dentures Archives - Susan M. Dennis, D.D.S

Dentist Lost His License Before Finishing My Dental Implants

Posted on March 8, 2025 by writeradmin.

I paid for a full treatment of dental implants along with two Zygomatic implants because of my bone structure. The dentist required that the entire procedure be paid for ahead of time. He did get the implants placed, but then he lost his dental license. I do not understand the circumstances behind him losing the license. My big problem is that I do not have the dentures placed. I’ve been wearing temporaries for quite some time now. Is there a way for me to get a refund on the part that isn’t finished so I can afford to have another dentist to complete the work?

Adrian

Dear Adrian,

I am sorry that this happened to you. If the dentist lost his license, it would probably had sold his practice in order to get some money to live on while he comes up with a plan B for his life. The dentist that purchased that practice would also be responsible for the contracts of that practice, so they should be required to place your permanent dentures.

If that doesn’t work, I recommend you talk to the local dental board there in order to ask them what they suggest your next step should be. This has to be a situation that they have dealt with before.

Because you do not know the reason that he lost his license, I would feel better if you had the dental implants looked at before you see the new dentist that purchased your dentist’s practice. It’s possible that they are not properly placed. If that is the case, the new dentist may be hesitant to admit that because he’d be the one stuck with fixing them. This way if you get an independent second opinion you will be in a better position.

I hope things work out for you quickly with this situation.
This blog is brought to you by Portage, MI Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Discouraged About Teeth

Posted on November 6, 2024 by writeradmin.

I’ve grew up in a home where my parents could not afford to take us to the dentist. They did their best under difficult circumstances. Then, in college I was barely surviving. Now that I have a real job, I’ve been going to the dentist to get my oral health under control. I’ve needed a LOT of work and it often feels like I’m facing a losing battle. My dentist has suggested that I just get dentures. I really don’t want to do that. I’m in my 20s! Do you have advice for someone who is trying to catch up with a lifetime of neglected dental work?

Sabrina

Dear Sabrina,

I am glad you wrote. The first thing I am going to say is that you are not the with best dentist for your particular situation. Dentists vary in their willingness to work to save teeth which are in bad shape. Some prefer just to extract them. There also may be some part of him that is judging you based on the state of your teeth thinking that you don’t care about them. While that is not fair or true, it is a possibility and does happen.

Your first order of business would be to switch to a dentist who puts saving as much natural tooth structure as possible. However, I also want you to make sure that they are also a sedation dentist. The reason for that is the amount of work you need done. Using dental sedation makes it possible for you to get more work done at each appointment. This will allow you to catch up faster on your needed work.

Whatever you do, do NOT listen to your current dentist and remove all of your teeth. If you ever do lose all your teeth for some horrible reason, do NOT get removable dentures. That will completely destroy your ability to eat. In the short term, your ability to chew will be reduced by a minimum of 50%, even with the best fitting dentures. In the long term, you’ll end up dealing with facial collapse and after about ten years will not even be able to keep your dentures in your mouth.

If complete tooth loss does happen, the solution to this would be to have implant supported dentures placed. This has between four to eight dental implants placed in your jaw and then a set of dentures will be anchored to them. These will be completely secure and you will not have to fear bone loss.

That being said. I think you can save your teeth. Find a dentist who is willing to try.
This blog is brought to you by Portage, MI Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Should I Keep My Last Two Teeth?

Posted on July 2, 2024 by writeradmin.

I have been losing teeth left and right. I’m about to be down to just my two front upper teeth. My lower teeth are fairly healthy for now. I have two partial dentures on the top and I hate them. Really hate them. They move around too much. My question is, should I keep these last two upper teeth and stick with the two partials or just give up and have them extracted and get myself complete upper dentures. Would they be more comfortable? I know it is better to keep as much natural tooth structure as possible, but I’m just miserable with these partial dentures. I can’t really eat with them in and usually take them out and eat with just the two front teeth, which has caused me to retrain myself on how to eat and it is mostly a soft diet.

Andy

Dear Andy,

Bear in mind that I have not examined you or seen any x-rays. I’m basing this on just how this was described, but I think I’m grasping your situation. While in most cases it is better to keep your natural teeth, I think in your specific case is a bit different. First, I do not think that your last two upper teeth will last much longer if all the stress of eating is placed on them. Removing those last two upper teeth and getting dentures would be fine.

