Are Dentures Worth The Cost

Hi,

First no way i am going to get all implants, i called and its between $40,000 - $75000, thats not only crazy high but even if i had that money i would not do it.

So i went to the dentist today to get my last two teeth pulled.  I been without the rest of my teeth for 6+ years now since my MC accident.  I ask them if they thought i lost too much bone for dentures. 

She said that x-rays would tell the story more but just by looking she feels that my uppers would hold still. However, my lowers would not hold due to bone loss, and the only way to do the lowers would be get 3-4 implants on the bottom front.  Then after they heal they can design lower dentures to hook into those implants to secure the lowers. 

But she said the cost would be around $15,000 

The thing is that im not even sure i want to try to save up for that or borrow that just for dentures.  Here is my reasoning.

1. I am ASexual/hetero - so sex is not important to me.
2. I am not interested in romantic relationships at all.
3. I have no intention of changing who i am or improving myself for someone else.
4. Im not interested in vanity.
5. Medicare does not pay for them or even help pay for them. Even though every Doctor i have ever spoke with said that not having teeth is one of the greatest health risks there is.


So basically i have gotten this far without them.  I would love to have them for better health but that is alot of money.

So i have to decide if its worth $15,000 so i can eat pretzels lol    I crave them all the time...

I never heard that teeth were so important to good health.  Hmm.

I had my last 7 upper teeth pulled last Nov. with a temporary denture to wear immediately.  I still have about 2/3rds of my lower teeth.  Just yesterday I had a final fitting for my permanent dentures.  That said,"everybody" says lower dentures are hard to fit comfortably.  I hope I never find out.  I would think implants would help a l.  But yeah,not cheap.

I don't know if uppers are any good if there are no lower teeth.  My guess is no.

I suppose how long you expect to live would factor in.

Just one perspective.

I haven't tried it myself, yet, but I've seen numerous reports that Mexican dentists do excellent work and only charge a fraction of what US dentists do.  There's a border crossing at Los Algadones that has a 4 block stretch next to the border full of dentists, eye doctors, and pharmacies that cater to RVers spending the winter in the Southwest.

Oral health is important for good health, of that there is little to no question. The USN pulled my teeth when I was 18-19 years old. I grew up being taught that false teeth were in my future. That said, I said screw that. First of all you only need strategic implants to hold your dentures. Having teeth is not for someone else, i.e., potential partners. Teeth are important to me, I enjoy eating a good steak, a good salad, and so forth.

I went without any reliable chewing platforms for many years. I did save for my dental work and I have 9 implants, one bridge, and several caps. All of that work in Las Vegas didn't equal your high estimates.

I have friends who do get their dental work including implants in Mexico and are very satisfied with the work. They winter in Yuma and cross the border there.

I've had a full set of dentures for many years and would never consider going without them. Giving up steak, apples, corn on the cob, etc., is just not something I'm willing to do at my age. In the US, you might check with a dental provider like Aspen Dental for much more reasonable pricing on both implants and dentures. There are also various insurance plans available at reasonable costs that will pay a significant portion of the costs.

NY_Dutch said:

I've had a full set of dentures for many years and would never consider going without them. Giving up steak, apples, corn on the cob, etc., is just not something I'm willing to do at my age. In the US, you might check with a dental provider like Aspen Dental for much more reasonable pricing on both implants and dentures. There are also various insurance plans available at reasonable costs that will pay a significant portion of the costs.

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Sounds like we are in the same boat Dutch.  Have had mine for many years also and have even wore out one upper set and had them replaced.  When I went in for the replacement the dentist started into this huge selling job for implants including video and recommendations from past customers.  About 5 minutes into this sales pitch I just held up my hand and said "Replace the top plate only - NO IMPLANTS".  I have never had any trouble with the dentures and have never used any of the goo they sell to hold them in place.  Corn on the cob is about the only thing I can't hack and have never missed it.  I must admit that I never got to the price for dentures portion of the dentist's sales pitch but from what I have seen on this thread I may have very well wound up swallowing both plates when the price was mentioned..........lol

Bill

Thousands of Canadians and Americans flock to Mexico each winter for Dentures and implants at about  40-50% of U.S. prices.

Implants are worth the cost to me.I have had partials, full plates and implant supported plates (upper and lower) over the years.
Yes they are pricey.
But, eat what you want...steak corn on the cob, etc. They are also very comfortable.
Downside pricey -$1500 - 2500 per implant. Minimum two per plate for removable clip-in plates. Plate price $5000. (recommend for price and cleaning ease).
Total mouth $16000-20000.
For permanent install (require annual maintenance @$200 each for cleaning by dentist) add about $2000 to 5000 to price.
These are US prices.

BobNSam said:

Implants are worth the cost to me.I have had partials, full plates and implant supported plates (upper and lower) over the years.
Yes they are pricey.
But, eat what you want...steak corn on the cob, etc. They are also very comfortable.
Downside pricey -$1500 - 2500 per implant. Minimum two per plate for removable clip-in plates. Plate price $5000. (recommend for price and cleaning ease).
Total mouth $16000-20000.
For permanent install (require annual maintenance @$200 each for cleaning by dentist) add about $2000 to 5000 to price.
These are US prices.

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Gulp.  Love my corn from the can.  All others are handled just fine with the dentures.  But if the implants are worth it to you, then that is the way for you to go obviously.  When I got my first upper plate I don't believe implants were even on the market.  That would have been in about 1970.

