This is a heartbreaking story about my 20 yr old son. My son was born with an immature digestive tract. He was born at 9lbs, 2 oz, (1989) and didn’t thrive even though he was breast fed. He screamed incessantly. It took almost 2 yrs before he was diagnosed with an immature digestive tract. He had no hair or teeth until he was almost 3. After many months on strictly rice milk, bananas and vitamins, he finally started looking normal. He was delayed in every aspect. Didn’t walk until 2 yrs 3 mos. In 1994, he and I were in a nearly fatal car crash. My GI tract was severed and my son suffered a severe brain injury which took years of rehabilitation. The fact that we survived was completely miraculous, but it did not come without years of agony, trauma, and finally outplacement for 18 months. Today, by God’s good grace, he is completely functional. His teeth, however, are completely destroyed. Last week he lost a front tooth and looks hideous, despite his handsome features. He is nearly 5′9" and weighs 124 lbs. He can’t chew anything and drinks Ensure and eats soft food. I work full time and have all along, but his father deserted us (in favor of alcohol) many years ago.

I took him to a dental practice last week to see what the options are and none of them are very good or realistic. Regular dentures would promote severe bone loss at his age and the price I got for the "snap on" option with 6 implants per arch - was ,000. That’s what I make in one year and the mortgage eats up quite a bit of that. I looked into financing and all they have available is a "Care" card that is a one year, no interest card that needs to be paid in full in one year!!!

My heart breaks every time I look at him. I’m worried that the fighting spirit that got him through all of the trauma in his life will dwindle as I see him sinking into a deep and hopeless depression. He is eating even less now.

I asked the dentist about medical insurance paying some of this hefty bill and was told that they wouldn’t take it anyway because the reimbursements wouldn’t be enough and they "don’t want to work for that little money".

Please somebody point me in the direction of someone that can help me. I live in Connecticut but can travel to anywhere in the northeast or mid Atlantic, or ANYwhere, for that matter if there is someone out there willing to take affordable payments from me.

Thank you for your help and may God bless you all.

Gail in CT

i use denture but only the upper, and have no teeth at the lower jaw.i tried four times to get my both the detures done but all the money was waisted and i can’t wear the lower denture,it start gaging me and keep on coming out,no metter how much adhessive i use.it gives me very bad sore even just for a short time to weare it.as we all know dental is very expensive i can’t afford a lot of money but at the same time i need the lower teeth to enjoy the food.since i have osteoproces so scared for that reason too,that if dr is not very good it can destroy my lower jaw.so i need some very practical and affordable advice from the person who is or was in my situation.i need the best surgun who can help me for my dream denture.thanks.

Hello. I am a 43 yr old female who has been told by a dentist that I need full dental implants. He said that I probably had Juvenile Periodontal Disease from an early age that was not very common or diagnosed when I was a teen. I have already lost teeth from this problem. The teeth start to get loose and eventually fall out. I have some temporary denture like appliances to make my teeth look complete. But, more teeth are shifting and loosening and I know that I am going to have to do something drastic, like dentures or implants. The implant cost is so astronomical. I don’t know what to do. I live in Los Angeles and I was wondering if anyone knew of any dental schools or other means of finding a more affordable alternative in this city. Please help, if you can with any information. You know, I used to take my great smile for granted when I was younger, and now I would be grateful just to bite into an apple again.

Seventeen years ago, a stray baseball hit me in the jaw and fractured it in a dozen places. Consequently, I lost many teeth, and others did not settle properly. After exhausting my finances on root canals that didn’t take, I’ve lost several more. Those that remain are discolore.

My teeth have really taken away from my life, socially and career-wise. No one wants to hire someone with this type of smile, much less date them. I have been distraught over this for a long time. I’m bright, but I work in a blue collar job, doing work way below my skill level. Obviously, I would like to get my teeth fixed, but the last estimate for a full mouth fix was K — a year’s salary for me, and totally unaffordable.

Because jaw problems remain, I have strong gag reflex. I have an upper partial, but constantly have to take it out. I can’t wear a lower partial at all. Because of this, the thought of dentures (8K) scares me. Are there any affordable options?
I have no real health insurance, only a discount plan offered by work. All the insurance plans I’ve looked at cap dental at 00, and covers nothing "cosmetic."
I am in St Paul, Minnesota.

Need advice from all of you that have knowledge about this:
I have a premolar on the lower side that the dentist said needs a root canal (I used to have a crown over it,so it is very weakened) ,then a missing molar,then another missing molar.Dentist wants to do a root canal to the premolar,then put a crown over then an implant to the next molar so I can eat on that side .I was wondering since the premolar is weakened , will the implant be strong enough?I heard you have to have very good teeth and bones to have a good implant . Is it better to just extract the premolar and put a partial denture which will be also less expensive . Money is a concern for me ,but at the same time I want the best at the most affordable price.Thanks.

I have dentures that are over 20 years old and they don’t fit. I have tried all the pads and paste on the market and nothing works. Is there a dentist in the 37830 zip code who will replace my dentures and not demand full payment when they are finished

i need some dentures and I heard that it is affordable in mexico. I live in az. and yuma or tucson are closest to me can anyone help me out

so my teeth are pretty straight, with the exception of my two "pointy teeth". They are further indented not like crazy crooked just enough so when i smile it almost looks as if im missing these two teeth…

so i was wondering what would be the best and most affordable option?
dentures? a flipper? any cheap veneers?

thanks!
britt

I have had to chew only using one side of my mouth for almost 5 years now bec I can’t afford ,000 to get implants I need on one side. My jaw is starting to shift, gums are getting infected, I hate it. I will spend 00 to fly anywhere in the world to spend what I need to which will be much less than in the US where dentists are sharks who don’t give discounts to the needy. Please help before I lose all my teeth and sanity. I am so underweight cuz it takes me forever to chew on one side and my jaw just hurts and I am actually young, don’t want to get dentures.
Thanks Victor, I never thought of China. But I also have to take into consideration traveling alone as a young female, wouldn’t feel safe in that foreign of a country. Maybe somewhere in europe preferably if anyone knows. Surely it can’t cost thousands for a bridge or implants as it does here!

A family member needs all his teeth pulled and several root canals done. He will then need dentures. I need someone to point me in the right direction in finding a really good, affordable DENTAL INSURANCE company that will help cover the majority of the costs these procedures will bite out of our wallet.

Can anyone point me in the right direction? We are in the Florida Panhandle and need coverage, but I’m struggling with online research for Dental insurance… Thanks.