I’m a 38-year-old single mom with three children under the age of ten. Ever since my teen years, I have struggled with my teeth even though I am diligent about taking care of them. I recently was told I have a severe calcium deficiency. I am under treatment for it and it is getting better, however, my dentist believes this is what is wrong with my teeth and believes I am fighting a losing battle. He recommends I extract them and get dentures. I’ve read about facial collapse and was wondering if all on 4 dental implants could stop that from happening. What are your thoughts? I don’t want to look like my children’s grandmother.
Emily
Dear Emily,
Please don’t let this dentist remove all your teeth. His diagnosis of your problem does not add up. Dentists vary in the amount of work they are willing to put into saving teeth. It sounds like yours has a low tolerance. Here is my concern. At your age, which is still young by the way, a calcium deficiency does not have any effect on the health of your teeth. This is because your teeth are fully formed. It only has an impact on teeth that are still forming. What a calcium deficiency can do is cause cramps, nerve problems, or osteoporosis. These can be very serious, so don’t ignore them.
You can take great care of your teeth and still deal with significant decay. Some of it is genetics. However, there is one thing you may not be aware of that has a huge impact on the health of your teeth. Believe it or not, snacking is a huge culprit. This is because your saliva is one of your biggest allies in fighting decay. However, if you snack a lot, your saliva does not get the time it needs to use those bacteria-fighting minerals. Try limiting your snacking and see if that doesn’t make a difference.
Now, to your current situation. The first thing I want you to do is to get a second opinion on the condition of your teeth. You can save a TON of money by saving as much natural tooth structure as you can.
Preventing Facial Collapse
Let’s say there is a worst-case scenario and somehow you do need to extract all your teeth. In that case, the only way to prevent facial collapse is with dental implants. The All-on-4 procedure is designed for patients who have been without their teeth and no longer have enough bone structure for traditional implant-supported dentures, but are candidates for All-on-4. In some cases, there is too much bone loss for either procedure and the only way to get dental implants is to have bone grafting done. You are probably not in that position yet because you still have your teeth. The exception would be if you had advanced gum disease.
I hope this helps. Please get that second opinion before extracting your teeth.
This blog is brought to you by Baton Rouge Dentist Dr. Steven Collins.