If you are looking for the best possible situation in your case, I would get implant supported dentures. The dental implants will help you eat again. They are the closest thing to having healthy, natural teeth in your mouth again. You’d even be able to eat steak if that was something you enjoy eating. They are expensive, though.

If you were talking about your lower arch, I would say it was essential that you get the implant overdentures. This is because when you don’t have any teeth, your body resorbs the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere in your body. While your upper dentures are held in by suction, your lower dentures just rest on the ridge of your jawbone. With the minerals being resorbed, it will mean that you eventually will not have enough jawbone left to even keep in your dentures. In dental circles, this is known as facial collapse.

Having the dental implants in your jaw signals to your body that you still have teeth and need the material in your jawbone to retain them.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Mixed Message about Hip Replacements and Dental Implants

Posted on January 29, 2023 by Dr. Dennis.

I’m not sure which dentist is right. I want to get a few dental implants in order to retain an upcoming denture. In my medical history, the first dentist saw I had a hip replacement a few years before. He said because of that, I’d need to pre-medicate with antibiotics before the implant procedure. The second dentist I had a consult with said it wouldn’t matter. Which dentist is correct?

Misty

Dear Misty,

It’s not a matter of correct and incorrect as much as a preference issue. Until about 2012 it was the standard recommendation. The thinking was without antibiotics you are at risk of getting an infection in your hip joint. However, in 2012 the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons said there is is no evidence to back up those concerns.

However some dentists still prefer to do it, even with patients who do not have a hip replacement, dentists will sometimes recommend it out of concern for an infection in the bone surrounding the implant.

It’s up to you which dentist you see. More important than whether or not you get pre-medicated is who places your dental implant.

Finding an Implant Dentist

There are two stages of placing dental implants. The first is the surgery. The second is the restoration. It’s imperative your dentist has invested in post-doctoral training for dental implants. This is an advanced procedure and dental school isn’t enough.

Additionally, you need to know whether or not the dentist or an oral surgeon will be placing the implant. Either way, they need to be experienced in implant surgery. Don’t hesitate to ask how many implants they’ve done and what their success rate is.

Benefits of Securing Your Denture with Dental Implants

It’s great that you’re securing your dentures. This will have incredible benefits for you. First, they’ll be secure. When you wear dentures without anchoring them, there is nothing to keep them from slipping out. However, the biggest benefit is the prevention of facial collapse. Not only will facial collapse make you look years older, but it will also make you a dental cripple. Getting dental implants prevents that.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Botched Dental Implants are Starving Me

Posted on October 13, 2022 by Dr. Dennis.

I need help and absolutely do not know what to do. I haven’t been able to eat in over a year. This started when I first started my dental implant procedure. I’ve been on a liquid diet ever since and have lost 70 lbs. It hurt before they placed the implant-supported denture; however, ever since they placed the actual denture I’ve been in constant, excruciating pain. They say everything’s fine and I’ll adjust but I just don’t know what to do. I feel like I’m starving to death.

Conner M.

Dear Conner,

Wow! I’m so sorry that you’re facing this and appalled at how your dentist is handling the situation. First, tell your dentist you’ll be contacting the dental board and you want a full refund. Then, follow through. Next, go see your medical doctor. I don’t want you starving to death. He may be able to get you a port to help you eat until this is repaired.

The next step is to get a second opinion from a different dentist, one who’s invested a significant amount of post-graduate study in implant training. Look at Dr. Dennis’ dental implants page to get an idea of the type of investment I’m talking about.

Getting Your Dental Implants Fixed

When you get your second opinion, I’m going to highly suggest you don’t tell them who the dentist is that placed them until AFTER they give their opinion on your case. The reason for this is human nature. It’s very likely the two dentists know each other and are even friends. If they know who it is they may feel awkward saying something negative about a friend’s work.

Hopefully, the solution will be simple and maybe it’s just the dentures that need to be adjusted. If it turns out the implants were placed incorrectly, you can have them done again but you’ll have to have bone grafting done in order for there to be enough bone structure to support the implants.

This blog is brought to you by Portage Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Is Gum Disease Really that Serious?

