Should I let the dentist pull all my 73 y/o Moms teeth?

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Should I let the dentist pull all my 73 y/o Moms teeth?

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My Mom grinds her teeth in her sleep.. now at age 73 the dentist recommended pulling all her teeth and putting in snap on dentures. Not sure she will be happy with that but right now her teeth are chipped, worn down, a lot missing. The dentist said she had a few cavities and the teeth are bad. She said yes to the procedure and is now having second thoughts. It will take about 6 months till the full procedure is done. They use dentures right away as a band aide while your gums heal. I don't know what to do encourage or discourage her?

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This can be a reasonable treatment plan if in fact the teeth are in very poor shape. It is wise to eliminate current or potential sources of pain and infection. Snap on dentures will require implants. Probably 4 at least in each arch, upper and lower. This is an involved and expensive process Like you said, expect 6 months at least for the implants to integrate into the bone before placing the final denture. Things to consider for making your decision are:
1. Moms health. Diabetes, smoking, etc make it more likely that an implant will fail.
2. Moms mental capacity. This process is a big change and requires adaptation and patience on her part. How does she deal with change? Does she have dementia?
3. Finances. Make sure you understand all the charges up front. What is included now and what might be a future charge.
4. Ease of access and transportation to the dental office. This process involves many appointments when everything goes well, even more when slight adjustments are needed along the way.
i dont mean to sound discouraging. It could be a great answer for her! Just be aware of what is ahead.
(I am a retired dental hygienist of 35 years).

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Thank you I appreciate your informative response. She had the impressions done a few weeks ago and is scheduled to have all 17 of the teeth she has left pulled, next week but she is now hesitating and wants more time to think about it. I'll print out responses and show them to her and hope it makes her decision easier. It is a big step and once they are pulled (ouch) thats it. My Mom thinks it might ruin her appearance or the way she talks or might be too heavy and effect her sinuses. She gets a lot of sinus headaches plus breathing problems at times since she has asthma and copd.

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Does your mom have any cognitive issues that would cause her to not comply with the post-teeth removal care? Or other health issues? Tooth extraction is painful and can have complications. She has to stay on a soft diet for about 5-7 days afterwards. If she goes through with it make sure the dentist DOES NOT give her Clindamycin or Cipro as antibiotics -- they can often cause side effects in the elderly (my mom's ankles swelled up huge and painful from the Clindamycin).

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What kind of issues are related to cognitive issues as far as h the post-teeth removal care? She does have a pace maker, and slight heart murmur. Her regular doctor always gives her clindamycin for a antibiotic. That I can have changed. I am not aware of what the post care is they only gave me pre which doesn't say much. I think she should stop her aspirin 81 dose the day before.

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No doctor would do any oral surgery on my 92-year-old mother's bad teeth because of her heart condition. General anesthesia risk may have killed her. Pain medication was her only option, 'til her natural death three years later.

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IMO, at 73 she should be able to handle the procedures, IF she is mentally competent!

The plus to having the work done now is that you know going forward her teeth are only going to get worse and as we age, change becomes harder to adapt to. If she has this done now, the hope would be that she will be well used to them by the time she starts the dementia slide.

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Your haven't mentioned what your Mother's overall health is. 73 is still pretty young and if she's in good health and has many years ahead of her this might be a good idea.
But it is a very extensive and expensive plan. The cavities definitely need to be fixed. But a mouth guard to prevent grinding will save the teeth from further damage, be much less expensive and have no long recuperation time.
Before deciding to remove all her teeth I would definitely seek a second opinion.
Good luck to you both.

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she did use otc devices but found them on the floor everytime she tried.. I guess she removed it in her sleep. None of her dentists ever made her a device they would say its too expensive so she never had one.

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If sja already had casts made of her teeth it would be easy to use them to make a custom mouth guard. OTC guards cannot compare to a custom one. Mine fits very closely and is not thick and bulky like the OTC ones. Might be worth trying.

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If she's hesitating, postpone the appointment. She is allowed as much time as she needs to think this through.

Bruxism, is it called..? Anyway - what other options has she been offered? Has she tried the whole gamut of gum guards and retainers and all the other gadgets?

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she did use over the counter devices but found them on the floor every time she tried.. I guess she removed it in her sleep. None of her dentists ever made her a device they would say its too expensive so she never had one.

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Someone once told me that there is a kind athletes use to protect their teeth that might work well. However, I'm not familiar with this (or any of them, actually).

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Mom is 73. You don't mention she has any dementia? If not, this really is her decision. For myself, at 78, I would want to make my own decision. My decision would be to repair my teeth and hope that they lived long as I do for the most part, and that I lose the one at a time if not. I would long ago have had dental guards made by the dentist and learned to use them. Over the counter ones are bulky and don't work, get removed in sleep; the ones from dental office work well.
This is a big money maker for the dentists. Knowing that I would make my OWN decision. Nothing is surefire and I know someone who did this, had the permanent false ones, had dealt with sores on gums since as is still grinding away. If teeth can be removed at night that may not be a problem for your Mom.

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I gave up and had the rest of my aggravating teeth pulled at 62; implants were not an option, because it would have meant driving 60 miles each way to the dentist quite a few times and it was winter. Instead, I had that dentist make uppers - that fit and work wonderfully to this day, 7 years later! My only issue was that when it became imperative that the bottoms be done, I had to have our local dentist do them, and they never fit well; which my original dentist had warned me of. Am planning to finally go back to him soon, before winter, and have him line the uppers, since they are getting a bit thin, and make me a set of bottom teeth; he's good, hopefully we can get those to fit and work as well as the uppers! I DO recommend dentures when it becomes necessary, especially if you can get the whole set done by a dentist with a good reputation for making teeth. There should be way less visits and expense than implants, not to mention problems for your mom. Also, people tell me sometimes I have beautiful teeth - even tho I'm only wearing the uppers; they can't tell, and they look so real....

