J
Jackalwi
Member
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2014
- Messages
- 31
Hello all, first time poster.
Suffice it to say, my mouth is a mess at 30 years old. Between too much sugary drinks, not enough brushing, and smoking, the sum total of my mouth is pretty well trashed. Prior to January 2014, I hadn't actually been to the dentist in a very long while, and the last time I had was to repair a chipped tooth about 10 years ago. Well, in the 2013-2014 Christmas/New Years season, I had developed a raging abscess on my back molars on my left side. I had been "fine" up until trying to eat something on that side, and within a few days, was in such horrible pain that I took myself to a nearby chain-store kind of dentist office.
The first dentist pretty much gave me a prescription for some amoxicillin, and a mild "once a day" pain killer that did more to put me to sleep than actually calm any pain. The abscess resided after a few days (it didn't feel totally under control until about 4 days after starting the pills). The second visit, he had a better chance to look around my mouth, and indeed could see that my mouth is just screaming to have all the worn down, rotted, cavity ridden teeth pulled. He said he could save about 7 or 8 teeth and get partial dentures to fit on them, and in total the procedure would cost around $10,000.
Initially satisfied that the abscess was taken care of, and not in pain, I waited for the response from the Care Credit people to see if I could be accepted (which I was not). So here I am, unable to pay for a procedure I apparently need.
Insert a couple month interval. Another abscess forms, this time under a tooth on my other side, and I'm back at the dentist's. Considering the rate of decay, the doctor is assuming that none of the teeth can realistically be saved, and after the whole amoxicillin treatment to get the infection under control, he's saying I need full dentures. The cost figure increases to around $14,000. I still can't get a credit plan to approve me, and don't have anyone willing to co-sign for this amount, so essentially I need a procedure I can't pay for.
During all this time - and even time before it, I'd known my mouth was horrid. I did plenty of research on my own to get an idea of all the procedures out there, the general prognosis, and long term risks & benefits. With dentures at this age, my bone would need grafts before age 50; basically dentures aren't exactly a "long term, permanent" thing, and I'd be looking at dumping even more money into my mouth than just the $10k-14k down the road.
My mother eventually suggested I see her dentist; for such a big procedure it's obviously wise to see what other professionals have to say, and I think she was in a sort of denial that all of them needed to come out. But alas, even he said the same thing (at least he didn't talk down to me or try to shame me, apparently in my area it isn't so completely uncommon to see people in my condition, he said). He referred me to a dental surgeon to have a consultation, and off I went that same day.
What the surgeon had to say basically confirmed what my own research had said. Ultimately, his suggested treatment plan is to go with a removable denture on top, and a permanent implant with a reinforcing bar across the bottom. This would keep the majority of my bone along my lower jaw from receding too much with age (though not necessarily cutting out the need for eventual grafts, just pushing that back a good long time). The extractions to be done in a staged manner - when I go in for the first appointment, I'll be put under, and most/all of my molars//"grinding" teeth will be removed. After 6 weeks of healing time, the rest will be pulled as well. This mostly to give the final resulting permanent a better fit from the impressions they'll do of my gums.
After everything is out, I'll have holes drilled in my jaw bone, and have 4 titanium rods screwed in there. The temporary denture made from the dentist will be attached on the bottom, and my full top temporary will be ready to go (these will be made from impressions before anything is pulled out -- this part I'm kind of nervous/anxious about because my teeth are in really horrible shape, and I never did like the feeling of choking on glorified plaster, nevermind the awkward feeling of them removing it, I guess a fear would be the impression process itself actually pulling a tooth or two out
)
After the temporaries are in, I'm basically set for 4 months of straight healing, and learning how to eat again, nothing but soft foods (which I already pretty much prefer as it is - I won't need to change all THAT much about what I eat).
After the 4 months of healing & soft foods, I'll be set for having the permanent teeth placed. With a pretty general torque test to make sure the titanium rods are fused to/with the bone, the bottom temporaries come out, and my permanent ones "installed". Then I'm handed my permanent tops, and can basically eat whatever I want.
In total the whole implant procedure & top dentures will cost about $30,000 - but it won't run the risk of having partials fail due to their attached real teeth failing and just running me into this situation later down the road. I still don't know how I'm going to even begin to pay for it, even the longest term credit/loan isn't that great a deal, or that I'll even be accepted by them. Unless or until I get the money, or a payment plan set up some how, I can't get the treatment I need (whether it's the lesser cost, less longterm benefit $10-14k option, or the shiney implant $30,000 option).
I thought I'd just share this with a community that will listen, I'm thinking about starting a journal-type post (maybe this one should have been considering it's length, lol), but unless or until I get the money to actually go forward with the procedure, there really isn't a whole lot to say other than "Didn't get an abscess today" or "I haven't had a tooth fall out on it's own yet".
Thanks for reading
too long didn't read (just cuz I know it's a long post)
I'm a 30 year old male, who will very likely have everything pulled, with a full implant on the bottom and removable full denture on top.
