Need braces or DENTURES!? 26 years old...?

[TheHunter]

SO my teeth are pretty bad. I have all of them, but they are rather crooked. I have dental insurance, but I dont know if it covers braces, and everytime I go to the dentist they say they "cant do braces with the condition or straightness or whatever of my teeth" Should I just get all of 'em pulled and get dentures?

[tamrn02]

Go get a consult with an Orthodontist to see what he suggests.

[jef20867224]

Dentures are horrible, keep your teeth and just keep brushing em...

[DentalCommando]

Don't get the dentures. You'd prefer to be able to bite easily and forcefully and not have to worry about the grossness of putting it in and out and food getting stuck behind it right? Stick with the crooked teeth and get braces if you can afford them.It's not worth trading function for aesthetics.

[QazwsxasdZ]

i would defiantly go to another dentist or even better an orthodontist for a second opinion. there is not much out there that braces cant do. it may take several years, but it can be done.in my opinion, that dentist probably has limited knowledge on braces and fixed/removable orthodontic appliances. Maybe you need a RME or twinblock appliance prior to braces, and the dentist just doesnt know how to work with them. Hence the reason why i think you should go to an orthodontist.i work directly with patients who wear dentures and they shouldnt even be an option for someone of your age who just wants a better smile.. Dentures have about 10-15% of the chewing strength as natural teeth, and many problems arise from it. Once you pull your teeth out, your gums and bones will start to shrink (and keep shrinking forever), and eventually you will have problems with stability (especially on the lower jaw) unless you get implants to retain the dentures, and even then, you will have problems with food getting stuck under them, bad breath, cracking the dentures, tooth wearing out on the dentures over time..if you dont get implants (because they are expensive) and just get dentures made to your mouth, you may not have a problem with the upper, but the lower will surly give you problems with sore spots, instability, no retention, and it will be extremely difficult to eat food such as steak and other harder food..if possible, take a photo of your teeth so we can see how 'bad' they really are.. Maybe cosmetic treatment is all you need on the front 6 teeth to have the appearence that they are straight. A few crowns or veneers may be enough to give you a nice natural smile.in my opinion, do not pull your teeth out and get dentures (not even partial dentures)

[DavidS8085]

Teeth get pulled because of three main reasons: it's not restorable, bone around the teeth is gone which will cause the tooth to move a lot, or to make room for other teeth (braces for example). No dentist will pull your teeth out and give you dentures at such a young age. Getting dentures is a life style change (eg. cutting vegetables up into pieces, no more corn on the cob, etc) and not recommended on a whim.Get a consultation for braces from an orthodontist. If your general dentist doesn't do braces, then he or she can refer you to an orthodontist.