dentures Archives - The Wealthy Dentist

Dental Implants: Regular vs. The Mini Implant

March 30, 2020 By Jim Du Molin

When we asked dentists about dental implants, two out of three dentists reported that they are qualified to offer dental implant therapy. The remaining one out of three dentists do not place implants themselves.

While most love standard implants, opinions about mini dental implants are highly varied. Doctors are split over how often to recommend them.

“Mini implants have worked very well for my patients,” said one dentist, while another opined, “Mini implants are worthless.”

We also asked dentists to select which statement best describes how they feel about the mini dental implant:

Good for a variety of implantology patients: 32%
Suitable as denture implants for denture patients: 19%
Only in a few certain cases: 30%
Regular implants are always better: 19%

Here’s a sampling of what dentists had to say:

“Compared to cars, regular implants are the Mercedes Benz. Mini implants are the little Toyota Echo.” (Oral surgeon)
“Mini implants are good for patients who don’t want or can tolerate regular implants, but failure rates are higher with these minis.” (Arizona dentist)
“Mini implants are good for dentures and specific sites, usually as a transitional situation.” (Florida dentist)
“Regular implants are better. But for many, minis are the best choice.” (Georgia dentist)
“Substandard treatment in most cases.” (California periodontist)
“In the correct situation and understanding how to use them, they are a wonderful long-term solution.” (Connecticut dentist)
“I did a case with a local specialist, and within 4 months the implants all came out. I looked bad, and the patient left the office. I am not a huge fan of the mini implant.” (Connecticut dentist)
“There is seldom an occasion anymore when I can’t replace traditional implants therapy with minis. I’m so thankful I can now offer a less expensive alternative.” (Arkansas dentist)

Dentists Discuss Denture Patient Expectations (video)

March 30, 2020 By Jim Du Molin

The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons states that 69% of adults ages 35 to 44 have lost at least one permanent tooth to an accident, gum disease, a failed root canal or tooth decay, and by age 74, 26% of adults have lost all of their permanent teeth.

Dentures are an affordable solution for people with missing teeth.

Dentures are great, but they are not magic, a fact overlooked by a lot of denture wearers.

Dentures can be challenging for both doctor and patient, as revealed in a The Wealthy Dentist survey where we asked dentists if dental patients have realistic expectations about dentures.

Complained one dentist, who responded to the survey, “No matter how much you tell them how difficult it’s going to be, they still don’t get it!”

A dental implantologist responded, “For every other procedure, I have a sing-page consent form. For dentures my consent form is 4 pages long!”

To hear how dentists responded to the denture survey, Click on Play to watch the survey video —

To you still place dentures at your dental practice?

Are patients happy with the results?

Filed Under: Dental Videos, The Wealthy Dentist Tagged With: dentist, dentistry, dentists, denture implants, dentures, survey video

Denture Cream Dangers: The Controversy over Zinc

March 30, 2020 By Jim Du Molin

Zinc will be removed from PoliGrip denture cream, announced manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline.

Hundreds of denture patient lawsuits are being consolidated in federal court. The manufacturers of zinc-based denture creams are accused of failing to warn consumers about the health risks of long-term zinc exposure.

Glaxo maintains that its products are safe when used as directed. However, when dentures don’t fit well, patients may compensate by using extra cream. After years, this can lead to neurological problems

Zinc was approved by the FDA 15 years ago for use in denture cream. Prior to 2008, manufacturers did not disclose the zinc content of their products.

Filed Under: Dental Products Tagged With: denture cream, dentures

What’s The Average Value of a Dentures Patient?

March 30, 2020 By Jim Du Molin

Average value of a dentures patient As aging Baby Boomers lose more teeth, offering in-house dentures can be a good way to bring in new patients.

The Wealthy Dentist decided to find out how many dentists are taking advantage of this trend — and how much revenue a new dentures patient can add to a practice’s bottom line.

We conducted a survey asking dentists about offering dentures in-house, and average fees in their local market.

Of course, not all dentists enjoy working with dentures patients. On the downside, the work often involves multiple extractions, and dentures can be difficult to fit properly.

Patients who struggle with adjusting to the realities of living with false teeth can be more demanding and take more time to treat.

Despite these potential negatives, only 9% of the dentists who responded to our survey said they refer dentures patients out to a prosthodontist.

More than 90% of the dentists who participated in our survey offer in-house denture services.

“I thoroughly enjoy it,” commented an Illinois dentist.

“It’s a good service,” added a Virginia dentist. “A lot of patients think they are over priced but actually they are under priced.”

And speaking of prices…from a dental management viewpoint, we also wanted to know the average value of a dentures case.

We asked about the average fee for a full set of upper and lower dentures in the dentists’ local markets. Most fees were between $1,500 and $3,000.

However, as we expected, fees varied depending on local geographical market. They ranged from a low of $1,000 in Florida to a high of $5,000 in New York.

A Texas dentist told us, “I am competing with a local denture center that has much lower fees. It has reduced my full price denture business.”

This illustrates an important point. Small dental practices need to be familiar with and responsive to their local markets.

Knowing the local market value of various dental services can help you plan which types of treatments to offer.

It can also help you plan your dental marketing budget for that type of new patient.

Are in-house dentures profitable in your dental market?

Filed Under: Dental Surveys Tagged With: dentures, false teeth

Denturists’ Dentures Not Always Trusted by Dentists

March 30, 2020 By Jim Du Molin

Denturists make dentures, but they’re not licensed dentists. This leaves dentists wary of denturists.

In this survey. only 10% of dentists said that denturists increase denture patients’ access to care. The remaining 90% feel patients should only get dentures from a dentist or prosthodontist.

In the US, only a handful of states permit denturists to practice independently; in some other states, a denturist can work under the supervision of a dentist.

Here are some comments from dentists about denturism and dentures:

“The public at large would be jeopardized if denturists were allowed to give direct patient care.” (Wyoming orthodontist)
“Is it any different than a lay person fitting a patient for any kind of prosthetic?” (Florida dentist)
“Providing professional dental care is more than just the physical making of a prosthesis.” (General dentist)
“Complete dentures are declining in number anyway. It is a rarer procedure now than when I started practice 30 years ago.” (Georgia dentist)
“Dentures are much more difficult to do correctly than a lab technician realizes.” (General dentist)
“I am very frustrated with the continued fragmentation of dentistry as a profession. Teeth whitening at the mall, nail salon, and the photography studio. Dental injections at medi-spas for Botox and Juvaderm treatments. Then we have to contend with the reduction of payments for the services that we still do. That is, until they decide that dental hygienists can also do fillings in their own private practices.” (General dentist)
“There is more to treating these patients than meets the eye! Such as oral pathology, reading the radiographs, making proper impressions, occlusion etc. We do have to think, what is best for the patient?!” (Virginia dental implant dentist)