Oral Surgery for a Veteran
Donation protected
The Reason
I have an issue with my teeth. Specifically they are all falling out and I have had cancer in my gums.
So, I have 9 teeth in my upper palate at the moment. The rest are fake or just plain missing (no molars to speak of on the upper)
This makes it extremely difficult and mostly painful to eat food. To use a straw. to do mostly anything you would with teeth.
I am suffering bone loss also, which is an ongoing issue with my upper jaw.
So I decided to go see the dentist, and then an oral surgeon so that I could get an estimate, and if the cost was within my range, I would get it done. Don't think I went into this thinking it would be cheap. I looked at several options and talked to quite a few people before the procedure I chose to be consulted on was done.
What the surgeon wants to do is insert 5 titanium rods into my existing bone (normally 4 would be sufficient but I have severe bone loss in some areas which require two separate mount points to cover) and then having a 'snap-in' denture appliance which would sit on these rods. It requires removal of the existing teeth (which is a charge) and then inserting the 5 rods (which is charged) and then maintaining that for four months (which is charged) and the denture itself, which has to be crafted one way for healing, and then altered another once healing is complete (which is charged). So, all in all I was about 12K ($12,000) short of my estimated cost and availability. The dentist and surgeon say if I put this off its just going to allow for more deterioration and possible infections.
However, I have no way to be able to afford it.
I have an issue with my teeth. Specifically they are all falling out and I have had cancer in my gums.
So, I have 9 teeth in my upper palate at the moment. The rest are fake or just plain missing (no molars to speak of on the upper)
This makes it extremely difficult and mostly painful to eat food. To use a straw. to do mostly anything you would with teeth.
I am suffering bone loss also, which is an ongoing issue with my upper jaw.
So I decided to go see the dentist, and then an oral surgeon so that I could get an estimate, and if the cost was within my range, I would get it done. Don't think I went into this thinking it would be cheap. I looked at several options and talked to quite a few people before the procedure I chose to be consulted on was done.
What the surgeon wants to do is insert 5 titanium rods into my existing bone (normally 4 would be sufficient but I have severe bone loss in some areas which require two separate mount points to cover) and then having a 'snap-in' denture appliance which would sit on these rods. It requires removal of the existing teeth (which is a charge) and then inserting the 5 rods (which is charged) and then maintaining that for four months (which is charged) and the denture itself, which has to be crafted one way for healing, and then altered another once healing is complete (which is charged). So, all in all I was about 12K ($12,000) short of my estimated cost and availability. The dentist and surgeon say if I put this off its just going to allow for more deterioration and possible infections.
However, I have no way to be able to afford it.
Organizer
Dennis Cruise
Organizer
Portland, OR
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