Posted on October 3, 2022 by Dr. Dennis.

I moved and started with a new dentist. He insists I have gum disease and need to come in every two months, instead of every six. If this was really that serious, why didn’t my previous dentist ever bring it up? He always gave me a clean bill of health. I can’t imagine any reason to go this often.

Brenda

Dear Brenda,

There are two possibilities here. One, your old dentist was a tad negligent. It’s possible your old dentist didn’t give your gums the attention he should have, allowing your gum disease to go unchecked. Believe it or not, that happens more often than it should.

A second possibility is your new dentist is incorrect. To find out which, is simply a matter of getting a second opinion. Some dentists will even give a free second opinion.

If it turns out your new dentist is correct, then he is literally saving your teeth. When you have severe gum disease, it ends up causing you to lose bone. This makes your teeth come loose. They can even fall out if the gum disease isn’t brought under control.

The thing to do in that case is see your dentist every two months in order to get it under control.

If You Ignore the Gum Disease

It is always the patient’s choice in how they move forward. I just want to make sure you understand the consequences of not treating it if that is what you decide.

As I mentioned above, you could lose your teeth. To replace them, have two main options. First, you can have removable dentures, even the best of which will reduce your chewing capacity by 50%. Or second, you can have implant overdentures. These use around six dental implants to secure your dentures to your jaw.

The implant-supported dentures are the better option, however it requires surgery and is quite pricey.

You will save a ton of money by getting your gum disease treated.

This blog is brought to you by Kalamazoo Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis.

Dental Implants after Dentures

Posted on September 1, 2022 by Dr. Dennis.

I have had dentures for eleven years. I recently asked my dentist if I can get dental implants instead. She said if I wanted dental implants I would have needed to do that at the beginning. I’m so discouraged. First, she never offered me dental implants as an option when I first lost my teeth. Second, my dentures are becoming quite annoying. Is there no way to get dental implants after dentures?

Kelly

Dear Kelly,

The short answer is yes you can get dental implants after dentures. However, there are some caveats depending on how long you’ve been in dentures. We will get to those in a moment. So why did your dentist say you couldn’t? There are a couple of possibilities. The first is she doesn’t know how to do dental implants and rather than say that she is steering you away from the procedure. That may be why she didn’t mention them to you when you first lost your teeth. I am not excusing her. A dentist should always give their patients every option whether they can offer it or not.

A second possibility has to do with the caveat I mentioned earlier. You have been in dentures long enough for facial collapse to kick in. This is also why your dentures are becoming annoying to you. When your teeth were first removed, your body recognizes there are no longer any roots of your teeth in your jawbone. It interprets this as you no longer need that jawbone to help retain the roots.

In an effort to be efficient with your body’s resources it will resorb the minerals in your jawbone in order to use them in places it perceives they will be more useful. This has the unfortunate result of slowly shrinking your jawbone. Eventually, it will shrink so much that you’ll no longer have enough left to retain your dentures. This is known as facial collapse. You will see an example of this in the image above.

Facial Collapse and Dental Implants

So, how does that affect dental implants? As your jawbone is what helps retain your teeth, it is also necessary to retain your dental implants. Without enough bone structure, your dental implants will fail. This may be why she was saying it was too late for you to get dental implants. However, there are ways to rectify this.

You have two options to solve this issue.

All-on-Four Dental Implants

This is possible for patients who haven’t lost too much bone structure. it angles the implants in a way that you won’t need to have as much bone structure. The one real downside to this is it is a unit. If one implant fails, the whole thing has to be re-done.

Bone Grafting

This is useful no matter how much bone you’ve lost, though it does require you have this procedure done before you start your dental implant procedure. A dentist or oral surgeon can graft either synthetic or natural bone onto your jawbone in order to build that missing structure back up. Once that is healed, you can get the dental implants you are hoping for.

The Biggest Benefit of Dental Implants

Because the implants themselves serve as prosthetic tooth roots, your brain interprets that as your teeth still being in place. This means it will not resorb the minerals in your jawbone and will leave it completely intact. You will not have to worry about facial collapse.

This blog is brought to you by Dental Implant Dentist Dr. Susan Dennis of Kalamazoo, MI.