Suffice it to say, my mouth is a mess at 30 years old. Between too much sugary drinks, not enough brushing, and smoking, the sum total of my mouth is pretty well trashed. Prior to January 2014, I hadn't actually been to the dentist in a very long while, and the last time I had was to repair a chipped tooth about 10 years ago. Well, in the 2013-2014 Christmas/New Years season, I had developed a raging abscess on my back molars on my left side. I had been "fine" up until trying to eat something on that side, and within a few days, was in such horrible pain that I took myself to a nearby chain-store kind of dentist office.
The first dentist pretty much gave me a prescription for some amoxicillin, and a mild "once a day" pain killer that did more to put me to sleep than actually calm any pain. The abscess resided after a few days (it didn't feel totally under control until about 4 days after starting the pills). The second visit, he had a better chance to look around my mouth, and indeed could see that my mouth is just screaming to have all the worn down, rotted, cavity ridden teeth pulled. He said he could save about 7 or 8 teeth and get partial dentures to fit on them, and in total the procedure would cost around $10,000.
Initially satisfied that the abscess was taken care of, and not in pain, I waited for the response from the Care Credit people to see if I could be accepted (which I was not). So here I am, unable to pay for a procedure I apparently need.
Insert a couple month interval. Another abscess forms, this time under a tooth on my other side, and I'm back at the dentist's. Considering the rate of decay, the doctor is assuming that none of the teeth can realistically be saved, and after the whole amoxicillin treatment to get the infection under control, he's saying I need full dentures. The cost figure increases to around $14,000. I still can't get a credit plan to approve me, and don't have anyone willing to co-sign for this amount, so essentially I need a procedure I can't pay for.
During all this time - and even time before it, I'd known my mouth was horrid. I did plenty of research on my own to get an idea of all the procedures out there, the general prognosis, and long term risks & benefits. With dentures at this age, my bone would need grafts before age 50; basically dentures aren't exactly a "long term, permanent" thing, and I'd be looking at dumping even more money into my mouth than just the $10k-14k down the road.
My mother eventually suggested I see her dentist; for such a big procedure it's obviously wise to see what other professionals have to say, and I think she was in a sort of denial that all of them needed to come out. But alas, even he said the same thing (at least he didn't talk down to me or try to shame me, apparently in my area it isn't so completely uncommon to see people in my condition, he said). He referred me to a dental surgeon to have a consultation, and off I went that same day.
What the surgeon had to say basically confirmed what my own research had said. Ultimately, his suggested treatment plan is to go with a removable denture on top, and a permanent implant with a reinforcing bar across the bottom. This would keep the majority of my bone along my lower jaw from receding too much with age (though not necessarily cutting out the need for eventual grafts, just pushing that back a good long time). The extractions to be done in a staged manner - when I go in for the first appointment, I'll be put under, and most/all of my molars//"grinding" teeth will be removed. After 6 weeks of healing time, the rest will be pulled as well. This mostly to give the final resulting permanent a better fit from the impressions they'll do of my gums.
After everything is out, I'll have holes drilled in my jaw bone, and have 4 titanium rods screwed in there. The temporary denture made from the dentist will be attached on the bottom, and my full top temporary will be ready to go (these will be made from impressions before anything is pulled out -- this part I'm kind of nervous/anxious about because my teeth are in really horrible shape, and I never did like the feeling of choking on glorified plaster, nevermind the awkward feeling of them removing it, I guess a fear would be the impression process itself actually pulling a tooth or two out

After the temporaries are in, I'm basically set for 4 months of straight healing, and learning how to eat again, nothing but soft foods (which I already pretty much prefer as it is - I won't need to change all THAT much about what I eat).
After the 4 months of healing & soft foods, I'll be set for having the permanent teeth placed. With a pretty general torque test to make sure the titanium rods are fused to/with the bone, the bottom temporaries come out, and my permanent ones "installed". Then I'm handed my permanent tops, and can basically eat whatever I want.
In total the whole implant procedure & top dentures will cost about $30,000 - but it won't run the risk of having partials fail due to their attached real teeth failing and just running me into this situation later down the road. I still don't know how I'm going to even begin to pay for it, even the longest term credit/loan isn't that great a deal, or that I'll even be accepted by them. Unless or until I get the money, or a payment plan set up some how, I can't get the treatment I need (whether it's the lesser cost, less longterm benefit $10-14k option, or the shiney implant $30,000 option).
I thought I'd just share this with a community that will listen, I'm thinking about starting a journal-type post (maybe this one should have been considering it's length, lol), but unless or until I get the money to actually go forward with the procedure, there really isn't a whole lot to say other than "Didn't get an abscess today" or "I haven't had a tooth fall out on it's own yet".
Thanks for reading
too long didn't read (just cuz I know it's a long post)
I'm a 30 year old male, who will very likely have everything pulled, with a full implant on the bottom and removable full denture on top.