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My dentures don’t fit anymore

August 13, 2012

Filed under: Dental Implants,Dentures — Tags: , — okcitydentist @ 8:18 am

I’ve had dentures for twenty years, but in recent months they are not fitting correctly. They’re slipping out a lot and it is getting quite humiliating. My dentist said there is nothing he can do to fix it, that I’ve lost too much bone. Do you agree with him?

Drew Z. from Chicago

Drew,

Well, I do and I don’t. If you’ve been been using dentures for two decades, than you are suffering from facial collapse. Hopefully your dentist warned you about it when you had your dentures put in. When your teeth are extracted, you body begins reabsorbing the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere in your body. After about ten or twenty years there isn’t enough jawbone left to support your dentures.

There is, however, something you can do about it. I would look for a dentist who does bone grafting. They’ll be able to build back up your bone structure. However, if you get dentures again, you will eventually have the same problem. Another option would be to have dental implants placed. These place a root form in your jawbone, which tells your body that the bone material is still needed.

This blog is brought to you by Oklahoma City Dentist Dr. Don Swearingen.

Implants after extraction

July 23, 2012

Filed under: Dental Implants — Tags: , — okcitydentist @ 5:22 am

I had in infected tooth that was extracted. Now they want to put in a dental implant. How long should I wait to make sure all the infection is out of the bone, before placing the implant?

Sandra W.

Sandra,

When your tooth was extracted, that eliminated the source of your infection. Your bodies natural defenses are able to quickly deal with any infection in your bone. Plus, the drainage opening left from your missing tooth into your bone helps also. There is rarely any residual problems from infection after a routine extraction.

If you’re extraction had been an impacted wisdom tooth, that would be a different story. The infection wouldn’t have been in the tooth itself, but between the tooth and the gum. As a result, your dentist would have probably prescribed antibiotics to go along with the extraction to deal with any residual infection.

All that to say, if your dentist sees no issues, then you are fine to get your dental implants placed.

This blog is brought to you by Oklahoma City Dentist Dr. Don Swearingen.