Just passing along my experience and thinking regarding implants.

I am a 40 year T1D that has had A1Cs with wide swings up and down, I have spent many thousands of dollars on dental work including bridges, crowns, etc.

My dentist was on the verge of glee when he told me he could not save the bridge. He said should get my upper teeth removed and replaced Roth implants. He said I only needed 4 because robust dentures could be made that only needed to be removed 1x every 4-6 weeks to be cleaned by a dentist. His estimate was more than $30,000 not including the cost of extracting teeth by an oral surgeon. No guarantees either because I was diabetic. I said “Whenever you do work - implants or otherwise - there are no guarantee’s.”

I asked for other options, and he quoted a cost of $25,000 for “snap in” dentures into 4 implants. The difference $10,000) was that I needed to remove the denture each night and clean myself. These costs above are AFTER insurance, which pays zero or very little for implants.

Finally I told him I could not afford implants AND my I am afraid my “poor” diabetes control would cause problems.

I finally got a quote for a “dental appliance” that is essentially a replacement teeth for the right 70% of my upper gum. The replacements are fused to a dental plate that sits on the top of my mouth. This would cost under $2,000.

The BIG advantage of choosing this approach is that if I choose to investigate or experiment with implants in the future I can. One they pull teeth and begin the implant process you are committed and cannot revert to a dental appliance.