I'm 45, and had my remaining [20] teeth pulled, and had 4 dental implants top and 4 bottom for dentures! AMA!

Wow that's intense, any particular reason that you'd like to divulge? Understandable if not.

My wife just spent 10 grand fixing her smile, worth it in the long run but man is this stuff expensive.

Between genetics, bad habits, smoking and night grinding. The remaining were fixable but not stable.

It is a DUMP RUCK of cash but I gotta eat somehow! LOL I have an AWESOME SO, she helped!!!!

All-on-4 has a better chance of succeeding in people with lower masticatory forces, as per the protocol developed by Dr. Palo Malo.

A 45-year old male with a history of bruxism is thus not an ideal candidate. I would suggest adding another implant on each quarter, i.e., an all-on-6; you seem to have enough bone for it.

You could do it with a local anesthetic as well, i.e., cheaper.

Might you be a dentist?

So I'm told...

LOL something, something dental school.. I always give my guy shit for using those big words!! I give you credit, IDK how you work in the small spaces!!

How did you manage to stop grinding? My grinding is hard and I don't seem to stop it. Of course I use a mouth-guard but I got a few chipped teeth already.

I wanted to put veneers but they told me I would destroy them in a month. Now I have metal molars to support the extreme grinding.

Good question.. This part SUX!! I had a cross bite and over bite anlso only had front teeth. Your chewing is a "muscle memory" you basically learn how to chew and over time it changes. this is why most people grind.

So, your answer. The process and placement of the new dentures makes my mouth "set back" to where it should be!! I have to force the jaw muscles to "lean" there new place!!! THIS gave me MIGRAINES and lots of pain. but it seems to be subsiding...

I ground out MANY crowns and even a Titanium post! I either would spit it [grin guard]out or pass out and forget.

Seeing that bill increases my shame for not going to my free dentist to get work done. The thought of it fills me with dread even though i have two broken teeth that are probably ticking painbombs...

I had a broken tooth that I figured had a little more time on it. While it did, the pain when it ramped up used to wake me up at night. Caused the left side of my face to feel like I got punched, jaw ached for hours at a time, crept up my left temple and created a headache that would last for days at a time. Horrible experience, my advice is to just deal with it before all that.

Not to mention infected teeth can turn fatal very quickly. The pain is usually a bad sign if it's at that level. It can also spread to the jaw or other areas of the face and cause lasting damage.

Also when you wait to long and there is an abbess it can COMPLETELY over take and render even lidocaine useless!!

Yeah I got lucky, I had started to develop an abscess but it was small and treatable with some antibiotics and a good dentist. Didn't feel small though...

Like a golf ball on fire????

I guess pain is the great motivator, the two are very obviously broken and need fixing but don't hurt yet so...man I know I need to go but everytime i think about it i come out in a cold sweat. I have a feeling that having to get all my baby teeth pulled out over the course of my childhood had something to do with this anxiety (all my babyteeth had 1"+ long roots to them) but man....just the thought of having to go through it again...

I stayed awake through mine and just had the Novocaine (the actual shots were the most painful part of the process of my root canal) but they can also give you something that'll keep you in a twilight state. You will probably not remember much from the previous 12-24 hours but that's how my wife managed to get through it. Obviously I had to drive her and all that but seriously, get it handled ASAP. That's the one thing I learned, I don't wish that pain on anyone.

I appreciate the responce, they only offer the novocaine here in Scotland (at least thats what my local NHS dentist does) and its not the pain really that i'm worried about in fact I don't think i can pinpoint what it is about the procedure that gives me this much anxiety, I think its pretty much a learned responce from all the stuff i had done as a kid. I'll get it done eventually, I just really need to work my way through these issues i seem to have.

Anxiety's no joke, I suffer with social anxiety so I get it. Just don't wait until the physical pain is more unbearable than the emotional distress.

I'm hoping for a happy medium to push me into action :P

Do it before it gets worse and the pain killers don't work!!

I have good experiences with benzodiazepines regarding my fear of dentists. Get some and then go to your dentist.

It depends on what the other drugs you might have to get during the procedures. Sometimes they don't mix well.

