The Implant Dentistry Blog

I had most of my teeth pulled over two years ago, and have three left in the lower jaw. Is it possible to have full dental implants placed the same day that those are extracted?
- Mattie from Missouri

Mattie,
There is a possible problem with getting full dental implants placed the same day you have teeth extracted.

Some dentists will place dental implants into an extraction socket. The reasoning is that it’s easier and faster to place them when there is already a “hole” in the bone. The problem is that the tooth being taken out is often an infected tooth, and then that infection affects the dental implant and creates a risk of failure. Even placing implants in other places in your jaw while there are infected teeth nearby can increase the risk. In most cases, you would be better off having those last teeth extracted and letting all the infection clear up before having the implants placed.

Be very careful about choosing your dentist for dental implants. There is a wide range of differences between dentists in their success rates for implants, because there is a lot of pressure on them to trim costs, which means they try to cut corners. Cheap dental implants that don’t hold up over time can end up being very expensive dental implants.

It is possible to get dental implant surgery done in such a way as to allow the teeth to be placed on the implants immediately. That is called the “teeth in an hour” technique, and we have done that procedure. But there are increased risks associated with immediate loading, and if your dentist doesn’t share those risks with you, I’d suggest getting a second opinion.

Dr. Chal,
I’m now 60 years old, and I have been wearing complete dentures for 35 years. I use a lot of denture adhesive, but it has gotten so I can’t keep a denture in, now. My dentist tells me I have practically no ridge left. What can I do?
- Lucille in Ohio

Lucille,
This is a common problem. When you have no teeth, your body resorbs the bone that used to support those teeth. It’s a gradual process, and after 35 years, you would have practically no jawbone left.

Your case is a good teaching opportunity for people who think that having all their teeth extracted is the end of their problems. If you want to know more about this, please see my web page about collapse of the face.

The good news is that there are solutions for you. It is a little complicated and time-consuming, but with careful surgical bone grafting, your jaw can be restored. And you may have to look around to find a dentist comfortable with treating these severe cases. We do a lot of them in our office in Phoenix. You may have to look around in Ohio to find someone who will do this for you, and it may take some travel to get just the right dentist.

Then once you have your jawbone built back up, there are a number of options. The simplest would be to just have another removable denture made. The problem with that is that you would get back into the cycle of bone resorption starting all over again. The placing of dental implants will prevent bone resorption. The more dental implants, the more bone you will retain. But even doing two with a snap-on denture would be much, much better than what you have had for many years. A denture/implant hybrid restoration would work much better. This is securely attached to the implants and replaces missing gum tissue besides replacing teeth.

Good luck.

Other links:
Read about dental implant failure or teeth-in-an-hour

I am a 50 year old denture wearer in need of new dentures. I have seen dentures that have gold crowns or other dental appliances affixed to them. I thought they made the dentures look more realistic. is this a normal practice, and where can i have dentures like this made?
- Michael in Ohio

Michael,
This is certainly doable. We can put a gold crown on one of the teeth in your denture, and any dental office with a desire to please should also be able to handle this for you. But there are a couple of points you may want to consider:

1. There are materials and methods that make the teeth in a denture look beautiful, natural, and realistic at the same time. Often what makes dentures look fake is the lower quality of teeth that are put in them, or the poor quality of pink acrylic that stains or discolors over time. And upgrading to the nicer materials could be considerably less expensive than adding a gold crown.

2. Twenty or thirty years ago, gold work and dark amalgam fillings were more common. These days, many people have ceramic crowns and white fillings, so that their dental work doesn’t show.

And, as an aside, I hope you will consider having your denture to be implant supported. Do you realize that while your denture may last twenty years, the lifespan of your jawbone may be considerably shorter? With no teeth, your body is constantly dissolving away the bone of your jaw to use those minerals elsewhere in your body. The presence of dental implants prevents this dissolving, because of what is called the piezoelectric effect. Have your dentist go over these options with you. A snap-on denture, with only two dental implants holding it in, is an economical option that will accomplish this. Otherwise, in ten or twenty years you will likely end up a dental cripple, unable to retain a denture, to eat, or to appear in public without embarrassment.

Related links:
Cost of dental implants
Teeth in an hour
How long do dental implants last?