I haven’t been to the dentist in a while. I don’t like them. But now my teeth are starting to fall out. I’ve been putting them back in with crazy glue when I have to leave the house. It’s too embarrassing to go out without teeth. The fumes make me sick though. Is there anything to save my teeth at this point?

Violet

Dear Violet,

I am very sorry you are facing this. Your gum disease must be extraordinarily advanced for this to happen. Your roots have to have been exposed and practically hanging out of your mouth. You’ll need to stop with the crazy glue. It is going to cause tissue pain because of the chemicals in it and you have enough pain at this point.

Normally, when people have gum disease, I suggest they get it dealt with right away. However, I think your situation is beyond repair and you won’t be able to save any teeth. In that case, your next step is to find the best tooth replacement option for you.

This would be implant-supported dentures. They use between four to six dental implants. After both healing and osseointegration, dentures are then anchored to the implants. This will be the closest thing to having healthy natural teeth. Unfortunately, with the severity of your gum disease, there will be no way for you to retain your dental implants. You’ll have to have removable dentures for now.

I still recommend you get your gum disease treated and then get the implants, though. Your jawbone will continue to shrink until you no longer have enough to keep even your dentures in. This is known as facial collapse.

This blog is brought to you by Parma Dentist Dr. Rebecca Gecovich.