I dont know its a thought? So sorry about this

Hi D.,
I would like you to go see a dentist I went to yesterday His name is Dr. Wallin and he owns Aesthetic Family Dental Care. His office is on Baseline/Power ###-###-####. A few weeks ago I went to numerous dentists because I have a tooth that had a root canal ten plus years ago and they put a temp filling in it (supposed to last two weeks) anyway, life happened and it is ten years later. Every Dentist said it would need to be extracted because it had broke off too low and was too bad to crown or fix. Then I drove by his office and wrote down the name and number and went to see him. Dr. Wallin has the ability to make teeth as you are there because of a machine he purchased that 98% of dentists don't have yet. I was there an hour and he made me a perfect tooth. I know this sounds crazy but all yesterday and today I have told everyone I can about him because he saved me from having a window in my mouth. I am begging you to go see him and he will help you. He also did a payment plan for me. I will never see another dentist again. At least see what he says because he has the capability most do not. You probably think I am a nut case but I worried so long over this and I feel so lucky to have stumbled upon him and his dental office.

My father is an oral surgeon and my mother was a dental hygienist...so we're mouth people :-) In 1st grade I knocked my permanent front tooth back up into my nose basically and have had to deal with it ever since. It finally abcessed my Soph. year of high school and I had to have an implant placed. I've now had it for a little over 10 years & have had no problems.

If the costs of implants are not approachable for you, maybe think about doing some implants and then doing a bridge between them??

You should always hold onto your own teeth if you can, but I understand that it's very expensive to do so.

Best of luck!