At a dentist? You shouldn't normally get any drugs ...

But it doesn't hurt to .. tell the dentist.

Yes, IDK what they are going in for. My situation they would not.

Look at it this way... I would have a bad molar they would root canal it $1500 a year later it was failing so they did a zirconium crown with a Titanium post !!! 2K then a year later I BROKE the post.. As my dentist said "I have never seen that before, I don't even have the tools to get the broken piece out!!!" so then I had to pay 500 to get the stump PULLED.

Moral of the story...GET IT FIXED!!! The long term is WWWWAAAAYYYY MORE EXPENSIVE!!

I know I yell allot but if it makes people pay attention and not even go through this, then good!!

So how much did you end up paying for everything including extraction and implants?

IDK if you are asking rick or me..LOL I'm about 35K

How are you able to afford this? Seems like it would knock out my life's savings.

My SO has a good job... With out her I would be FUCKED!!!! It was a TON of cash!!!!

Did you have insurance, did it help? I'm 35 and looking at this eventually but just don't have $30-40,000.

I do, they don't cover much. I had some extra problems so it was a bit more than normal.

Is she a high roller or just somebody with a good plan?

YES!!!

Make sure you don't have one of those "give eachother's gifts back" type breakups because that will be kind of painful.

And I'm assuming your SO is either making millions or you've been together for a long time. I can't imagine shelling out $50k for somebody I don't intend on dying with (or a child).

OH that joke has already gone around!!! Ya she is the BEST!!!!

A pic of my new smile and my lovely benefactor at the Dead and Co. last weekend!! http://imgur.com/PARyaAp

That girl is really pretty, you're so lucky.

And smart,

and caring,

and loving,

and awesome,

and will give until it hurts!!

EDIT: AND THIS IS THE RESON ALL OF THIS HAS HAPPENED!!!

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN....... MY SO !!! THANK YOU LOVE!!!!!

not quite understanding you... sooo you got 20 teeth pulled now you have none... so did you get dental implants or dentures?

No teeth! The implants are in the bone [see the X-ray] and the dentures get screwed into them.

ahhh yes i see that now. good for you though, now you wont have to worry about infections or anything ever again! good luck to ya sir.

TY!! The implants can fail but that is about it.

I feel like if I were getting that much hardware in my mouth I'd want the dentures secured by magnets and removable.

They do make clip on dentures in this set up. They are not as secure.

The set that is in right now are the bridge for the implants. They need to be held in their original placement position while they heal and the bone grows into them, 3-4 months. Then I will get a final set that is fit to my now bare healed gums..

I'm a bit confused. I assume you walk around with "teeth" right? Not just completely toothless while your gums heal? What do they use before you get your final set?

Yes. They do not come out, they are screwed into the implants. I will use these until the gums heal and they can get a impression of the healed gums. Sometime around X-mas I will get the final set built around a titanium horse shoe.

ah ok nice to know if the time ever comes, that I wouldn't be walking around showing my gums for 2 months. Are they uncomfortable? Does it look obvious when you talk or you smile that you have these in? How is eating things like biting into a hard sandwich or apples like?

Thanks for answering questions!

Your lips fold over can't really see them.. LOL

I can't really feel the dentures, I know they are there I have no feeling any more, I can't tell if something is stuck to them.

They are a bit loose, I mean there is a space under them where the swelling was. So I tend to lisp a bit. That will not be the case in the final set.

You really can't tell I have them. The gum line is high enough I would have to fold my lip up to see anything.

Eating.. LOL I was told "nothing harder than scrambled eggs" for 3-5 months!!! All I ate is milkshakes, apple sauce, mashed potatoes, Mac n cheese.

Now I am 6 weeks [Thursday] and I have tried some hard things, and I mean biting into a burger and cautiously chewing. I am longing for a pizza, Apples are RIGHT OUT!!! I can't even imagine that yet..LOL It is about the hard pressure at the bottom of a bite, lettuce is tough because of the force to break it up.

I lost 12 pounds in 5 weeks.. LOL

Thanks for the questions! I had no idea this would be that popular!

If you can afford it get the fully ceramic ones, they look way nicer.