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I went thru the same thing in my mid 50s. For some reason(found out later it was a hormonal issue) i was losing bone in the upper teeth. For 30 years i went for deep cleanings every 3 months, had skin grafts, Did everything i could to save my teeth. I had numerous abcesses and loose teeth, was so embarrassed when they started breaking off. So i did some research and found a good dentist to pull
the remaining top 10 teeth and he placed a temporary plate that day. It took 6 months before all the healing and swelling was down then i got my permanent top denture. After about one month of the extractions i had a lot more energy and felt physically better than i had in many years. Once my bad teeth were pulled and all the infection cleared i was a new person, and i finally was able to truly smile. I have no regrets....
the only advice i have, is get a second opinion because unless she can clear all the infection from her mouth, it can case multiple health issues including heart problems. Sending healing blessings to yall during this difficult time💖

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I had all my wisdom teeth pulled in my 20s, and was in real pain for over a week. I couldn’t open my mouth wide enough to eat solid food or clean my other teeth, and had to scrape my tongue with a flat teaspoon. (Mind you, the teeth were shockers.) The one thing Patrice the dentist hasn’t mentioned is pain for the victim! Later I had a molar implant, and that wasn’t much fun either.

Yes it will alter her appearance when she is lacking dentures. My DH had to get a new set of dentures, and looked like a parrot for a fortnight while he was without. He self-isolated back then, for vanity (justified at age 65).

For a few years I used a dentist who seemed always seemed to be finding something very expensive to do. I got unhappy, particularly when he did not mention the two new crowns he had suggested at the previous consultation, and found a new dentist. Is yours the same dentist who didn’t give her a mouth guard earlier? I would now always get a second opinion before going ahead with very very expensive treatment.

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I think if I needed something very expensive, I'd consider going to "Molar City" in Mexico just south of the CA/AZ border. It got this nickname because of all the dentists concentrated there, and people is the US make a pilgrimage there because of the exorbitant prices charged north of the border.

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No ... don’t pull all her teeth !!!
take care of them .. fillings cleanings etc

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Have you considered getting a second opinion? Or ask about getting advice from a dental school if there is one in your area.

I had one tooth replaced and even with good insurance it cost me nearly $2000, months of pain while it healed. I would do it again but it was very costly and time consuming with a root canal, extraction, implant, healing, getting the cap made, then getting the cap fitted. In all one tooth took 9 visits to 3 different dentists!

Which makes me question the financial aspect of this, is all of this done by one dentist? My regular dentist would not do anything but the cap, he said he would rather send me to specialists for most of the work, so he had no financial stake in the decision.

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I agree w/ Frances. 2nd opinion. Ask a lot of questions. 73 seems young for this.

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My husband had all of his pulled last year. He was grinding his teeth to the point where they were fractured and broken. Dentures weren't recommended due to his severe dementia. He started eating soft foods but now uses his gums to chew up food.

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I think you may want to consider a second opinion. If all her teeth are in poor condition, caps and implants may be a permanent solution.

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My mother recently went through this issue herself. She had not receive adequate dental care early in life which resulted in multiple dental issues in her seventies. Two dentists had already recommended removal of all of her upper teeth due to decay and gum disease but she refused. Ultimately, her last remaining five upper teeth were removed about two months ago after bouts of severe pain and abcessed infections. The decay became so bad that the teeth just started breaking off on their own. If her dentist is recommending removal, then it's best to follow that dental advice otherwise, your mother may eventually experience ongoing pain, infections and broken teeth in the future. These problems could result in frequent dental visits and multiple rounds of antibiotics and pain pills. And if you're the care giver, you can expect to spend a great deal of your time managing the crisis each time a tooth decides to go bad. Also, it never hurts to get a second opinion to make sure the right decision is made.

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Something that hasn't been mentioned so far. I she was on Fosamax because of osteoporosis, she may not be a candidate for implants. I took it for 7+ years and there is a real possibility that the bone will not grow back around implants.

I would get a second or third opinion. If this one dentist is going to do all the work himself I would be concerned. It just isn't done that way now. That is why we have all those specialists.

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Imho, she probably suffers from bruxism. I see that at one time she did wear the overnight retainer, but it was oftentimes found on the floor. At the NOT-very-old age of 73, she should have been able to maintain her dental health, but did not due to the bruxism. Since dentures are, oftentimes, never the same, perhaps she could opt to fill the caries, get implants on those missing or due for extraction.

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Lovely12: After my initial post, I thought of something that may be critical and sorry that I didn't mention it before ~ your mother's dental issues need to be addressed quite SOON before sepsis occurs IF the mouth is infected. I am not a dental professional, but imho, snap on dentures will require drilling into the jawbone to give the appliance stability.
Also, there has been much negative press on Fosamax as it is not at all good for the jawbone IF perchance your mother ever took that medication and thank you, MaryKathleen for posting that intel.

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Lovely, If Mom hasn't done this yet, please discourage her from letting the dentist remove 17 teeth at one time as you posted she was having done. That's a lot, and at 73.

As others noted here, it'd be good to get 2nd, even 3rd opinions without giving the other dentists' names or suggestions so their opinions aren't clouded.

Maybe some of her teeth can be saved via crowns, bridges, and partials where she loses some teeth.

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Should I let the dentist pull all my 73 y/o Moms teeth?

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