Steadily losing my teeth.

[giddyup]

I had all my own teeth up until about 65, then I lost one. Admittedly, I had a mouth full of fillings, but I did clean them twice a day and had regular dentists visits. When I came to Thailand around 10 years ago I decided to have a lot of the teeth with deep fillings crowned, about 10 in total. I have been steadily losing those crowned teeth over the last couple of years because decay has got under the crown, and by the time the tooth is warning me of a problem, it's too late. I dread getting dentures, but I've lost so many molars now, there's probably no choice. At my age (75) the expense of getting so many teeth implanted, not to mention the time it would take to have that work done is daunting. Anyone else facing the problem of having dentures, or any experiences in getting them for the first time?

[lopburi3]

Are you having regular cleanings and x-rays done?  The x-rays are very important with crowns and should alert dentist before they become too decayed.  I have cleanings every six months and normally every other time bite-wing x-rays. 

 

Implant is expense and not always an option depending on bone/sinus positions.  They can also install dentures with multi implants to hold these days - also expensive.  Normal 2 or 3 tooth partial denture is relatively inexpensive and will work well as long as there are some teeth to hold in place 

[chickenslegs]

3 hours ago, giddyup said:

I dread getting dentures,  ... Anyone else facing the problem of having dentures, or any experiences in getting them for the first time?

Sorry, no personal experience.

 

But, I think you could allay your fears of dentures by researching a bit more about modern dentures.

 

I found out quite recently that my mother (83) has had dentures (top 6 front) for about 20 years. I had no idea until she went into hospital for a hip replacement and I was with her when she completed the consent/info forms (obviously, dentures have to be removed before an op.). Her denture was, and is, absolutely natural looking and nobody is aware of it but me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[giddyup]

1 hour ago, lopburi3 said:

Are you having regular cleanings and x-rays done?  The x-rays are very important with crowns and should alert dentist before they become too decayed.  I have cleanings every six months and normally every other time bite-wing x-rays. 

 

Implant is expense and not always an option depending on bone/sinus positions.  They can also install dentures with multi implants to hold these days - also expensive.  Normal 2 or 3 tooth partial denture is relatively inexpensive and will work well as long as there are some teeth to hold in place 

The dentist told me that an X Ray won't penetrate a crown.

Edited March 17, 2018 by giddyup

[giddyup]

26 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

Sorry, no personal experience.

 

But, I think you could allay your fears of dentures by researching a bit more about modern dentures.

 

I found out quite recently that my mother (83) has had dentures (top 6 front) for about 20 years. I had no idea until she went into hospital for a hip replacement and I was with her when she completed the consent/info forms (obviously, dentures have to be removed before an op.). Her denture was, and is, absolutely natural looking and nobody is aware of it but me.

Thanks. I have heard stories of people that just can't get used to dentures and would rather go without. Would limit what you can eat I imagine.

[chickenslegs]

11 minutes ago, giddyup said:

Thanks. I have heard stories of people that just can't get used to dentures and would rather go without. Would limit what you can eat I imagine.

I guess there would be a few things to be avoided - toffee, pork scratchings, chewing gum - but I could live without those.

 

When I see the prices of implants and such I always think about what else I could buy for the same money.

 

A couple of implants, or a business class seat on a flight to visit my grandkids. Easy choice for me.

 

Having said that, I'm in my 60's - if I was younger or wealthy I might have a different view.

[janclaes47]

I had very bad teeth from young age. Had a partial denture for 3 or 4 front teeth at the age of 18, and in my late twenties decided to have all teeth pulled at once as i didn't fancy sitting in the dentist chair weekly.

 

I can eat everything, including apples, however I don't eat apples as I'm allergic to the skin lol.

 

If I had to do it again I would go for implants though, but more than 40 years ago that was really expensive and not yet as sophisticated as it is now.

Edited March 17, 2018 by janclaes47

[giddyup]

21 minutes ago, janclaes47 said:

I had very bad teeth from young age. Had a partial denture for 3 or 4 front teeth at the age of 18, and in my late twenties decided to have all teeth pulled at once as i didn't fancy sitting in the dentist chair weekly.

 

I can eat everything, including apples, however I don't eat apples as I'm allergic to the skin lol.

 

If I had to do it again I would go for implants though, but more than 40 years ago that was really expensive and not yet as sophisticated as it is now.

Funny, I get nauseous from apple skins as well, but as long as I peel them I'm OK. As far as implants go, it's not just the expense, I could probably manage 6 or 7 without too much trouble, but I just don't fancy spending all that time at the dentist getting them fitted. I've  come to really loathe going to the dentist, I've really had a lot of bad experiences with them over the years, and it seems like every time I go now they want to pull another tooth. My front top and bottom teeth are still OK, but I don't know if they can do dentures just for the molars. Have an appointment Monday, so I'll find out then.

[lopburi3]

8 hours ago, giddyup said:

The dentist told me that an X Ray won't penetrate a crown.