I would get theZirconium if I could afford it.

Get cubic zirconium. You'd be a real pimp then.

HELLS YESSSSSSS

So what did this cost? I really want to get my whole bottom row pulled and implanted. I have a lot of questions, if you have time to answer and PM me

You can ask either place. I got nothing to hide. You guys haven't asked if anything weird happened... LOL

About 35K

35k all said and done. How much has your insurance covered? Also what was the cause of wanting to pull the teeth? Sugar rot? Or drugs etc.

I'm not sure yet.. it takes them time to figure out how much they pay out.

Fix them or do this cost differences.

Bad genetics, bad care, grinding, and smoking

Yeah that's my situation as well. My bottom row is fucked. Top row, most beautiful smile ever. How painful was it

It IS AND WAS painful!! I lived on an ice pack for about 3 weeks. The drugs helped but with a bad back as well I take Norco like Pez!!

The main thing I found is they [implants] just throb now every time my heart goes up..not really pain.

I'm looking at doing something similar soon(no implants at first) and I was quoted way less. Extraction cost a lot? How long did that part take?

Any regrets?

It was about 20k For extractions and install implants.

How long to get the teeth out? Or the whole process?

The bottoms was about 1.5 hours. Then I had to go back and had the top removed and 8 implants that was about 4 hours.

Yeah, I'm mostly worried about the extraction part. Sounds like the dentures themselves will be about $10k.

There's still that primal human fear of losing all your teeth that I'm trying to get my head around. Though I already have a tough time eating right now, so I'm warming up to it. I wasn't aware that eating would be so difficult for so long like you mentioned in another comment. I guess it's going to be lots of soylent and mashed potatoes for me.

Thanks for the response and I'd appreciate any advice.

It was easy just take a nap... and you have no teeth!!! LOL I gotta laugh or I would be crying!!! I was a MESS the morning of don't get me wrong!!!!!!

People really take eating for granted!! I have to think about every bite and chew, I think it will fade in time.

Frozen grapes for inside mouth icing!! Get ice packs. Get it done it will get better!!!!

How much did this cost? Did you have coverage? How serious was your pain?

I know a bad toothache can feel like child birth on your face.

I currently look like the elephant man because my face is so swollen from an infected tooth. I was told the infection was in my blood and could be deadly soon, but since I'm poor they followed that up by saying there was nothing I can do until I can come up with extraction and antibiotics money first.

So plyers are my only hope at this point. I had to resort to that about a year ago with two other teeth, the both broke off at the gum line. Fun stuff there, but they rarely hurt anymore.

If you are poor in America, you basically don't count as human and are sentenced to pain and death when we actually could be helping each other with something as simple as teeth extraction and antibiotics, you know, basic health care.

About 35K.

I did but it runs out quick!!!

It was pretty bad. Needless to say I have had many teeth out before this 1 or 2 at a time. I basically took Norco every 4 hours, ice and milkshakes for about 3 weeks then sleep and repeat. A good way to loose 12 pounds

OUCH you need antibiotics to knock that shit down!!!

DAMIT MAN!!! that sux!! I am BLESSED I have people that helped me or I was in the same boat. I AM SORRY TOOTH PAIN IS THE WORST!!!

Or government... HARDLY working for US!!!!!

Did I read the bill right? Cost over $50,000?

I had two implants and the bill was close to 20k (bridge included), and no my insurance company didn't cover any of it because in their own words: "That stuff is expensive."

ah, ok.

I wonder what the average cost would be for the 20 pulled teeth and just really nice dentures

The dentures are about 5K EACH they are a bit different than a normal long saddle slip on set. Those move and wear on the gums, also the biting force and stability on those is not even close!

These will ALMOST "feel" like the OEM set. LOL

Haha "the OEM set." Nice!

TY!

Ya, they SUCK!!!!

I think you are looking at the rates for the mobile Anesthesiologist #2?

New Years Day. Had TWO upper abscessed teeth. My face swelled so much that my right eye was swollen shut. Emergency room IV'd me and gave me steroids, pain meds and antibiotics but it was on me to actually follow thru with dentist.

