Permanent Denture

[haha]

Off to see the Wizard...?

I guess I sound pretty stupid. It didn't occur to me that there might be that much price difference between Kansas and wherever Teacher Terry lives also in the US.

Ha

 

[Just_Steve]

I guess I sound pretty stupid. It didn't occur to me that there might be that much price difference between Kansas and wherever Teacher Terry lives also in the US.

Ha

Medical tourism isn't just for third world countries.

 

[Teacher Terry]

In wichita Ks both vet and dental is much cheaper then in NV. I have lived in KS twice and 2 of my sons live there now. For many procedures including vets you could fly there and be much better off then getting the care here.

 

[Teacher Terry]

In the past I did not think about getting my dental care in KS. I went to visit my sons in Jan and we were all sitting around the table my ex and his wife too and we started to talk about what they pay for vet care versus us and then dental. If I had thought of it a year earlier I could have paid 11k instead of 33k -ugh! I live in northern nevada. So I researched implants and Wichita and found out that one of the top dentists for implants in the country is in Wichita. Talk about good luck. Because I planned on flying in they were willing to give me ballpark figures by phone. Before I lost my teeth due to the CPAP machine I had spent thousands on crowns, bridges, etc. There is nothing worse then dental pain and the pain of paying) It sounds like many of you have had both kinds of pain.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I figured time for an update. I had the surgery Thursday to put 6 implants into my upper jaw. they freeze your gums and give you a pain pill. It took 3 hours and was not fun. YOu can hear the drilling and they pound with what sounds like a hammer, etc. I now have to wait 4 months and then they will convert my denture into a snap in. I spent most of the 3 days after taking pain pills and sleeping. I have to be careful what I eat or it hurts because my gums need to heal so back on a soft diet. When I go back it will take 2 hours for him to split open my gums , uncover the implants, take out the plastic plug and then put the screws in. Then I leave my denture at their lab all day to be converted. In the past 2 years I have unfortunately had a lot of experience with soft diets.

 

[braumeister]

Wow, sorry you're going through all this. Here's hoping it will all be well worthwhile at the end. It should be.

 

[Teacher Terry]

thanks! I would never recommend this unless you are totally out of options like I was. However, it sure beats having to wear dentures for life which is horrible.

 

[W2R]

I figured time for an update. I had the surgery Thursday to put 6 implants into my upper jaw. they freeze your gums and give you a pain pill. It took 3 hours and was not fun. YOu can hear the drilling and they pound with what sounds like a hammer, etc. I now have to wait 4 months and then they will convert my denture into a snap in. I spent most of the 3 days after taking pain pills and sleeping. I have to be careful what I eat or it hurts because my gums need to heal so back on a soft diet. When I go back it will take 2 hours for him to split open my gums , uncover the implants, take out the plastic plug and then put the screws in. Then I leave my denture at their lab all day to be converted. In the past 2 years I have unfortunately had a lot of experience with soft diets.

Thanks so much for the update, and I am glad you are done with that surgery! It sounds awful. I have been thinking about you and wondering how you were doing. I am sure hoping (and expect) that after everything is done you will be so happy with the outcome and eventually trouble free teeth. Your surgeon got right down to business, getting 6 implants done in 3 hours. Pretty impressive.

I recommend ice cream. I don't seem to gain weight from eating it after dental surgery.

I was on a soft diet yesterday too (strawberry vanilla ice cream, and tomato soup), but only because of a root canal this time. I wouldn't have done the soft diet except that this tooth has been putting me through the tortures of Job so ice cream seemed required to lift my spirits. Today I am back to regular food.

My dentist said the tooth he root canaled yesterday really has to be pulled at some point, but we are hoping to put that off until late summer when my two "in progress" previous implants will be done and usable.

My dentist told me something that I thought was interesting. He believes that we each have a "design life" for our teeth, in a sense. What he meant was that it seems like many of us suddenly have numerous teeth giving out at the same time in life. Sometimes it's in one's 90's, and sometimes (as for me) it's in one's late 60's or earlier. Anyway, I am hoping that by getting my teeth squared away now, I won't have to have so much dental work later on. Might be wishful thinking but we'll see.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I did the bottom teeth a year ago and after everything was healed it was worth it. I figure this will be the same ut for a third of the price which is nice. Both of my parents had bad teeth so did all 3 of us kids. My Mom took great care of her teeth and had them until she died at 90. My Dad did not and lost his at 45. Only 1 sib has his teeth left. My sister lost her teeth at 40 due to being born with a cleft palate that closed up shortly before birth. Her center lines were just a little off to the side. I think she had some of the first implants. 32 years later her implants are still going strong. However, medical insurance paid for most of it because she lost her teeth for a medical reason. All 3 of us have spent a ton of $ all through the years in order to keep our teeth. The guy that did the implants said that people are not keeping their teeth any longer then in the past. I wonder if a lot of it is genetic or if a certain percentage don't take care of their teeth properly. Probably a combo of both.

