I'm missing some of my very back teeth and implants are too expensive , what is a cheaper alternative ?

Question

Are partial dentals comfortable ?

Answer 1

Partials take some getting used to, but some patients say that they "don't know they are in there" after they get used to them.

If they are "very, very back," maybe you don't need to replace the missing teeth at all. Can you "add details" or just ask another question and tell us which teeth are missing?

Answer 2

About 19 million American adults have no teeth; another 113 million are missing at least one tooth. Many gaps are filled with dentures and bridges. But if you wear such an appliance, you're probably familiar with the limitations which can weaken your bite, cause discomfort, even harm the adjacent teeth.

Dental implants are a major investment and not risk-free. If you need extensive work, you could wind up paying tens of thousands of dollars, spending lots of time in dentists' chairs, and waiting more than a year for your new "teeth."


Standard dentures and bridges have a lot going for them. You can get them fitted in a matter of weeks, the bill won't exceed a few thousand dollars, and dental insurance usually will pay part of the cost. But they do have their drawbacks.

Removable dentures can be hard to eat with because they provide only a fraction of the chewing force of natural teeth. A full lower denture can be especially troublesome; jaw and tongue movements may easily dislodge it. Ill-fitting dentures can be bulky and painful - hard plastic riding atop a thin layer of gum tissue over bone. Partial dentures, which replace a few missing teeth, can also promote tooth decay around their clasps and, by mechanical action, weaken the adjacent teeth.

For people missing just one or a few teeth, a fixed bridge looks and feels more like the real thing and provides near-normal chewing force. It's cemented in place over the natural teeth abutting the gap. But those end teeth first must be ground to stubs, to accommodate caps. Bridges can also weaken other teeth: a fixed bridge that spans too wide a gap can loosen the teeth it's cemented to.

HOW IMPLANTS COMPARE

Implants generally look and feel more natural than removable bridges; they provide about the same amount of biting force as fixed bridges but are kinder to neighboring teeth. Although other mechanisms have been used, the implants now typically rely on titanium fixtures inserted into the jawbone during surgery.

The process of drilling holes, inserting fixtures, and attaching teeth can be daunting. For a full set of teeth, four to six fixtures are needed in the lower jaw, and six to eight in the upper, where bone is less dense. Patients wear temporary bridges while the bone heals, which takes three months for the lower jaw and six for the upper. Then it can take three or more months to take impressions, fashion individual teeth or multi-tooth segments, and attach them to the fixtures.

The replacement teeth can take some time to get just right; the bite needs to be well adjusted to distribute pressure evenly.

Each fixture can cost $800 to $2500; each crown, $600 to $1500. While the total cost for a single-tooth implant - $1500 to $4000 - isn't much more than that for a small fixed bridge, costs quickly rise from there. A full upper or lower jaw can cost as much as $18,000 to $30,000 - 10 to 15 times as much as a full denture.

For people who need complete dentures, a slightly less expensive option (around $10,000) is a removable "overdenture" that attaches to two or four posts.

How permanent are these new teeth? No one knows for sure, since the earliest implants are just 30 years old. Most failures appear to occur early on, if a fixture fails to integrate with the bone, or if it comes loose. An implant's reliability seems to be influenced by its location; the survival rate after five years is about 95% for implants in the front of the lower jaw but about 85% for implants in the sides and rear of the upper jaw. In a very few patients, implants fail completely. Dentists usually can replace loose fixtures by letting bone refill the socket and drilling again in a few months.

One reason implants fail is poor oral hygiene. You'll need to floss and brush assiduously, into the openings and around fixtures, using special brushes. You'll also need to be seen by your dentist as often as four times a year.

Answer 3

Once again, I find myself saying, "yeah, what Dr. Sam said..."

Depends on the teeth on either side of the missing one, if it's on the upper or lower arch, your age, etc.

Also, what do you mean by "expensive"? If something cost more initially, but lasted longer and preserved more of your healthy teeth and gums, would you consider that more costly than something cheaper that had to be replaced every few years?

Don't forget to factor in comfort, longevity, overall health, etc. into your cost calculations.

Answer 4

Alot of patients can not get used to partials. Also, they grab onto the healthy teeth with clasps and cause alot of pressure on these teeth over the years. I have seen alot of patients with partials end up loosing the anchor teeth sooner or later. But if you can't afford implants, this may be your next best option.

Answer 5

Get your full dental work and surgery in India.Dental Surgery is very cheap in India.There is one company that is very famous in India that arranges cosmetic/dental surgery for foreigners in India.They are called the Forerunners Healthcare.I read a lot about them in the Newspapers and about their patient stories.I have also read that they arrange financing for international patients as all surgery is not covered by insurance or by the stinking NHS.

They also have photos pasted of their International patients.You can checkout their website.The cost savings are incredible.As a doctor i personally believe that your surgery can be easily handled in India as the quality of healthcare available here is simply best in the world.The surgeons are USA/UK trained and facilities are 5 star .

My cousin got her full dental work and jaw surgery for the cross bite and the overbite problem done there and she is more than very happy with the results.sHe is all praise for this forerunners healthcare company.She paid just 30% of the cost what she was quoted in USA and it was like a wonderful vacation for her.hope this helps.I think she paid only 7000$ for the full dental surgery for which she was quoted 19000 $ in USA.

http://www.forerunnershealthcare.com

Answer 6

1

Answer 7

#1 Cure For Toothaches - http://DentalBook.uzaev.com/?EEGK

Answer 8

Partial plate.