Face was still swollen when I got to dentist and they said they had to drain my cheek.

Guess what? NO NOVOCAINE! Doctor drilled my eye tooth and pressed my cheek and the pus poured out the hole in my tooth!!! OMG I was crying and panting and squeezing that dentist chair so hard!

I almost ran out the door of the place but I'm glad I didn't, immediately after he pressed the pus out, the swelling went down and I felt much better!!

If you told me that I'd be happy about that I'd have said you're crazy but looking back I'm glad I sucked it up and powered through.

OHHHHHHHH DDDAMMMMMM OUCH!!!!!

Why no pain drugs of any kind when the doc drilled your eye tooth?

They told me that due to the severe swelling novacaine would be ineffective and would just pump more liquid into my already swollen face. So I told the guy "let's do it then" and powered through. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't really being brave but my thought process was "get it over with" and the dentist did it as fast as he could. Oh and then they charged me $40!!! Whaat

Wow... drilling an abscessed tooth with no anesthetic! I can't imagine the pain. He didn't even have any pain killers on hand? Like Vicodin or at least Tylenol?

OMFG gimme 20 Mg of OXY for that!!!!

I had root resorption so I had to have three teeth extracted and had to have 3 implants which was ten thousand fucking dollars. My dentist told me there was a high probability I would develop root resorption with other teeth and theres nothing anyone can do about it. Would you recommend I get them all pulled to save money?

I don't have a DDS I front of my name.. I am sooo not qualified to answer.

Did you consider medical tourism? I'm sure dentists in other countries provide comparable quality at a fraction of the cost.

I looked at other people around here. my view is...You get what you pay for. These guys are well informed and have done them before.

This is my last chance for a smile with out having old school dentures.

What did you exactly do that all of your teeth had to get removed? Were your teeth injured in any way? Did you have any illness that affected your teeth?

They were decayed most broke, I didn't get them.

Just lack of care and bad genetics. Smoking did not help as well!!!

Same here, I'm currently saving money for dentures. I want all mine ripped out, they're awful.

I was depressed for years and that's what lead me to not take care of myself.

My wife recently left me and as a result I started to take care of myself again and I lost 53lbs.

It was not a fun or QUICK process!! But I finally have some kind of light at the end of the tunnel.

I can tell you it will change your self view and with the weight loss, the bitches will be knocking down the door!!!!

GOOD LUCK!!

How painful were these 9 hours in the chair?

I had to hire a mobile Anesthesiologist [2nd pic.] I was only under for 4 to pull and put in implants, the rest was fitting the dentures.

The pain was later and ALLOTT OF ICE AND DRUGS!!

What color is your 68 camaro?

Semi metallic Electron Blue.. some day......

I'm thinking of having this done (minus extractions - already done) in about a month. Any advice?

You have to deal with stitches and swollen gums UNDER the dentures!!

I was told no chewing for 3-4 months. To let the implants take.

Get ice packs, anything soft as scrambled eggs!!! Apple sauce, milkshakes.

Frozen grapes work REAL good for icing the inside of the mouth!

Buy a water pick for later and have salt [for rinsing] after.

Good luck!!

So since you got teeth pulled out... Do you have any memory of when they pulled out your wisdom teeth?

Sincerely, scared teen worrying about getting their wisdom teeth removed in the future

Oh, yes I remember my wisdom extraction. I woke up in the middle!!!

Just do this... Have them ALLLLLL out at once! Get the pain over with! Its not that bad, just take the drugs and keep the holes clean. Dry socket BLOWS!!!

Do you think that today is October 10th, 2017?

I just noticed that! LOL gimme a break I have been on drugs for the better part of 10 weeks!!! LOL

Are you having issues with 'spurs' in your mouth? How do you deal with them? My boyfriend is 30, has top dentures and he will cut into his gums to get little pieces of bone and teeth out that are hurting him. Anything I can do to help him? Any way to keep his gums healthy? He likes to nom food without his dentures in...

YES a few!!! They suck!!! The dentures are over my gums so the only thing I can do is rinse under them. They will work them selfs out it takes time.

