Aging Bridges and Infections, Resolved

He came to ArtLab Dentistry having had a longstanding problem with aging bridges and infections. His condition was such that his body felt fatigued and weak and cumbersome, and he was having difficulty even doing daily activities.

We determined a course of treatment to restore his smile and overall health, beginning with the treatment of his infections. Once the persistent infections were removed, we were able to move forward with the placement of all-on-4 dental implants.

He also was given fixed temporary teeth to wear for the entire duration of his treatment. Our fixed provisional teeth allowed him to carry on with life as normal while his implants healed and his final restorations were prepared.

We pride ourselves on providing fixed real provisionals for our patients, and in fact, rarely use removable dentures as a temporary measure. Fixed provisional teeth help our patients be comfortable and be as functional as possible during their treatment.

His treatment took about a year and had a big impact on his overall health and entire body, as well as re-established his self-esteem, his ability to function, and of course his great smile. He mentioned after completing his treatment that friends were commenting that he looked 20 years younger than his nearly 65 years. Way to go he!

How do you get from where you were to where you are?

When I was very young I lived in NY on Long Island. My mother had me when she was 41 and that was in 1955. My brother and sister, both 10 years older than me, would fill my bottle with Bosco chocolate syrup to shut me up. So by the time I was 5 I had all my baby teeth removed. And so that began my journey with bad teeth.

After we moved to California I finally went to the dentist when I was about 13. This dentist was very old (and probably drunk) and was watching tv as he worked on me. That was my first experience with a dentist. My teeth were literally rotting out of my head. I brushed and brushed but the damage had been done when I was very young.

By age 18 I had saved up enough of my own money to have dental work done. I didn't want false teeth, so I found a very good dentist and had root canals and bridges put in. From age 18 to age 50 those bridges served me well. My dentist at the time had talked to me about implants but told me my bone ridge wasn't wide enough to do implants. That was 15 years ago (I'll be 65 in a week).

Long story short, I got in a car accident in 2016 which knocked out a temporary tooth and I got a very bad infection. After 3 or 4 courses of antibiotics, I still felt like crap, had no self-confidence, and was depressed. I started researching dental implants trying to find help. I went to 4 or 5 different places, and ArtLab was the ONLY place that a) told me the truth, and b) had prices that I could afford. It's expensive to get this done, but if you want to get this done right, you have to put out some money.

Without these implants I would have NO teeth, or I would have false teeth, which would make me even more depressed. These are REAL teeth, I've had them about a week or two now. My treatment took a long time because I came in here with a really bad infection and my body was being poisoned. But now it's a year later, and I'm a completely different person. I'm really really happy.