 

[W2R]

I am sure you are right about heredity, because my whole family has absolutely awful teeth except for two (my brother and father). When we were growing up we brushed the same way just as often, ate the same foods, and yet unlike the rest of us, one of my brothers had no cavities at all growing up. And yet if he didn't brush I'm sure his teeth would be bad also so that's important too.

I am glad you spent 3 days on pain pills and sleeping, because you need that when you are healing from so much surgery. I did a lot of sleeping on pain pills, too, after last month's two implants were done. I remember at the time I wished that I had asked how long to stay on soft foods because I was getting tired of them. When the time came to eat regular food, I just knew somehow. I don't remember but think it was maybe 5-7 days. I spent a few days cutting my food up into microscopic pieces as though I was 2 years old.

 

[Teacher Terry]

W2R: you get sick of soft food fast. I have been on them for as long as a month at a time when first received the implants. They want the bone to fully fuse before you stress it. I think it is also different when you get a bunch of implants at once because it will hold a bridge so if things start to fail you lose all your teeth and not just one. Each specialist specifically told me soft food for a month. I ate so many eggs, pudding, yogurt, oatmeal, ice cream etc that just the thought of that stuff is disgusting. I did the tiny cutting up too. I also took soft meat and put it in mashed potatoes and gravy so everything just slid down. right now I have another 3 weeks of soft food. Ugh! Good news is that I always lose weight when on this type of diet. I stayed with my youngest son in KS and he happened to be off work the week I was there so he took care of me. I brought one of my tiny old dogs but she was happy to sleep all day and night with me.

 

[aja8888]

My dentist told me something that I thought was interesting. He believes that we each have a "design life" for our teeth, in a sense. What he meant was that it seems like many of us suddenly have numerous teeth giving out at the same time in life. Sometimes it's in one's 90's, and sometimes (as for me) it's in one's late 60's or earlier. Anyway, I am hoping that by getting my teeth squared away now, I won't have to have so much dental work later on. Might be wishful thinking but we'll see.

Teacher Terry I hope it goes well from here.

On the design life, my sisters and I have seem to have fallen into the late 60's age group for that. I have spent enough this year to buy a new pickup truck on the first two phases of dental reconstruction (fillings falling out, root canals, crowns, etc). Now the third and last phase is in front of me and will include some kind of bridge, but no implants. This is almost like owning a boat!

On soft food: Would that include Golden Oreos dipped in milk?

 

[Teacher Terry]

I wish it did include cookies in milk. I was super careful and did everything they said because after spending 33k just on the bottoms I was paranoid they would fail. Ouch it seems like you are spending a ton of $ too.

 

[W2R]

Aja8888, good luck with that bridge!

TeacherTerry, I agree that cookies and milk don't count as soft food. Also you are probably right about the number of implants done all at once, affecting how long you have to stay on soft food. Mine seem to be one at a time, more or less. The two in April were just a week apart. Having six done in one day is much more major I'd think.

I am tired of implants but I must admit that they sure function well. I don't know but my guess is that there are more in my future.

 

[Teacher Terry]

My dentist told me that the guy that did my bottoms used to tell people to go home and eat a steak and now he says a month of soft food. so we surmised that he had some failures along the way. They really are a miracle and like my sister said once I get this all behind dental pain will no longer be in my vocabulary)

 

[aja8888]

I wish it did include cookies in milk. I was super careful and did everything they said because after spending 33k just on the bottoms I was paranoid they would fail. Ouch it seems like you are spending a ton of $ too.

Looks like I am up there with you, cost wise. I have the third phase to go and that should be another $12 K+. At least we don't have those bothersome medical insurance forms to deal with, though (LOL)!

 

[W2R]

My dentist told me that the guy that did my bottoms used to tell people to go home and eat a steak and now he says a month of soft food. so we surmised that he had some failures along the way. They really are a miracle and like my sister said once I get this all behind dental pain will no longer be in my vocabulary)

That will be wonderful!

I must admit, that with two implants in my upper left that are on either side of, and supporting a non-removable bridge, that part of my mouth feels like it did when I was a teenager. Very natural feeling and good, strong teeth that don't hurt.

So far I must be just beginning compared with you and Aja8888, because I haven't spent as much on my teeth yet. I'm ready for it, though. I don't have any other major expenses on the horizon at the moment. So far I have spend under $20K in the past four years since all this dental work began. But from my point of view this is the best possible value for my money, top priority, so I don't mind paying what it costs.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Wearing dentures was miserable. The bottom one would pop out at times no matter how much adhesive I put on it. They would both move when eating, etc. Just getting the bottoms done after 5 months was a huge improvement even with the top denture. The bottom one popped out once while I was meeting with a social worker for hospice. Talk about embarrassing. It is just such a long drawn out process. WR2, I hope your teeth problems stop but great that you have the $ to deal with them if they get worse.

