Tag Archives: teeth falling out

My Mother’s Tooth Fell Out

My mom is 85 and recently moved in with my husband and myself. We were eating dinner the other night and a tooth from the bottom part of her jaw just fell out. She’s very embarrassed about it. At eighty five she doesn’t have a ton of money and neither do we. What is an affordable way that we can get help for her? We’ll want to replace that tooth for certain.

Lindsey

Dear Lindsey,

An elderly woman smiling.

If your mother’s tooth just fell out, that means she is dealing with very advanced gum disease. This is serious and she is likely to lose more teeth.

In most cases, you would need to build up the bone in her lower jawbone and get dental implants for implant overdentures to prevent facial collapse. However, you asked for something affordable and that definitely is not. Plus, at her age, there is not much point of dealing with the facial collapse.

My suggestion is you save as many of her teeth as possible by getting her gum disease treated. She will likely need at least partial dentures if not complete dentures depending on how many teeth she loses. It will still be important to treat the gum disease either way, that includes if she gets complete dentures. Gum disease will have a negative impact on her overall health as well.

I am glad that she has you to take care of her. It is obvious you care about her and will do your best to get her the care she needs. If she’s been under the care of a dentist this whole time, I suggest you get her a new dentist. The one she has did not adequately care for her as he or she should have. In fact, I’d consider it malpractice.

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Elderly Parent Losing Teeth

My elderly father recently had some teeth filled. He also has one partial tooth. All of which are in the same general area, in the lower part of his jaw. However, in the last couple of days, two of his front teeth fell out. Because his gums and remaining teeth are not in the best health, we are in need of affordable dental options to remedy the issue.

Thank you,
Mindi

Dear Mindi,

If your father’s teeth fell out, completely on their own, that is a case of advanced periodontal disease. If this is in fact the case, there are likely few to no solid teeth left. Therefore, you have a few options.

Options For Replacing Missing Teeth

The most ideal solution would be dental implants. However, your father would need a full-mouth reconstruction, which would likely cost over $20,000.

Another option to consider is removable dentures. One problem with removable dentures is they cause bone resorption. However, since your father is in his elderly years, this would not be an issue.

A third option is a partial denture. A partial is built like a complete denture, but has holes in it, allowing the existing teeth to poke through. This is a more stable option that allows holes to be closed up with artificial teeth should additional teeth fall out.

If you have not already done so, you should consult with your dentist, and let him know your father’s budget constraints up front. His dentist will likely share financial options with you, that will make the dental treatments more affordable.

This blog post was brought to you by Phoenix affordable dentist, Dr. Hillary Peck.

Affordable Solutions for Teeth Falling Out

My mom is almost 87. She recently had to have a filling and then later that day when I went to check on her two teeth just fell out. Her dentist never even mentioned they were a problem. I can’t just leave her that way. She needs to replace them, but I don’t know if a bridge is a good idea at her age. Maybe her other teeth are too old? What would be an affordable solution for her?

Bridgett

Dear Bridgett,

I need to say up front it sounds like your mother needs a different dentist. If she has teeth just falling out from no obvious issue, it means she has an advanced periodontal disease. He should be checking her gums at her regular check-ups and warning her about the state of her gums. There are steps which can be taken to treat gum disease.

If I’m right and she has gum disease a dental bridge is out of the question. It will just pull out the remaining teeth it’s attached to. Ideally, you’d replace missing teeth with dental implants, but that’s also out of the question with gum disease. Plus, you asked for an affordable solution. Dental implants can cost upwards of $40,000.

An image of complete dentures

Normally, I wouldn’t recommend dentures because of their complications with bone resorption. However, your mother is 87. I don’t think that’s going to be an issue for her. It usually takes between 10 and 20 years for it to become a problem. Now, if your family has a history of centenarians, you may reconsider. But most don’t.

Cu-Sil partial denture

If you go to another dentist who thinks he can save quite a bit of her teeth, please do that. You don’t have to lose all your teeth to get dentures. There is something called a Cu-Sil partial (pictured directly above). It will leave holes for her healthy teeth. It uses little rubber rings to keep it secure to her teeth. It actually makes it more stable. Then, if the tooth is lost in the future, it’s simply a matter of closing up the hole and adding another false tooth.

Affordable Dentists Will Work with You

Most patients, especially elderly ones, don’t have the funds to just pay for large procedures outright. However, most dentists are willing to work with patients giving them payment plans. If you can’t find a dentist like that. Sign your mother up for Care Credit. It’s a medical credit card of sorts, which will allow her to pay off her treatments slowly. In fact, depending on the state of her credit, she can even get 0% interest as she pays it off. They also have no penalty for early repayment, so it’s a win-win situation.

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