Bill

I'm on my third upper and second lower with one newer upper in a bag that I can't wear due to poor fit, I got my money back kept the crap plate and was not so politely asked to never return... diff story..

You can get quality or crap most anywhere, really depends on the dentist fitting them and the tech making them, then follow up adjustment.

Lowers can be a pain in the "277" Gravity helps, I refuse to use glue ever again so I reline my own now and have repaired my own on several occasions due to gums receding/changing and cracking the plate.

Your question was are they worth it?  To me yes but I've known folks that seem to be able to eat most anything without any teeth, never asked if they wanted a brazil nut or anything like it though.

Implants? Spendy and since The most of my issues were with bone loss due to gum disease,  my gums being closed up and that process slowed I'm good with it.

Another example of the American health care system which is out of control.  I'd go to Mexico in a heart beat if faced with those kind of costs.  I think we should call it the Shkreli effect.  He's the guy that raised the price of Daraprim from $13.50 a pill to $750.00 a pill.  He did it because he could.  That's the rational for many drug price increases.  Has nothing to do with manufacturing cost, research or any other bull s@*t they'd have us believe. 

Aspen Dental has replacement full dentures starting at $399 according to their web site. I have no idea of how good they are though.

NY_Dutch said:

Aspen Dental has replacement full dentures starting at $399 according to their web site. I have no idea of how good they are though.

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I have never had good luck with Aspen.
They seem to bait and switch and add fees and the price magically goes higher and higher specially the one in Syracuse but also in Arizona.

I wont be going to mexico, im just one of those that i would never leave the US property for any reason, even if i saw someone drowning in the river..  Sorry but im not going to be some useless stat on a piece of paper and have my family suffer unless its for MY country.  There are just too many bad things going on in mexico and too many people that hate americans now days from that country.  I am not getting involved in that drama.

Your loss.  Algodones is as safe as Disneyland.  The US-Mexico border along California is 20 miles further north than with Arizona, and Algodones is in the very northeast corner.  The Mexican government has their real checkpoint well south of town to keep out the undesirables.

You do need a passport to get back into the US, but there's no reason to be afraid of going there.  If for no other reason than gringos spend a huge amount of money in that little town and the locals won't stand for anything that threatens their gravy train.

Lou Schneider said:

Your loss.  Algodones is as safe as Disneyland.  The US-Mexico border along California is 20 miles further north than with Arizona, and Algodones is in the very northeast corner.  The Mexican government has their real checkpoint well south of town to keep out the undesirables.

You do need a passport to get back into the US, but there's no reason to be afraid of going there.  If for no other reason than gringos spend a huge amount of money in that little town and the locals won't stand for anything that threatens their gravy train.

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Oh its only 1281 miles from me, only a hop, skimp and jump lol      I partied in Juarez in the old days and Juarez used to say that too that they were very safe and would not let anything happen because it would be bad for their image and tourist income.  I have had some wonderful times in freds rainbow bar located in Juarez. 

But look at Juarez now, killing on the street in broad daylight, drug lords killing officials right out in the open like its nothing.    I seriously doubt if Algodones or any place in mexico is as even safe as watts(LA) at night even is (which its not), and that goes for any place in mexico IMO.  I have many friends that used to go down to Rocky Point from AZ, and now they refuse to go, its just too dangerious.  I think saying that mexico is as safe as disneyland is being irresponsible and sends the wrong message TBO.  There may be some places not as bad as others, but until mexico gets a grip on its own citizens commiting horrible crimes i dont advise anyone go there ever...  However you can if you want....

Lou Schneider said:

Your loss.  Algodones is as safe as Disneyland.  The US-Mexico border along California is 20 miles further north than with Arizona, and Algodones is in the very northeast corner.  The Mexican government has their real checkpoint well south of town to keep out the undesirables.

You do need a passport to get back into the US, but there's no reason to be afraid of going there.  If for no other reason than gringos spend a huge amount of money in that little town and the locals won't stand for anything that threatens their gravy train.

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We had dental work in Los Algodones. Two cleanings and a crown reattached for $85. If I wanted a new crown it would take one day and $160. The dentist was a graduate of Arizona. The cleaning was the gentliest cleaning I?ve ever had. Crossing into Mexico was like crossing into another state. Crossing back you better have your passport. I think there were more Americans than Mexicans. Never felt threatened.

Dragginourbedaround said:

We had dental work in Los Algodones. Two cleanings and a crown reattached for $85. If I wanted a new crown it would take one day and $160. The dentist was a graduate of Arizona. The cleaning was the gentliest cleaning I?ve ever had. Crossing into Mexico was like crossing into another state. Crossing back you better have your passport. I think there were more Americans than Mexicans. Never felt threatened.

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I am glad you had a good experience

darsben said:

I have never had good luck with Aspen.
They seem to bait and switch and add fees and the price magically goes higher and higher specially the one in Syracuse but also in Arizona.

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I have no direct experience with Aspen, although one of my daughters goes to the office in Amsterdam, NY for routine cleanings and fillings. They accept her insurance plan, and she seems to be satisfied with the work they do. But then she's only paying a flat co-pay, so there isn't much they can upsell her on.

A few years ago I had to have a repair on my denture and found a place in Harrison, Ark that offered same day fixes.  While waiting I looked over their prices and saw that there are 3 levels of quality in dentures and they varied from about $350 to $950 on their price chart.  I know there is a place in Springfield, Mo that offers pretty much the same kind of spread on dentures with three or four levels.  So the old saying - you get what you pay for - seems to apply.

Bill