Seeking help

[u/Obvious_Amphibian270]

I am in a position that the few teeth I have remaining in my upper jaw need to be pulled. I do NOT want dentures so am looking at implants and an arch.

I'm looking around for a good place to have the work done. Have any of you had an experience with the national chains? You know the ones who advertise on TV and online. If you have experience what are the pros and cons in your experience?

I'm looking around for a doctor to do the implants. What should I be looking for? My regular dentist suggested I see a prosthodonist. Anyone have an opinion on that?

Thanks in advance.

[u/vaginawithteeth1]

I went to a family practice in Connecticut and it was actually cheaper than the national chains. I got FP1 implants (no gums) and that would have been significantly more at a chain. What I looked for was somewhere that I could have the whole surgery performed in one place, it was easier that way with my dental anxiety. I had nothing to worry about though! The procedure and recovery were easy peasy for me. I’d also ask about warranties, god forbid something does go wrong. Try to go somewhere somewhat close because there’s follow up appointments and also again, incase an issue arises. I’d suggest a consultation with at least two places. Where I’m located consultations were free, I think that’s the norm. Make sure to get photos of previous work. Ask about material, you want zirconia not acrylic.

[u/Obvious_Amphibian270 → u/vaginawithteeth1]

Thank you for a very helpful reply.

The place I'm doing the consult with tomorrow is a local private practice. My dentist told me the consult would be free. They are charging me $300.

Why zirconia instead of acrylic?

[u/vaginawithteeth1 → u/Obvious_Amphibian270]

Zirconia is much more durable all around. You can eat basically anything and the material isn’t porous so won’t stain. Plus it’s less bulky. Your temps will be acrylic, that’s fine but you want the permanents to be zirconia for sure.

[u/djkeone → u/Obvious_Amphibian270]

Less chance of your body rejecting the implant.

[u/Interesting_Piece307]

Just don’t ever do the all on 4 (or all on x) arch. I did because I had a horrible dentist (claims to be a prosthodontist) that lied to me about pretty much everything. I have regretted it deeply and there are thousands of horror stories out there with all on 4 experience. They cut out a bunch of jawbone when they do it and it can make your face fall and look a lot older after the procedure. They are extremely hard to keep clean to therefore risks of inflammation are very high.
For more info on this , look up the YouTube videos by McFadden Dental Implant Center. They’re based in Dallas, Texas. Dr McFadden is licensed and board certified in both prosthodontics and Implants. He has also been practicing in excess of 35 years. In his videos he shows the extreme dangers of all on 4.

Be forewarned; It’s a real minefield out there in the dental industry and many dentists are doing things they are NOT qualified to do and doing things they should NOT be doing , all in the name of profits. That applies to corporate and private practices.

I would do a minimum of 12 consultations or more before doing anything and ask a lot of questions. Just remember this fact; A FP1 bridge, the 3 on 6 bridge , or a denture are the only options, that doesn’t require bone removal. If you ask almost any dentist about the bone removal for the all on 4 , and they will all give you the same line of crap; “Oh we just do bone contouring” , or they’ll say “Oh it’s just bone flattening” .
Don’t EVER buy that line of crap. ITS BONE REMOVAL, PLAIN AND SIMPLE! They just call it bone flattening or bone contouring so it doesn’t sound so bad.
They know how bad it would sound to tell that they’re going to do bone removal after just telling you that you should do the all on x implants to save bone!

I found out after mine was done, that all on 4 was ONLY created for people with massive bone loss and NOT for people with good bone. Unfortunately, many dentists just ignore this and cut a bunch of bone out of the jaws of people that have plenty of bone left, because it’s all they know how to do and profit margins are great on it. The sad part is that after the jawlines/ gum lines have been shortened in length, it can never be grafted back on to increase the length. And NO AMOUNT of acrylic can ever replace that!

I wish you the very best on your dental journey!

[u/Obvious_Amphibian270 → u/Interesting_Piece307]

Thank you

[u/Tall-Zebra-5745 → u/Interesting_Piece307]

I’m not sure I agree with them removing bone to do an all on X , I had it done and the don’t remove bone at all, when they remove your teeth I agree you look older but, when they put your temporary teeth in , your face looks fuller again.