Hybrid Dentures

One of my favorite stories about a patient was when a woman walked in the front door without an appointment one day. And she was disheveled and she was very frightened looking and wasn't smiling, kind of had her hands over her mouth. But she had worked up the courage to walk in the front door, even without a phone call, and she was just wanting to get some information she said. But we ended up bringing her into the consultation room, where she was comfortable, not the treatment room, but just bringing her in, taking a seat, and just spending a little bit of time with her. She sat with my office manager and just burst into tears. She had complete failing dentition. In other words, she had broken teeth. She had painful teeth. She had teeth that were loose. She was having teeth fall out. She was in really bad condition. And she was battling with being embarrassed about her teeth. She was battling with not being able to smile in public. Now she was battling without being able to even chew comfortably. And basically she was forced to make some choices. She had no choice anymore she felt. So we were able to end up giving her something that's called a hybrid denture that is supported by implants. So it is a way of replacing natural teeth that have failed with implants that are holding teeth in place that are never removable. They look beautiful. They are just like natural teeth. You can chew with them again, and it was such a transformation I cannot even tell you. Now when she comes in the office, she's dressed differently. Her hair is kept differently. She beams. She talks about things, how she's losing weight. She talks about how she's making new friends. She talks about her job, and it's just been the most incredible transformation. So that was one that I'll never forget. I'll never forget that patient. And she still comes in very routinely for maintenance for her appliances and for her teeth, and she's just one of my favorite people in the world.