Question:

Dr. Sam, I am 63 and my teeth are so bad that it seems I have no option but to have them extracted and live with dentures. I hate the idea! Both my parents had dentures which always seemed to have a life of their own as the wobbled around in their mouths. Can rotten teeth be saved?

Answer:

Rotten teeth can be saved depending on the degree of rotten! In many cases, patient can only see the tops of their teeth and they appear rotten but the roots are quite solid. Solid roots or long roots can support new teeth very well and a complete bite and a great smile can be reconstructed if the roots are good.

Dr. Sam Muslin Specializes in Mouth Reconstruction and Extreme and Complex Dental Care

Sometimes, some of the teeth have to be extracted and some of the teeth can be saved. The creative and engineering skills of the dentist can completely rebuild the bite with a mouth reconstruction that can be surprisingly successful and look totally natural. Some people can have a combination of dental implants and natural teeth that work very well producing a solid bite that lasts for many years. The technology is very good and highly predictable.

Lastly, if all of the teeth have to be extracted and dentures need to be worn, again the technology of dental implants have improved dramatically. The dentures can be build over the dental implants with snaps so the dentures are more stable. The patient can remove them and clean them and has fairly good chewing power. In other instances, many dental implants can be placed and the patient can have all new, completely fixed or permanent crowns cemented or screwed to the dental implants. It is just like having a whole new set of teeth again. The results are natural looking and natural feeling teeth.

In short, it doesn’t matter if your teeth can be saved because there are solutions for almost any situation of tooth loss that works far better than just a set of dentures worn by your parents. The don’t have to wobble anymore.