 

[W2R]

Wearing dentures was miserable. The bottom one would pop out at times no matter how much adhesive I put on it. They would both move when eating, etc. Just getting the bottoms done after 5 months was a huge improvement even with the top denture. The bottom one popped out once while I was meeting with a social worker for hospice. Talk about embarrassing. It is just such a long drawn out process. WR2, I hope your teeth problems stop but great that you have the $ to deal with them if they get worse.

Those dentures sound miserable. I am glad your bottom implants worked out so well.

The stock market is sure helping and I'm glad I am doing OK financially right now. It was a little concerning when my HVAC needed to be replaced right in the middle of two implants and a bridge, but I cut back and it all evened out by the end of the year. If the market was crashing I'd be more worried about it but so far so good. Right now my teeth are my top priority because I know (as you do too) how miserable toothaches, soft diet, being afraid to eat or try to sleep, and so on, can be.

Hopefully I can get a lot of this major work done in the next few years. Then I won't have to worry about major dental work when I am elderly and suffering from more problems due to aging. I saw a sweet 90 year old lady with dementia at the dentist's office, being transported around in her wheelchair by her grown son. I can't imagine how hard it would be on her to get dental work done, in that condition.

 

[Dawg52]

Those dentures sound miserable. I am glad your bottom implants worked out so well.

The stock market is sure helping and I'm glad I am doing OK financially right now. It was a little concerning when my HVAC needed to be replaced right in the middle of two implants and a bridge, but I cut back and it all evened out by the end of the year. If the market was crashing I'd be more worried about it but so far so good. Right now my teeth are my top priority because I know (as you do too) how miserable toothaches, soft diet, being afraid to eat or try to sleep, and so on, can be.

Hopefully I can get a lot of this major work done in the next few years. Then I won't have to worry about major dental work when I am elderly and suffering from more problems due to aging. I saw a sweet 90 year old lady with dementia at the dentist's office, being transported around in her wheelchair by her grown son. I can't imagine how hard it would be on her to get dental work done, in that condition.

I had an aunt who lived until the age of 97. She never went to the dentist. Died with almost no teeth. She never complained of dental pain, but you know she must have had some along the way. My Mom didn't go as much as she should have to the dentist. I remember she broke a tooth in her early 90's and simply had it pulled. No thought to an implant. I doubt a dentist would recommend one at her age.

I've had 2 implants and will do more if necessary. But if I'm lucky enough to live to a ripe old age, I will probably do as my mother did and have some pulled w/o replacing at that point. These are decisions we will all have to make as we age.

 

[W2R]

That could work for most of us as we grow older. It might have been really hard on that 90 year old lady with dementia to have a tooth pulled, though, because she didn't even know where she was or why she was there. She might have thought it was an attack I suppose. I guess in a case like that they could use general anesthesia as a last resort.

 

[athena53]

My dentist told me that the guy that did my bottoms used to tell people to go home and eat a steak and now he says a month of soft food. so we surmised that he had some failures along the way.

My oral surgeon had a really thorough list of caveats that I had to sign about what might go wrong, but he missed one thing. I have a bite guard that covers my lower teeth at night and my last two implants were bottom teeth. As I was coming out from under the anaesthetic, I asked him if I should use the bite guard. He just about jumped out of his chair and emphatically said "No!", telling me he'd had a patient whose implant failed because of the pressure from the bite guard. I bet that went on his list. A couple of weeks later, being too cheap to get a new bite guard, I just lopped off the back end of mine so the implant wasn't covered. It still works.

 

[pacergal]

I figured time for an update. I had the surgery Thursday to put 6 implants into my upper jaw. they freeze your gums and give you a pain pill. It took 3 hours and was not fun. YOu can hear the drilling and they pound with what sounds like a hammer, etc. I now have to wait 4 months and then they will convert my denture into a snap in. I spent most of the 3 days after taking pain pills and sleeping. I have to be careful what I eat or it hurts because my gums need to heal so back on a soft diet. When I go back it will take 2 hours for him to split open my gums , uncover the implants, take out the plastic plug and then put the screws in. Then I leave my denture at their lab all day to be converted. In the past 2 years I have unfortunately had a lot of experience with soft diets.

Thank for the update, hope you feel better each day. Wow, I just had my first implant yesterday, I can't imagine more than one at a time. I am a whimp with dental work and when the oral surgeon offered anesthesia, I signed up! Cost a bit more, but for this I will pay. Funny, I did have a dream of hearing jackhammers--I suppose this was when he was drilling the bone--

 

[Texas Proud]

My DW is in the middle of her 3rd procedure...

1st was two single teeth implants

2nd was 3 implants for 4 teeth...

3rd is 3 implants for 4 teeth...


All it this will be $40K... and we still have more teeth to go in the future...

 

[Teacher Terry]

Costs really vary widely. I paid 33k for 4 implants to hold in a permanent denture for the bottom in NV. for the tops I went to KS and got 6 implants that will hold in a removable denture for 11k. I also incurred flight costs although 2 of my 3 sons live there so I have a free place to stay. I would still go visit the kids but not as much as I have been going lately.