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Archives for September 2024

Should I Save My Two Upper Teeth?

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I have most of my bottom teeth. My upper arch, however, is a completely different story. I will soon only have my two front teeth left. Currently I have two partial dentures, both of which will need to be replaced when I lose the teeth that are coming out in a couple of weeks. What I am trying to decide is whether or not I should keep the last two upper teeth or not. I am thoroughly unhappy with the partial dentures. I spoke to my dentist about it and he seems to be of the opinion it doesn’t matter either way what I do, which wasn’t exactly helpful. I usually don’t wear the two partials unless I am going somewhere. I can eat pretty much everything without them, except things that have to be ground a bit more, such as steak or hard things. Would a full denture look and work better than the partials? I’m on a budget of around $5,000.

Charles

Dear Charles,

An image of complete removable dentures

In most cases, saving your natural teeth would be recommended at all costs. But, this case is a bit different. You have only those two teeth and I would not expect them to last long because of the pressure being place on them when you eat

The ideal solution in your case would be implant supported dentures, sometimes called implant overdentures. These are dentures that are secured to dental implants. However, this would completely blow your budget.

If you were talking about your bottom arch, I would encourage you to do everything you can to get implant overdentures. This is because for the lower arch, your dentures rest on the jawbone. Unfortunately, once your teeth are removed, your body recognizes that you no longer have any tooth roots. As a result, it begins resorbing the minerals in your jawbone in order to utilize them elsewhere in your body. It’s a model of efficiency. The only problem with that is your jawbone begins to shrink as a result. After ten or so years, you do not have enough jawbone left to retain your dentures.

The good news for you is that upper dentures are held in by suction so the jawbone is not as much of an issue. My recommendation is that you go ahead and get the dentures. I think you’ll be happier if you have a complete set rather than two partials. If they are well made, they will be more comfortable than your current set up.

This blog is brought to you by Duluth, GA Dentist Dr. David Marion.

Dental Bonding Staining in a Few Weeks

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I had dental bonding done on a few of my upper front teeth about three weeks ago. They have started staining. I don’t know if it is because I drink coffee and soda. My dentist never mentioned staying away from those. I have a couple of questions. First, can the dentist get the dental bonding looking like it did a few weeks ago? Second, if I use something like Supersmile toothpaste, will it keep those type of stains off or do I need to stop drinking them. Please say I do not need to stop drinking them.

Melody

Dear Melody,

Before and After Dental Bonding repairing a chipped tooth

I am glad that you wrote. While it is true that dental bonding is more susceptible to stains, it should not be staining this quickly. My guess is you had a regular family dentist do this who does composite fillings and thought the bonding would be the same. Here is what I think happened. Bear in mind that I have not examined you, but I’m trying to think about what could cause this.

Composite used in dental bonding is a blend of resin and inorganic fillers. Their are different types of fillers and which one your dentist uses makes a big difference. Some of the particles in the fillers include silica, quartz, and glass, and they are in particles of different sizes.

Hybrid composites are stronger because of the size of the particles, but these cannot be polished to a good shine. Microfills can be polished to a high luster that mimics tooth enamel, but they’re very small and, as a result, not very strong.

Most family dentists only carry the hybrid, high-strength composite fillers. Expert cosmetic dentists will stock a variety of fillers that contain both the hybrid, as well as the microfills.

When expert composite dentists are doing aesthetic bonding, they will combine the two. They’ll use the hybrids on the interior of the tooth for strength and then cover the surface with the microfills so they can have a high polish.

My suggestion is that you go back to your dentist and see if he can polish it up. If he can’t, then I would go to an expert cosmetic dentist to have it done.

If the bonding is on a small surface, like for a chipped tooth or a tooth gap, then stick with the bonding. However, if you have large surfaces of the teeth covered in bonding, I suggest you switch to porcelain veneers. It would be a more beautiful option that lasts many years longer.

As for Supersmile Toothpaste, it is the only one I would recommend for cosmetic dental work. It is very good at safely removing surface stains. If yours are more internal, it won’t do anything for those.

This blog is brought to you by Duluth, GA Dentist Dr. David Marion.