Any Dentists In The House?

[barry1010]

The aged relative I care for has had his dentures for over 40 years to my knowledge, possibly longer. He has refused to go to the dentist since then and the few teeth he does have left are rotten. I am convinced his teeth and dentures are making it difficult for him to eat properly.

He seems to be more agreeable to a visit to the dentist and I need to know how dentures have changed since he had his old NHS ones. If needs be we would pay for privately for a more comfortable option. I am sure his existing teeth will need to come out, they are wobbly. They are all bottom teeth.

Also part of his bottom gum has gone, exposing what I presume to be the bone. This happened several years ago.

Any advice on up to date full dentures with some idea of pricing would be very helpful. Also any advice about the missing gum.

[jennyjoan]

there is a guy J9PUR who is a dentist but his last look in was April 2020

[Peter Pedant]

Jesus
you dont have to be a dentist to say
get him to a dentist and see what needs to be done
and get a quote

I am not happy with the idea of - dentistry for old people is SOOOO expensive in the UK, they cant have it so I wont try

[barry1010]

Thanks, PP, but prior knowledge would be a huge advantage. I need to be able to reassure him of what is available, what his options are and give him time to digest it before making an appointment with a dentist who can offer the favourite options.
He will not go 'blind', it is as simple as that.

[jennyjoan]

yes Barry prior knowledge is very useful but you'll only know by going to a dentist for him to have a good look around.

My private dentist last time rather than putting his hand in my mouth just does an x-ray and found the problematic teeth.

So you could say to your elderly relative that he will get a look around and very easy X-ray.

[barry1010]

It's the options for the dentures that we need, JJ. Information such as how long will he have to wait until they be fitted after the teeth are extracted, has the materials changed much over the last 50 years, that sort of thing.
We will of course make an appointment to discuss everything with a dentist, we'd just prefer to know what his options are and some sort of timescale. I think he had to wait a long time without any kind of teeth when he had all of his upper teeth and most of his bottom teeth removed

[margarettom]

I have a recent private upper plate, which is very light and doesn’t fill the roof of my mouth. This cost £800. Full dentures would obviously be more expensive. I think the National Health ones are much better than they were and a lot cheaper of course.

[margarettom]

Sorry. Just seen about wait times between extractions and fitting of dentures. Can be between 6 weeks and 3 months depending. Mine was about 2 months I think. ( Terrible memory these days).

[Peter Pedant]

appears to be £500 per denture

[tamborine]

Your friend has receding gums; no problem for full dentures. Most dentists are in lockdown but some denture makers work privately (in your home) & can make a set in 2hrs+. Get a quote.

[margarettom]

My dentist is not in lockdown. Only time it was closed was the first lockdown. Been open continuously since then. Expect quite a long wait for an appointment though unless your relative has an infection. Quicker if you go private, but will cost an arm and a leg!

[ubasses]

Dentist have been allowed to remain open in this lockdown. I am not sure how much they can actually do under the circumstances. Will no doubt find out Monday when I go for my appointment.
Why not ask for a telephone appointment with dentist and discuss the situation with him to gather all the info you need.

[margarettom]

With our dentist you have to go through triage to get an appointment, so this is a bit like a phone appointment really.

[teacake44]

I understand the need for you to try and reassure him, but in reality you can't. It sounds to me that he needs an urgent check up, and without doubt extractions seem to be on the cards. If I were in you're position I would explain to him that he needs this check up sooner rather than later, a check up is not going to ( hopefully )worry him to much, once you get him there, you will get all the information you're asking on here, and a proper assessment of what can and can't be done along with costs. It may be a case of having all the remaining teeth out and then waiting for the gums to heal, before they are able to think about new dentures, either way I would get him there asap before infection sets in.

[webbo3]

The problem is appointments are limited with dentists, depending on the treatment they can only see so many people, after some treatments the room must be left for 1 hour, then cleaned for 1 hour before the next patient can use it, the dental hospital I work in have greatly reduced the number of patients and have just started cancelling more clinics.

Dentures can take up to a year to make in my hospital if you are under the students, I'm not sure how long if you are under one of the consultants and receiving restorative treatment.

[teacake44]

Same old story really, if you have the money for private you will find someone to do it, and get the dentures quickly. But in this case it sounds more important to get the mouth sorted and cleaned up first. Better to have to feed on soft/ liquid foods for a time than have a gum infection and be in pain.

[Maydup]

My relative was in a similar situation in reasonably recent times. It was long before Covid, so leaving that aside, he went for initial appointment and the decision was made to remove the remaining teeth and have new full dentures. An impression was taken and sent off for manufacture.

He goes home with old teeth and old dentures.

Next visit which was a couple of weeks later he goes again and has the teeth removed, but keeps old dentures, so lives with a few odd gaps for a short time.

Final visit the following week he has the new dentures fitted. Sadly they needed an alteration, so he went home yet again with his old dentures, which he gets to keep anyway, for a further week.

Final visit all was well and all done on NHS. The charge was band 3.

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/dentists/dental-costs/how-much-will-i-pay-for-nhs-dental-treatment/

[margarettom]

There is usually a time gap between extractions and having an impression made, as the gums have to heal.

[barry1010]

Thanks all. I shall make a few phone calls tomorrow