This article explores the fine-print: the unseen additional costs (both short and long term) patients have to pay when opting for removable dentures as their tooth replacement technology.
One of a patient’s most pressing concerns when it comes to choosing a tooth replacement technology is the amount of money it will cost. While teeth implants may offer the most advanced, comprehensive and long term solution to rampant tooth loss and edentulism (not having a single original adult tooth left), they are not, unfortunately, inexpensive. Having said this, few patients really appreciate and understand that the more traditional approach to teeth replacement - removable dentures or false teeth - actually ends up costing the same amount of money as dental implants, if not more in the long term! How on Earth can this be so? Because the cost of dentures, the hidden repeated costs, include the need for refitting every few years and, on a daily basis, adhesives, cleaning agents, storage containers and anesthetic gels. By opting for dental implants, you are essentially ensuring the longevity of your oral health and youthful smile, as well as securing yourself a much better quality of life.
So, if you have lost all of your original adult teeth, or are about to, perhaps you should ask yourself the following questions:
•Do you really understand what the real cost of dentures is?
•Is it the smartest investment you can make in your oral health?
Understanding the Real Cost of Dentures: Repeat Expenses
You might have to fork out as little as $250 for the standard cost of dentures. And this can quite easily seem like a no-brainer when compared with what you’d pay for complete oral rehabilitation using dental implants. But that paltry amount does not reflect the real cost of dentures. No, the toll this traditional dental technology takes on your bank account and on your quality of life can be quite devastating.
Added up over the years, these repeated expenses can actually surpass what you would pay to have a new set of teeth placed with dental implants:
•The cost of dentures: Anesthetic gels are necessary to numb the pain and discomfort caused by these bulky plastic teeth resting, pushing and rubbing against the gums.
•The cost of dentures: Messy adhesives are needed to prevent ill-fitting dentures from shifting and slipping around in the mouth when eating and speaking.
•The cost of dentures: Cleaning agents are necessary to sterilize the plastic insides of dentures, which easily harbor food particles and encourage bacterial growth.
A single packet of adhesives or a tube of numbing gel is not going to leave you bankrupt but over the years, the cost of these products does add up. In the long run, you’ll end up shelling out thousands of dollars on the cost of dentures and their associated products. And this money could have gone towards a much more sophisticated solution to edentulism in the first place!
Understanding the Real Cost of Dentures: Refitting Due to Bone Loss
Where the long term cost of dentures really becomes exorbitant is in the need for refitting every few years or so. You see, unlike dental implants, dentures only replace the visible portion of your missing teeth: the crowns. By not replacing the missing tooth roots, the jaw bone is left without the stimulation it needs to remain alive and healthy. As a result, this hard tissue atrophies and wastes away and the resultant loss of bone volume over the years causes the jaw to actually change shape. Dentures that once may have fitted snugly and without shifting around much become increasingly loose and uncomfortable, which requires patients to go back to their dentist and pay for the cost of dentures all over again. This time, the refitted dentures will be custom fabricated to fit the new contours of the jaw. But this is a problem that occurs again and again as the jaw bone loses more and more of its volume to atrophy. Eventually, dentures will no longer offer a viable tooth replacement solution. Eventually, ironically enough, patients will be forced to undergo bone grafting and dental implant surgery if they want a full set of teeth again!
The Real Cost of Dentures: A Final Note
The take-home message is this: the real cost of dentures just doesn’t work out to your advantage. You not only pay more money in the long term for this inferior technology, you also sacrifice your quality of life and youthful appearance. Dental implants are a one-time investment that offers a far superior solution to rampant tooth loss and edentulism.
So, if you have lost all of your original adult teeth, or are about to, perhaps you should ask yourself the following questions:
•Do you really understand what the real cost of dentures is?
•Is it the smartest investment you can make in your oral health?
You might have to fork out as little as $250 for the standard cost of dentures. And this can quite easily seem like a no-brainer when compared with what you’d pay for complete oral rehabilitation using dental implants. But that paltry amount does not reflect the real cost of dentures. No, the toll this traditional dental technology takes on your bank account and on your quality of life can be quite devastating.
Added up over the years, these repeated expenses can actually surpass what you would pay to have a new set of teeth placed with dental implants:
•The cost of dentures: Anesthetic gels are necessary to numb the pain and discomfort caused by these bulky plastic teeth resting, pushing and rubbing against the gums.
•The cost of dentures: Messy adhesives are needed to prevent ill-fitting dentures from shifting and slipping around in the mouth when eating and speaking.
•The cost of dentures: Cleaning agents are necessary to sterilize the plastic insides of dentures, which easily harbor food particles and encourage bacterial growth.
A single packet of adhesives or a tube of numbing gel is not going to leave you bankrupt but over the years, the cost of these products does add up. In the long run, you’ll end up shelling out thousands of dollars on the cost of dentures and their associated products. And this money could have gone towards a much more sophisticated solution to edentulism in the first place!
Where the long term cost of dentures really becomes exorbitant is in the need for refitting every few years or so. You see, unlike dental implants, dentures only replace the visible portion of your missing teeth: the crowns. By not replacing the missing tooth roots, the jaw bone is left without the stimulation it needs to remain alive and healthy. As a result, this hard tissue atrophies and wastes away and the resultant loss of bone volume over the years causes the jaw to actually change shape. Dentures that once may have fitted snugly and without shifting around much become increasingly loose and uncomfortable, which requires patients to go back to their dentist and pay for the cost of dentures all over again. This time, the refitted dentures will be custom fabricated to fit the new contours of the jaw. But this is a problem that occurs again and again as the jaw bone loses more and more of its volume to atrophy. Eventually, dentures will no longer offer a viable tooth replacement solution. Eventually, ironically enough, patients will be forced to undergo bone grafting and dental implant surgery if they want a full set of teeth again!
The Real Cost of Dentures: A Final Note
The take-home message is this: the real cost of dentures just doesn’t work out to your advantage. You not only pay more money in the long term for this inferior technology, you also sacrifice your quality of life and youthful appearance. Dental implants are a one-time investment that offers a far superior solution to rampant tooth loss and edentulism.
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