Thank you for this AMA. I'm 47 and my teeth/crowns are falling out. 4 this year. My dentists (I've seen many) tell me it's bad genes. I have sjogrens syndrome that causes tooth decay. My question for you. Do I invest in replacing crowns or go for dentures? I have 7 teeth on bottom all with cavities and 7 on top. It is so embarrassing. But I've been putting off my decision. Do you still have pain? Do they work well?

Hello, WOW DAMMMM thats a ton of work! I had many canals and crowns. Thats crazy!

Even though it is a lot of money already spent before this started and the money to get here I would say YES!! I am 6 weeks in and just beginning to eat ANYTHING but i think it will be worth it. They throb and it is strange I need to get use to the entire thought of them. I think about every bite and chew. It's funny things you can eat even with bad teeth but with implants everything is new.

Good luck to you my friend!

How much did it cost you?

About $35K

Not really a related question, but how come this is so super expensive? Not from the US here, but I had two molars removed, and got implants and a bridge put back in at 17. Costs were only abt 1500€ I believe, and insurance covered it all due to my age

I'm just curious about how there can be such a huge difference. I think in my country it would be 20K at most.

Insurance covers almost NONE of this!! We get overcharged for weak insurance [and it about to get worse] But that is another conversation!!

I had some complications so that drove the cost up and I was not screwing around with other people.

I have had a ton of issues with many different dentists, I like this gut and trust him. That is worth a bit more to me.

Were you really under general anesthesia for almost 7 hours? That seems excessive.

Nope about 4.5. I would not sit still under twilight.

How do you clean them? What type of upkeep is there in general?

Normal brushing and a water pick for between dentures and gums.

A cleaning consists of undoing the screws and removing the denture then hand it to the hygienist, she cleans them and then the dentist checks and cleans the implant posts. then screw them back in and fills the screw holes in the dentures. about 2-3 hours once a year.

Are you fully healed up now? Do you have before and after pictures of your smile?

No, this Thursday will be 6 weeks. They say 3-5 months for stable implants, then fittings for new dentures sometime around X-mas.

Believe it I HATED my smile and didn't even take a before pic!! LOL I was a bit depressed about the upcoming procedures. I'll put up a pic.

Why didn't you brush your teeth?

I did, the problems were because of not flossing!!! Decay between teeth...

Runs to cabinet for floss

RUN!!!!!

So why didn't you floss?

I'm stupid!!!!!!

How much did it cost for everything? Would it have been possible to get more implants but just too expensive?

It will turn out [with the problems] to be about 35K.

The location and placement of them is VERRY detailed and tracked. They did a radial CT of my head then planned where they went, down to the millimeter!!!! There is only so much space and bone density to place them. If you lookout the X-ray, the tops are all within my front bone mass they do not go into my sinus. The placement is also NOT STRAIGHT the backs are on an Angle and there rest are "in the best place" . 8 was not a final number until they knew what the bone was like.

So basically it could be more but that is what "fit" to my situation.

am I blind, or do I not see what the final total costs were?

I did answer here and there.. about 35K

Do the implants whiten/yellow the same as your natural teeth? Need an implant and may, down the road, get teeth whitened. Would the new one whiten uniformly?

They don't whiten from normal teeth whitening, from what I was told.

As far as I understand as well.

The implants are in my jaw bone. The dentures will change color with wear and stains.

What would be the best way to be a supportive SO to someone who has to go through this? Especially when the thought of needing dentures is an unhappy one.

Be supportive, she might be down... I know I WAS BIG TIME!! It will get better!! All the people I know say "I haven't seen you smile in YEARS you look great!" That does help and my self esteem is growing by the day!

And bring her lots of flowers!!!

Will your dentures cover the roof of your mouth? I've been avoiding them because I don't want that.

No it will be more like a retainer and just sit on over the top of my gums. The temps I have now are open and fairly comfortable.

When you bite into something can you like still feel the crunch of biting down on something or chewing it?

I'm not suppose to eat anything harder than scrambled eggs for 3-5 months!!!

I haven't really bit down on anything, the hardest is a cheese burger. I can feel and tell pressure when I chew.

I have not eaten say.. Pizza or an apple yet!