Dear Doctor!
I am 27 years old and unfortunately I inherited such poor teeth that, despite serious and good hygiene, I am already missing many of them. I would like to know what the cheapest solution might be if I am missing all lower first, second and third molars; in the upper left I am missing the first, second and third molars, while in the upper right I still have one second molar. Unfortunately the teeth could not be saved; we tried everything, but according to my dentist the pain is somewhere in the bone, because even dead and open teeth hurt after every possible treatment. What should I do? At my age I no longer know how to proceed... I have no bite, and aesthetically it is not acceptable either. I am interested in all possible solutions, but especially the cheapest one, since I am still a student...:/
Dentist Tomaž Rotar answers:
Dear Sir/Madam!
In the lower jaw you have a shortened dental arch on both sides (the last tooth is the second premolar), which means that a bridge is not an option. Considering your dental status and age, the best solution is certainly to place dental implants at least in the positions of the first molars, and preferably also in the positions of the second molars. The same applies to the upper left side (if the third molar is present, it might be possible to make a bridge from the second premolar to the second molar), while in the upper right, in addition to implant treatment, a conventional bridge is also an option. A partial denture is theoretically not a bad solution (and is certainly the cheapest), but in practice it proves to be a poor and insufficient solution.
Have a nice day!