I think implants would be the way to go but they are costly. You can have just four put on the lower jaw and then the whole set of teeth anchored to them. the upper is similiar.
I have just two and recently just had my second one done and choose it over a bridge which I felt would cause more problems later on. I got my first one years ago when it was a new procedure done only by surgeons and its been trouble free.
Good luck with whatever you choose and congrats for hanging in there playing so long.

I am also 72 and have had full upper and lowers for thirty years. The consensus of many dentists I have talked to over the years is that nothing works as well as your natural teeth(assuming you have them).

However, if you must go to false teeth, get good quality as those will resist stains and last longer. The second thing is that a well fitted upper plate,in most cases, will not be a problem without fasteners and adhesives. The bottom denture is a different story. Implants or a partial anchored to your eye teeth e.g., will be needed somewhere down the line. I agree that a partial is a pain in that it catches food particles and is harder to clean.

Talked withe dentist yesterday afternoon, and he's talking about a snap device that would anchor the upper denture in place - not posts. The posts are $3,500 each here, which would translate to $14,000 just for the posts. Then add another $3,500 for the dentures themselves, plus some ancillary costs and we're up to $20,000. The snap devices, which resemble tiny canvas snaps, are far less expensive, don't require an oral surgeon to insert them, and provide excellent holding. Another six weeks and I'll, hopefully, be done with all this.

Gary

My dad was a trumpet player and he had dentures from his early 50's. He never had any problems playing with them. He could also eat corn on the cob, bite into apples, ect.

Joe

Gary,

You could fly down here to Alabama and get that work done and fly back for about a tenth of what your dentist??? is charging you.

And our dentist are very good down here no matter what folks think about the rest of us. ;-)

Bill G

Billy, I talked with a couple guys that had the procedure done in one day in North Carolina, cost them about $1,500 for everything and they were back to work the next day. Of course, they didn't have to sing, but you're right, it's a lot less expensive in the sunny south.

Gary

I just completed work on a video and training materials used to train people how to provide oral healthcare to senior citizens in nursing homes.

In conjunction with a professor of dentistry at the university of Kentucky, we developed a product to be used by dental and nursing schools and nursing homes.

For those of you who play in nursing homes, I'd be really surprised if you EVER saw any oral health care procedures being done.

Statistics say that poor health care leads to things like pneumonia, a leading cause of death in nursing homes.

The final product is being used by nursing programs and other health care institutions across the country.

It's no surprise that nursing homes aren't interested....it would cost them MONEY to hire and train an oral health care worker. And MONEY is the bottom line.

There is some interest by the state of Kentucky (Commonwealth, actually). There is a funded offshoot of the original project which will be conducted, and, if we can prove that incidents of oral health care related illnesses can be reduced, that means a reduction in the cost of state-funded Medicaid.

Sadly, even here, the "BUCKS" are what matters. Even so, if the end result is better oral health procedures, THAT'S GOOD!

A word to many of us who are reaching or already at senior status. Take the time to do preventative oral care.

You'll be BETTER and healthier for the effort.


Russ (on my stump, AGAIN) Lay

I have 2 implants (Upper) definitely the way to go. They are rock

solid, just clip your dentures on to them. They will be

expensive but very reliable. Singing will be fine and better

still you will have now problem with

those steaks from the BBQ.

Frank