I had to have my front four teeth replaced. When I did that, I went to comfort dental which provided me with a dental bridge. The bridge was anchored to my canine teeth which then became loose themselves. From there, they removed those and then provided me with a partial denture. I’ve hated that and found it most uncomfortable. Now they are suggesting I replace those with dental implants. They say they can use mini implants to keep the cost down. As a precaution, I decided to get a second opinion from a private dentist. He suggested something much more expensive. He wants to do three full-sized implants. Two where the canine teeth were and then one directly in the center between them. Then, anchor a bridge to them. This is significantly more expensive. If you think the Comfort Dental Plan is a good one, I’d rather use the less expensive one, but I don’t want to make a decision simply on what saves me money because it is my “teeth” we’re talking about even if they are fake.
Eric
Dear Eric,
In your case, I am going to suggest you follow the second dentist’s suggestion. It is more sound from an engineering perspective.
The mini implants that Comfort Dental is suggesting will not work at all. They are not strong enough to hold the dental crowns that attach to implants. They’re mostly used to help stabilize a denture. I’m not surprised they suggested it though given how they treated the dental bridge they provided you.
When they originally gave you a dental bridge that put the stress on your canine teeth, the twisting forces involved in that are what caused those teeth to come loose. I would be surprised if you had that bridge very long.
The other dentist is suggesting something much more sound, though it is more expensive. By placing full-sized dental implants, the crowns will be properly secured. Secondly, by placing a third dental implant directly in the center it eliminates those twisting forces and gives you a stable bite that won’t cause failure of the implants.
While I am sure the dentist at Comfort Dental meant well, they are a corporate clinic that tend to hire inexperienced dentists looking for experience before starting in private practice.
This blog is brought to you by Libertyville Dentist Dr. David Potts.