I have a 29-year-old son who is a recovering drug addict. His mouth is a mess and it has given him lots of doubt that he’ll ever be able to get a decent job like this. I want to invest in giving him his smile back, but when we went to see the dentist all he said was we should just extract all his teeth and give him dentures. I think that will make him feel even worse about himself. Is there no other option?
Carla
Dear Carla,
I am glad you wrote. I think you are going to want a different dentist to take care of your son. Each dentist has a different tolerance level for how much work they’re willing to put into a “bad” mouth. I get the impression that this dentist doesn’t want to put any effort into a recovering addict. Even if he’s been doing drugs for years, there are bound to be some teeth that can be saved.
Dentures at his age will be devastating, not just to his self-esteem, but his overall health as well. When teeth are removed, your body instantly recognizes that. In an effort to be as efficient with your body’s resources as possible, it begins to resorb the minerals from your jawbone to use elsewhere in your body where it perceives you will need them more.
This will have the unfortunate effect of shrinking your son’s jawbone to the point where after about ten years, he won’t even be able to keep his dentures in. He won’t even be 40 years old and he will look 80, not to mention he’ll be forced to practically eat a liquid diet. This is known as facial collapse.
My suggestion is to find a dentist who will be hard working and believe in your son. Save as many natural teeth as possible. For the ones that can’t be saved, have dental implants placed. These are the closest things to having natural, healthy teeth and will also preserve his jawbone.
This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Steven Collins.