They use to detect leakage below the crown in time to prevent serious decay in my understanding - it is the lower part that is important - under the crown you normally have a metal pin rather than tooth material.  

[jerry921]

Dentures need teeth to be anchored to, and if one of the anchor teeth goes then you need another set of dentures. And the dentures put additional stress on those anchor teeth, too, so might speed up losing them if they're going to go.

 

I'd say chew with what you have until you don't have a matching pair of teeth to chew with, then get implants. A full set of implants (4 posts for the all the upper teeth or 4 posts for all the bottom teeth) is a lot cheaper in the long run than one or two teeth at a time.

 

I looked into implants at one point when in the US, and the guy started talking about sinus lifts and bone grafts from my leg and I ran away. With insurance it was still going to cost me $6k, but the pain and hassle were what persuaded me I could chew on one side only.

So that's what I'm doing, no appliances for me (except I have a bridge I got 25 years ago).

 

 

[giddyup]

27 minutes ago, jerry921 said:

Dentures need teeth to be anchored to, and if one of the anchor teeth goes then you need another set of dentures. And the dentures put additional stress on those anchor teeth, too, so might speed up losing them if they're going to go.

 

I'd say chew with what you have until you don't have a matching pair of teeth to chew with, then get implants. A full set of implants (4 posts for the all the upper teeth or 4 posts for all the bottom teeth) is a lot cheaper in the long run than one or two teeth at a time.

 

I looked into implants at one point when in the US, and the guy started talking about sinus lifts and bone grafts from my leg and I ran away. With insurance it was still going to cost me $6k, but the pain and hassle were what persuaded me I could chew on one side only.

So that's what I'm doing, no appliances for me (except I have a bridge I got 25 years ago).

 

 

If you have full dentures you don't need natural teeth to anchor them, or even partial dentures. If a total of 8 implants is all that's needed (what's in-between?), that's still going to cost at least 400, 000 baht, or $16,000 Australian money.

Edited March 18, 2018 by giddyup

[mfd101]

Just for general reference:

 

Bangkok Smiles Clinic. I use them every couple of years for checkup & clean and another couple of crowns. Very professional. Price per crown is literally half what it is in Oz.

[giddyup]

Just now, mfd101 said:

Just for general reference:

 

Bangkok Smiles Clinic. I use them every couple of years for checkup & clean and another couple of crowns. Very professional. Price per crown is literally half what it is in Oz.

Did you read my post? It's crowns that have created my problem.

[mfd101]

Yes, I realize that. I was trying to make the point that you can get major work done here at high quality and it doen't necessarily break the bank.

[giddyup]

2 minutes ago, mfd101 said:

Yes, I realize that. I was trying to make the point that you can get major work done here at high quality and it doen't necessarily break the bank.

I live in Pattaya and I use Bangkok/Pattaya hospital for dental work.

[jerry921]

As I understand it (not an expert) the main cost/hassle/pain with implants is the implant post. If you just want a single-tooth implant, that's one post. I think two adjacent teeth can use one post, maybe even 3 adjacent teeth (not sure). If you want a full lower, they only need 4 posts to anchor all 16 teeth, so my only point was that's more efficient and cost effective than single implants.

 

I don't know what implants cost in Thailand, or have any idea about whether it's a good idea to go with the cheapest outfit you could find (I'd think maybe not!).

 

27 minutes ago, giddyup said:

If you have full dentures you don't need natural teeth to anchor them, or even partial dentures.

Good point. But I gather at the moment you still have some teeth left, including at least one pair of molars you can chew with, so you aren't in full-dentures or full-implants territory yet. If your rate of loss is such that you'll need a full set of artificial teeth on either the top or the bottom in just a few years, I'd wait and get a full-set solution. That was my only thought.

 

Also, nothing stopping you from trying the dentures and if you can't abide them then pay up for implants, all you have to lose is the cost of the dentures.

[giddyup]

2 minutes ago, jerry921 said:

As I understand it (not an expert) the main cost/hassle/pain with implants is the implant post. If you just want a single-tooth implant, that's one post. I think two adjacent teeth can use one post, maybe even 3 adjacent teeth (not sure). If you want a full lower, they only need 4 posts to anchor all 16 teeth, so my only point was that's more efficient and cost effective than single implants.

 

So, if you need both upper and lower you'd need at least 8 implants at a cost in Thailand of approx 50,000 baht each, or 400,000 baht. As you pointed out, there are bone density tests etc before they can install the implants, which are done over many months. At 75 I'm not sure I want to put myself through all that pain and discomfort.

[Tarteso]

I
Perhaps this link can help about the cost of dental implants here in Thailand
https://www.smilesignature.com/en/promotions-dental-implants.html

[giddyup]

58 minutes ago, Tarteso said:

I
Perhaps this link can help about the cost of dental implants here in Thailand
https://www.smilesignature.com/en/promotions-dental-implants.html

Thanks.