Should your age be a factor when choosing dentures or dental implants?
When it comes to cost being an issue, a great deal of people choose the least expensive and fastest solution for tooth replacement. We all want to save money, but there is a hidden cost here that I want to share with you. We have found that the majority of elderly patients will look at choices of less-than-optimal treatment due to questioning how much longer they have in life. Thus, impacts the desire to invest in dental implants, whether it be because of cost or time in treatment.
Dr. Myers finds that most patients may not be aware of the implications of having dentures. She feels it is important to encourage patients to consider this more optimal option differently, especially if they are in overall good health.
Yes, dental implants are the more expensive option. And yes, our office has made and can make the most remarkable cosmetic dentures. At Emerald Isle Smiles Dental Studio, we have created some amazing and beautiful dentures for our patients over the years, but not one of those patients has admitted that they have been able to chew as comfortably and as effectively as they once did or thought they’d be able to. It is true one can still find a way to eat without teeth and with dentures. However, what a lot of people do not realize is that the choice between dentures and dental implants can greatly impact diet, nutrition, overall health, and even life expectancy.
In other words, your choice of tooth replacement goes beyond just oral function.
What we see happening is that the ability to eat and chew food properly decreases significantly. Eating things such as steak is just not going to happen. These patients essentially convert to a baby food diet. For example, foods like cottage cheese, yogurt, and mashed potatoes… are really starchy, non-fibrous foods that don’t give us the nutrition that we need.
Most patients will inevitably start to modify their diet. These patients will not be able to chew things like they were used to, and as a result, their diet will transition into a softer, more starchy, more pre-diabetic type of diet. We find that these patients end up developing different adverse conditions all because they are swallowing bigger bites of food or they’re not chewing their food as well.
What a lot of people don’t realize is that this leads to a myriad of chronic problems such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, metabolic disorders, greater inflammation and immune dysfunction, gastrointestinal issues, cognitive decline, dementia, and even brain atrophy, all due to poor diet and inadequate nutrition. Research also suggests individuals without teeth have a higher mortality risk than those with natural teeth or implants. Poor nutrition, systemic diseases, and reduced quality of life contribute to this.
Dr. Myers strongly believes it is important to encourage patients to look at this more optimal option in a different way, especially if one is in overall pretty good health, because at this phase in life, what could be more important than giving your body the ability to process nutrition 3 times a day effectively and still get the right foods on board? Therefore, one of the most important things a patient can do to stay healthy overall is to give their body the ability to get proper nutrition on board. One simply cannot do that with a full traditional denture.
Dr. Myers often hears the statement of patients, “But Doc, I’m not sure how much longer I have to live; why would I want to invest my time and money on a more costly procedure?”
Dr. Myers’ response to this common statement is this:
Without proper nutrition, that person will have systemic health issues that will be a much larger problem than people realize. She 100% believes there is nothing one can do right now that’s more important to your overall health than giving your body the ability to chew food properly. Because what we see happening is patients with full dentures don’t eat properly and statistics are backing up the fact they have an even shorter lifespan.
If you really want to stay around and be as healthy as you can at this phase in life, she doesn’t believe there is anything more important than restoring your teeth and giving yourself the ability to chew properly. Dr. Myers would also like to point out that one’s lifestyle at this age tends to involve socializing and going out to dinner with friends and family more than ever before. Therefore, not being able to eat effectively can impact your quality of life. The bottom line is that this is simply much bigger than just teeth. She can’t emphasize enough that the cost of cutting corners at this stage is really going to have some serious effects on other areas of your health.
There is a significant difference between the cost of a full denture and a complete implant-supported/retained prosthesis, but it really means that one could better enjoy the last golden years of one’s life because, systemically, they are healthier. Dr. Myers doesn’t see how you can put a price on that.
Ultimately, Dr. Myers knows and respects that the decision is yours. However, she encourages you to look at this a little differently and hopes to shed more light on these choices for patients needing to replace missing teeth.