Cosmetic Dentistry Question: WHY NOT Dentures?

I just turned 43. My teeth have always been a problem since a young age, medically and cosmetically. I very much need to make a big step and try to make a big positive change. I feel that dentures may be the best answer for me even if most would think dentures are not a good choice at my age.

Twice before puberty I had accidents that knocked-out my upper front teeth. From then on visiting Dentists was a need ever three years either to fix what was done or replace what was done. When I say "done" I mean dental work. Nothing ever lasted and I dealt with some "fly-by-night" types. I lost hope with Dentists. I was tired of spending considerable amounts of money (that I really did not have) on work that I knew would not last long. As I got older I just gave up. I have spent long periods of time, a few different periods of my life (over a year sometimes) just keeping the caps in-place via products like Fixident®.

Knowing things are getting worse and that I really need to solve this now... I found what I believe is a very good Dentist for some extensive Comedic Dental work. I think what I am talking about is called a "bridge" because it would be my entire upper teeth. This, I believe would be "capping" (in-effect, replacing) my entire upper teeth. I live in NYC so prices are going to be hirer then what is found in most other parts of the US. After evaluating my upper and lower teeth his estimate for only the upper bridge (plus free root-canal work on two teeth and some other important free attention and 20% off his regular rates) is $13,500.00. I believe his work will be good and i believe he gave me what was for him a very good rate.

The Doctor say's he can guarantee the work for 15 years. So at 58 I may have to spend more money!

But this is something I can not afford or come-up with. I can't get a loan because I've been laid-off for over 6 months (after 9 years with the same company that just went out-of-business).

So my question is: why would dentures not be a good option?

I know the first two answers will be (1) "you must keep your real teeth" and (2) "dentures are a life changer".

The "must keep your real teeth" is not a valid point with me as I am already missing, either in-part or in-whole, all of my upper and lower back teeth and my two upper front teeth. The two upper front caps are bad caps that always need replacing or reworking every few years. The two upper teeth that sit at opposite ends of the two front teeth are also caps but they almost never cause any problems (they've been in-place for over 15 years)... but I bet they won't last too much longer.

The "dentures are a life changer" issue is a valid point for most as they would be somewhat traumatized by having to glue in teeth (Fixident®) and remove them at night. I already do that with my two front caps. And have done this for a year at a time several different times in my life. I know the stress of worrying if they will fallout in public or having to reveal to friends that I am a toothless ogre. None of this is comparable to the relief from having to watch my teeth LOOK worse and worse every year. Over the last ten years (and worsening rapidly over the last year) I have a big gap developing. Soon after my last big work 15 years ago. I noticed my very small gap getting bigger. Well now it is very big and getting worse. When I say big I mean big. The gap is now at least half the size of a tooth.

I MUST FIX THIS!

So again, my question is: why would dentures not be a good option?

[lynn117]

in your case dentures might be your best bet. the best choice is implants which are horribly expensive (4000 a tooth on average). if we were talking a single tooth replacement that would be your best choice. the bridges and other work is the best second choice but over  13,000 without a loan or payment plan is also a bunch of money. dentures can cause bone lose but so do bridges. they also cost less than the other options. make sure you go to a good dentist even if the dentures are more expensive. my friend went to a "denture mill" one of those places that advertise on tv how cheap their prices are. the dentists were mostly foreign or straight out of dental school. she never saw the same one twice. the top teeth fell apart after 6 months and the bottom teeth she never got to wear because they couldnt get them to fit. a well made pair of dentures seems better than what you are dealing with now and would also boost your self esteem!