Ripped out & ripped off at fourteen!
A Second Chance Please
Q: When I was fourteen years old I went to the dentist. I had decay in eight teeth. The dentist talked to my parents and convinced them I was a bad risk as far as decay was concerned, and so they decided to take out all my upper teeth. I didn’t have any decay on my lower teeth, just my upper – why was that? Anyway, I went in, the dentist hauled out all my upper teeth and gave me a denture. It was the most traumatic experience of my life. I was scared, I was embarrassed to be the only teenager to have a plate – imagine it, a plate at fourteen, and finally I was angry. But in those days, nearly fifty years ago, you didn’t express anger or you’d get at least verbally slapped around, if not physically. I have lived with this all my life, but now I’ve gotten the courage up to investigate my options and though I’m frightened, I want to know if I can get implants and get rid of this denture. I saw a dentist and he said I didn’t have much bone, that I had big sinuses, so there wasn’t any room to put implants in. I’ve read the ads about teeth in a day and I wondered if that was different and if I qualified. I have to know my options, or if I have any at all.
A: It’s always astonishing to hear these stories, but from folks in their mid-fifties and beyond, I’ve heard similar stories from every part of the country. My goal, and that of all conscientious dentists, is that this legacy will be permanently replaced in the future. Without seeing you I can’t give you all your options, but this I can say: if you have large sinuses and they’re clear and healthy, you can have any kind of teeth you want.
Sinus surgery sounds terrible to most people, but it turns out to be a very straight forward and predictable surgery. These surgeries are accomplished by trained implantologists every day, all over the world, with very few problems in the thousands that are done. There may be some bruising, but very little pain. The surgery is done to place bone that will partially fill the sinus, allowing implants to be placed six to eight months later. I have never seen or heard of problems with breathing, stuffiness, pain or nasal drip arising out of this surgery.
It is a surgery I would undergo if I needed it and would recommend it for any family member who needed it. Once the bone is in place and becomes part of your upper jaw, implants can be placed that will provide a foundation that will give you beautiful, strong and wonderfully functioning teeth. If we can help, we’d like to. Call 778-410-2080 for a consultation. Based on actual patient cases ©Calvin Ross Crapo
Victoria Implant Centre 778-410-2080 VictoriaImplantCentre.com