Pulling ALL teeth

Pulling teeth is a big step, and losing teeth is never an easy thing.  Whether one tooth at a time or all at once, this step is physical, financial, AND emotional.  The decision is final and often not made in a single day.  This decision often takes time.  That is ok.  That is normal.

There are many reasons to remove teeth.  Gum disease can destroy supporting bone.  Tooth decay can lead to broken or painful teeth that can’t be restored.  Trauma to teeth can lead to irreparable damage. If only one or two teeth are removed, a domino effect can take place that leads to loss of other teeth, sometimes leading to all remaining teeth being removed.

Initially people assume that removing one tooth at a time will save money.  A few hundred dollars is less than a few thousand, right?  In the grand scheme of things, the opposite is usually true.  When a tooth is lost we should replace it. Often this is done with a flipper (a partial denture that replaces a single tooth).  If more teeth are removed, teeth must be added to the flipper, creating a partial denture.  This process repeats until the only remaining teeth will not support a partial and a complete denture is required.  There is a fee for EACH step, and it adds up to a LOT of money.

Each time we are pulling teeth, it involves discomfort to SOME degree.  While we can make a person numb (using the Wand and our special compounded topical gel makes this virtually painless) there is still the following days when the area heals.  This can be tender and tedious to keep clean.  If one has 28 teeth and decides to remove them one at a time, that is 28 “events” to manage.  All at once may increase the effort level to clean and maintain, this step is usually brief.  And then it is complete.

When we plan in advance to remove teeth, we can have a restoration created before the removal appointment.  An immediate denture is used for the healing phase.  A healing denture. This is often worn for 3-6 months, 3 months if dentures is the final phase of treatment and 6 months if implants are desired.  The initial 3 months often involves relining the healing dentures on more than one occasion.  While the tissues heal, they will shrink and the dentures will not fit as well, and a reline can help the fit.  If more shrinkage, more reline.

At this point, we consider this “Phase Two”.  Final restorations can be:

• Cosmetic Dentures
• Cosmetic Dentures with 2 locator implants for stability
• Cosmetic Dentures with 3 implants and bar and Marius Pin
• Deutsch Removable Bridge on 4+ implants
• All on Four with Hybrid
• All on Four with Prettau Zirconia bridge
• All on 6+ with Zirconia bridge