Dentures or dental implants?

[HurdyGurdy19]

My daughter's teeth are crumbling away (due to T1 diabetes) and her mouth is a total mess 😕)

She's been waiting for months and months for a hospital appointment to have some work done (has to be hospital, due to the diabetes) and whilst still waiting, today another tooth has broken.

I am going to pay for her to go to a private dentist and get something done, but not sure whether she should go for implants or dentures. I guess this is something to discuss with a dentist, but wondered if anyone here had any views, or could share any experience.

Any hints as to respective costs would be helpful as well, although I suppose that's a "how long is a piece of string" question.

I’ve had several implants. It worked out about 2-3K per implant. I had to wear some partial dentures in between the work. I got used to them but implants definitely preferable. If she’s young her gums and bones will be in better shape and the work may not be as difficult, no bone graft needed etc.

How old is she?

Implants depend on bone mass, lose too much bone and you need a graft before the implants can be fixed.

Dentures are a pain unless you have a very good fit. There are lightweight ones available now, not the plastic lumps your Nan would have worn. But not being able to feel the roof of your mouth changes how you eat food and I imagine would feel very odd.

Implants all.day long if she is suitable.

Blimey sounds a lot to deal with.. I have no advice although I imagine implants would be the bees knees but come at a cost.

Hope she gets it sorted.

Thank you. She's 34, so I suspect she'd prefer implants, for longevity, but that's interesting about the bone mass.

Thank you @LasVegass for a general idea of cost. It's going to be a pricey process, but it will do wonders for her self confidence if she's a suitable candidate.

I have had some implants and they were around £2000 each also. As previously said, it will depend on the health of her gums and bone density, as well as some medical conditions, or if a smoker. I had to have a bone graft , which delayed things whilst it took, but things workrd out ok in the end. You do have to be scrupulous with dental and gum hygiene once they are fitted though. I would suggest finding a very skilled dentist in that area. Having the same choice of dentures or implants, it has been a massive confidence boost for me, so I really hope it works out for your daughter, with your kind generosity.

Just wanted to say, T1 diabetes is a bastard and this is lovely thing for you to do for her.

My mate had one implant with a bone graft last year and it was 5.5k.

If you’re in Surrey or Sussex I recommend The Implant Centre, with a branch in Hove and one in Hayward Heath. I travelled some distance for this and used a lot of my annual leave to be able to get to the appointments but it was worth it. Good luck to your DD.

Unfortunately if her type 1 diabetes is not well controlled implants have a much higher failure rate. In general if her hba1c is above 50 then it’s probably a no go.

Implant retained dentures are a good half house and price is £6000 to £8000 ish but diabetes has to be well controlled.

It’s in her interests , if she is young , to keep her teeth for as long as possible as the minute they come out bone starts to shrink and dentures become ill fitting.