If I need extensive dental work, but can't afford it, can I just request to get dentures instead?

It just seems like it would be less hassle, as well as more affordable to have my teeth extracted and have dentures made than it would be for me to pay to custom fix all my dental problems. so, on average, how much would it cost to have all your teeth extracted and have dentures made?

If I need extensive dental work, but can't afford it, can I just request to get dentures instead?
How many teeth do you have left? You can figure at least $100 - 150 a tooth for extractions. Dentures will cost roughly around $5000 or more. Depends on your area. These won't be the last set of dentures you'll have. You will also need relines occasionally when your gums shrink and when you remove teeth, your bone and gums do shrink. If you live to a really old age (like many of us are these days), you may not have enough bone to even hold a denture. It really depends on how young you are when you get them.


You should consider maybe trying to fix one tooth at a time. Fix the worst ones first and just try to keep them clean and free of lots of sugar. If you have to have a denture, try saving your bottom teeth and getting an upper denture. They seem to be easier to wear than the lower one.


The problem with extracting your teeth....you can't change your mind and go back.
Reply:that is exactly the route i went, i had been in a car accident and had spent over 5000 out of pocket and had it only last a year and it started cracking and crumbling again, i had a cap and bridge estimate done and it would have been over 10000


i ended up paying roughly 2500 for extractions and dentures, and i bought the temp and top of the line dentures. I dont know where you live, but check your phone book for DENTURES, or check online using


dentures + your city,your state


im in virginia and i had a great place called affordable dentures--------you may also look into any dental schools in the area for lower fees. hope this helps, i was only 27 years old when i had to make this decision, but all the compliments i get on my beautiful smile make me happy,(and sometimes make me laugh when they say my daughter has the same beautiful smile as her mom---haha!!!!) what they dont know wont hurt them.
Reply:On your other post below you talked about one missing front tooth, and my recommendation was for you to get a dental flipper for now. A dental flipper can offer a temporary replacement for your missing tooth while you find ways to pay for other more permanent procedures such as bridges or implants.





I don't understand, why do you want all your teeth removed?
Reply:Hi! I have been in dentistry for over 25 years. I don't know your age but if you are under 40 the answer is no. Dentures are a problem. You are wearing hard plastic that sits on soft tissue. You need adhesive as you bone shrinks because of the loss of the roots of the teeth and you will be miserable. You face muscles will also collaspe and you will age quicker and look older than you are. More importantly, eating, laughing and smiling will be difficult when they come loose and you feel them move in your mouth. And forget a great love life. I had a patient come in in tears because her denture feel out after a night of romance and her partner found it under his shoulder.


You can request anything. But PLEASE get an informed decision from a good dentist. Maybe payment plans would work or a slow step by step to get your mouth in shape and keep the teeth you have and wear a partial denture instead while you earn more monies to get more permanent bridgework done. Please don't give up. Dentures DO NOT look natural and they need to be taken out, cleaned and soaked to keep off plaque and build up of food stains. You will not be happy. And as you get older, the dentures need to be refitted as the bone in your jaws shrink and get smaller. Most people that get dentures before 40, have little bone to saddle the ridges when they are 60. So they don't wear them and look so much older then they are.


Full mouth extractions are painful and the dentures tend to get loose quickly as the gums shrink. So typically you need another pair. This is like having a movable object in your mouth and most dentures if not cleaned everyday hold the oders of food, stain and look fake. Nothing beats the real thing even if it takes years to rehab your mouth. I hope I have convinced you to consider another alternative. Please be patient and don't jump to such a drastic conclusion you will regret. If you have any other questions, PLEASE ask, I will help you in any way that I can. Marie
Reply:either way it will cost you a bunch. i hope you have dental insurance. i had 1 tooth pulled it cost about $900,00. i was put to sleep for 1 tooth. this was in dentist office, to pull all of your teeth at one time, it will be in a hosptial.
Reply:Don't get dentures!!!!!!!!! I can't begin to tell you how many people who have them would go back to having their natural teeth instead. Like all prosthetics, dentures are just for looks and not for use. When you take out your teeth, you can't eat the same and nothing tastes as good as it did before. I had a patient that was in the same boat as you and we warned him how awful it would be. But he was young (22 years old) and said he was too lazy to take care of his teeth so what would be the point of trying to fix them. So, we extracted all of his teeth and gave him dentures. We saw him many, many times after that because the dentures moved around and he couldn't stand it! He also lost a lot of weight because he had so much trouble eating. He kept telling me he wished he could turn back time.


Look into Care Credit to help finance your dental needs. Or, go to a dental school where prices are much more affordable. Nobody said you had to fix it all at once; it isn't a race. Do what you can afford and you'll be happy with the investment you make.
Reply:Do not do it, Honestly I have worked along side several dentists for 10 years.


Each patient with dentures are so over it, food gets stuck under the denture, you get a lot of mouth thrush under them.


You can't eat steak, you have to chop your food up small to eat it.


You get gum ulcers, trust me...save up to get your teeth sorted out it will be the best decision you make.


Find a dentist that will give you a treatment plan, so you can pay it off.


do one tooth at a time.
Reply:Ditto to what everyone else has said. Dentures are the last resort. Most people shell out $10,000 a to $30,000 for a car and only drive it for 5 yrs. If you would spend $$ like that for your mouth it would last you until you are 6 feet under.