Can We Really Replace Teeth in a Day?

This is a subject we’ve addressed before here at The Dental Health Blog and, while we occasionally like to believe we do not need to go over it again, that is just not the case.

Because of the regular and relentless advertising of a self-described "national chain" of dental offices, which are really just local franchises that pay fees for their franchise, we are forced to deal with the question of whether we can replace teeth in a day quite often.

So, to explain once again, while it may be possible for some patients to benefit from this type of quick-fix tooth replacement therapy, for the vast majority of those who’ve lost most or all of their teeth, this is merely a temporary solution.

"One-size-fits-all" does NOT fit all dental patients

The largest of these so-called "national" dental offices are actually franchise operations, paying a percentage of their earnings to the franchisor for advertising and name recognition, much like a fast-food franchise would do. Despite their claims, these dental office franchises offer an extremely limited menu of highly profitable dental procedures; most of which are based on the principle that there is a single solution to all their patients’ needs.

This is simply not true, as we have found in serving our community for more than 20 years at our Littleton area prosthodontist office.

While such advertising may not be absolutely misleading, in a legal sense, it is the rare patient indeed who can leave our offices following dental implant surgery and the placement of prosthetics, never to return for additional adjustments and fitting.

And make no mistake, dental implants do require surgery; usually the placement of a set of titanium screws into your jaw bone – which of course also requires healing. Since different patients will heal from dental surgery at different rates, and to different extremes, the process will nearly always require adjustment to, and changes for, the best possible fit of your new prosthetic teeth.

A best-scenario for you would be the placement of a temporary prosthetic on your dental implants, allowing you to eat, speak, and smile normally, but which will need to be replaced or adjusted in some 3-6 months, dependent entirely upon how quickly you heal from the implant surgery. Ultimately, using dental implant to anchor a dental bridge, partial dentures, or even full dentures will likely be the perfect tooth replacement therapy for you but, it is highly unlikely to be a quick fix. Remember the old adage, "If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is."

If you’ve been considering dental implant therapy, we strongly recommend you ignore the advertising and make an appointment to see us today, instead.

The doctors and staff at The Colorado Center for Implant and Prosthetic Dentistry are available to help you determine effective solutions to all of your dental problems. If you would like more information from your Littleton area Prosthodontist, please call to make an appointment today.