Considering full mouth dental implants later in life, any experiences?

[Lurkermumofadults]

I've got a few missing and bad teeth and am considering getting full mouth replacement. There seems to be loads of different options and clinics in the UK and elsewhere offering what seem like miracle solutions. I don't want Turkey teeth, just a confident smile for my later years. What experiences have people had with implants etc?

If you’ve smoked/smoke then they apparently don’t last.

They don’t work if you’ve any gum disease.

They need maintenance afterwards.

I was quoted £25k for a complete set.

I didn’t bother.

I have had lots of conversations with my dentist as I have been getting my latest implants. The biggest issue is your bone density and width. I had to have a bone graft for one because I had left it more than a year since losing the original tooth. My dentist explained that he won't do implants in bone that is less than a certain thickness. Apparently not all providers have the same standards. So you can get cheap teeth in a screw in your jaw from lots of places but without a CT scan and full assessment you are taking more risk.

I’ve had an implant after a disastrous root canal where by tooth broke in two.

You have an x ray first where they look and see if an implant can be done as it has to be screwed in.

The whole process took just over a year from start to finish and cost £3800. I chose an implant dentist about an hour away and I probably had to go ten times in that year.

I want to do this but I have gum disease so I just don't think I will ever be able to have a nice smile :(

If you've got gum disease or bone loss then the implant route won't work. They need something sturdy and it's a major surgery.

It sounds like your teeth must be in pretty bad condition if you are considering a full set of implants. So it really depends on if your mouth is healthy enough to cope with it.

You might be better off having the bad teeth removed and then a bridge/bridges fitted.

Dentures? Bridges? My friend has a combination of those because lost a few teeth both front and behind due to GD/ smoking. And their smile looks great. So all hope is not lost?

Thanks, yes, I do have a denture. I don't mind dentures tbh but I dont have one on my bottom set. My teeth are a bit gnarly but tbh I'm blessed with a very untoothy face. You can't hardly see my bottom teeth anyway. Thank god!

my dad had a clearance, bone grafting and full set of implants done in Germany and was really pleased with the results. Cost a small fortune (over £60000 i think) and needed multiple trips but was worth it for him. He'd approached a couple of UK clinics and they were keen just do the implants without grafts under sedation for hours and hours (despite him being high risk for sedation) and were frankly terrifying (am an anaesthetist so could tell where they were cutting corners with some of it and it didn't inspire confidence at all). Was much more impressed with the place in Germany.

I had to go for the cheapest option. I had all my teeth removed. 4 implants on the top 2 on bottom. I then had dentures that clip in. You can take them out. But the clip in is petty firm. It was a good alternative for me. It cost me 10k

Wow £60K! I don't mind spending a bit but that's too much. I think I might just have to go with a bridge and maybe a denture on the bottom. So hard to know who to trust.

I've got a clip in denture on the top but it does break from time to time and has never been really comfortable. So you've got implants AND a denture?

Yes the denture clips on to the implants.