I have only two teeth left on my upper arch and they are the two front teeth. At the moment, I wear two partial dentures. I find them pretty uncomfortable and hard to talk with. I only wear them on two occasions. First, when I’m going out to see people. Second, when I have to eat something that requires a bunch of chewing, such as meat. The inconvenience of all this is starting to get to me and I’m wondering if I would be better off just extracting them and getting a full upper denture. My dentist just says it is up to me without advising me either way. I can’t decide. Is there a reason not to extract them? I have a budget of about $5,000.
Brent
Dear Brent,
In most cases, it is always better to keep any natural teeth you can. However, your case has some unusual considerations. With only those two remaining teeth, the biting stresses mean they will not last much longer. With that understanding, you will be much more comfortable with a full denture instead of two partials. Under normal circumstances, I would suggest you get implant supported dentures, but that would blow your budget completely.
If these were your lower teeth, I would suggest you save up for the dental implants. This is because when your teeth are removed, your body begins resorbing the minerals in your jawbone in order to use them elsewhere. After ten or so years, your jawbone will shrink so much as a result that it will no longer be able to retain a lower denture. This is known as facial collapse. The dental implants in your jaw prevents your body from resorbing those minerals, thereby preserving your bone. Because you are dealing with an upper denture, the dental implants are not as urgent. Upper dentures are held in by suction.
So, as I mentioned above, the normal guidelines don’t apply as much to you. It will be fine for you to extract those last two teeth.
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