I have a 23-year-old son who is a recovering drug addict. He’s done really well the last six months and now I’m working to help him get his teeth back under control. As a result, he’s lost quite a few teeth. I want to get him dental implants for those and do what we can to save the remainder of them. The dentist said that wasn’t a good investment in his situation. Instead, he just wants us to remove all his teeth and give him dentures. I’m not sure I like that idea. He already feels bad enough about his choices. I’m afraid dentures will cause him to lose all hope. What do you recommend?
Pamela
Dear Pamela,
I am glad you wrote. I do not think this is going to be the best dentist for your son. He is taking the easy way out for himself and not considering the life-long consequences your son will be left dealing with for the remainder of his life. It also bothers me that he said they wouldn’t be a good investment.
Dental implants are the top-of-the-line tooth replacement option. It’s the best investment you can make in the restoration of your son’s teeth. This makes me concerned that he doesn’t consider your son a good investment.
Who Should Replace Your Son’s Teeth?
I’m going to suggest you find another dentist. One who will work hard to not only save as many of your son’s teeth as possible but is also highly trained in dental implants, in order to give your son’s procedure the best chance possible. This is an advanced procedure and the leading cause of malpractice suits in dentistry. You want a dentist who has taken post-doctoral training.
Ideally, you want a dentist who can do the surgery and the restoration. Often, mistakes happen when a dentist has to refer you to an oral surgeon who doesn’t place the implant in the correct position for the crown to have the right placement. If you can’t find a dentist who also does the surgery make sure it is the dentist who decides where the implant will go and they have good communication with one another.
Why Dental Implants are So Important in Your Son’s Case
Getting Dental Implants Will Prevent Facial Collapse
Your son is quite young still. If you were to do with your current dentist’s plan and remove all his teeth for dentures, it would have devastating results. When your teeth are removed, your body recognizes that and begins to resorb the minerals to use elsewhere in your body in an effort to be efficient with its resources.
The result of this is something known as facial collapse. When he’s just in his 30’s there won’t be enough of his jawbone left to even retain his dentures, making it almost impossible for him to eat, not to mention aging his appearance by decades.
Having dental implants placed in his jawbone prevents this because his body interprets the implants as teeth roots and makes the assumption your jawbone is necessary in order to retain his teeth.
This blog is brought to you by Libertyville, IL Dentist Dr. David Potts.