Cary, NC — Alice used to love corn on the cob, but, when she first came to Cary Family Dental, she couldn’t eat it. She could barely eat anything without feeling like her bottom dentures were about to come loose. We decided surgery was her best option.
A New Solution
Imagine feeling like your teeth are about to fall out each time you eat. It would be hard to eat anything, not to mention foods like corn on the cob!
“My bottom denture was giving me a lot of problems,” Alice said as she told the whole story of her time at our office. “I couldn’t tighten it up, so I came to Dr. Acton thinking that I would get a new bottom denture.” Dr. Acton suggested something else entirely, though.
“I was frightened to death when he suggested implants,” Alice told us. “He explained that it would do no good to try to get me a new denture, because I didn’t have enough gum tissue to hold onto my dentures. I was going to have to go through a lot of surgery.”
Surgery – Not a Scary Word
Alice was extremely nervous about her surgery, but she listened as we explained the difference implants could make for her. We told her that, since she lost her teeth over 30 years ago, she had lost a lot of bone.
Due to this bone loss, her lower denture didn’t anything to hold on to.
To give Alice a comfortable, durable fix, we recommended placing implants to hold her existing denture in place. After we placed the implants and let Alice heal, we attached abutment posts, which connect implants to teeth, to the implants. Then, we were able to modify Alice’s existing denture to fit over the implants. We snapped the modified denture into place, where it is retained by the dental implants and supported by the soft tissue.
The Results
Alice didn’t just make it through the surgery – she emerged confident and excited about her beautiful, durable new teeth. She was thrilled with the results and is excited to be able to feel the stability and the support the implants provide.
Smiling, she reminded us of the happy ending.
You were such a wonderful, wonderful group of people to work with. You put me at ease. Here I am today with my implants in, and they feel wonderful. I’m almost in tears. I’m just thankful to you all for taking good care of me.
When we asked Alice if she was excited to try new foods, she said, “I’m going to try corn on the cob, steak – all of it! I just can’t wait.”
—————————————————————————————————————
Video from Cary Family Dental. Lead photo by Jed Sullivan.
