teeth

[cazxx1]

my husband lost his 3 teeth in the front when his was young so he had a bridge fitted, last week they broke so he has had 3 dentures on a plate and he talks really funny with them in. he went back this morning and the dentist told him they were fine (not loose or nothing) but he just cant get on with them. do you think it would be worth having them screwed back in like before, how much do you think that will cost. thanks x

[MrXLA]

Hi cazxx1, in response to your question there are a number of things to consider:
- It can sometimes take in the region of 3 months to get used to a well fitting denture, so the fact that your husband �just can�t get on with them� is no surprise after merely a week.
- Of course the denture may be of a bad design but I really don�t think he has given them the benefit of the doubt.
- With most dentures speech will improve but it will take time.

- You refer both to a bridge and �screwed back in like before� this suggests a few possibilities:
1) The previous bridge was retained by osseointegrated dental implants which have either failed/ been lost or (very unlikely) fractured.
Or
2) A conventional fixed-fixed bridge in which the �fake/replacement� tooth or teeth are supported by teeth either side which have crowns on (most likely situation)

- It�s likely that you are referring to situation 2), sometimes when a bridge fails (as they all eventually do) the tooth/teeth supporting the bridge are fractured/decayed or otherwise no longer suitable to be bridge abutments.
- This means that either a �longer span� bridge i.e. using healthier teeth either side of the gap is required or another tooth replacement option.
- You speak of a 3 space gap so that would suggest that in order to replace the teeth that are missing with a conventional bridge a 5 unit bridge would be required. It�s rarely sensible to use 2 potentially healthy teeth to support a 5 unit bridge.

- This then leaves 2 other replacement options:
1) Partial denture �plate� of various designs
2) Osseointegrated implant retained dental prosthesis �implants� sadly often referred to as �screw in teeth�

- My advice would be to give the �plate� a bit longer and then if after a reasonable period of time your husband is not coping then consider other treatment options

[MrXLA]

- Implants themselves usually range from about �1500-�2500 a unit