Healthy Smile: I Am 97 Years Old

by Jeffrey Gross, DDS, FAGD of The Healthy Smile

To say that I was surprised was an understatement when my patient shared his age with me. I asked him if someone had come with him, and he answered in the negative. He needed no help coming to the appointment or any help in articulating his needs. His chief complaint involved teeth on his upper right side that moved. These teeth are important for him as they help anchor his removable upper bridge. He wanted to know what I could do to help tighten them or make them more functional.

When I examined his mouth, I saw that his area of concern involved some crowns that were joined presumably for stability and strength. Over the years, decay appeared and started to eat away at the base of the teeth under the crowns. Upon taking an x-ray, my visual observations were reinforced and found to be accurate. These teeth were the only teeth, and one of their jobs was aiding in the stability of the removable bridge.

There was nothing that I could do to save those teeth, which meant disaster for his upper bridge. With nothing to anchor on this side of his mouth, he had poor choices for tooth replacement. He would either need to move to a full upper denture or live with an excessive amount of dental adhesive. Neither of those prospects appealed to either of us.

During our conversation, he popped up and said, “let’s put implants in that area.” I have to tell you that he surprised me, largely due to his age. When I place an implant, the life span of the fix is decades, if not “forever.” We talked a little more, and this is what he wanted. He did not like the other options. He also mentioned that his son-in-law is a dentist on the East Coast. I offered to talk to him and learn more about my new patient.

The obvious elephant in the room is his age. Does one do a procedure with hopes of lasting for many years when the predicted life span is far shorter than that? I spoke to his son-in-law, who graduated school a few years after I did, and discussed the case. His father-in-law was in good health, and his cognitive abilities were excellent. We concluded that quality of life and the ability to chew well were prime in this case.

I just heard a class given by a cardiologist on the frequency of aortic valve replacement as we age. He stated that the procedure is quite common, and the average age is 85 years old. We don’t think twice about adding years to life, yet we hesitate when it comes to improving the quality of life once we attain a certain age. I want to suggest that maybe we should rethink this. The common cliché says that age is just a number. It is often associated with certain mental images and conceptions of what should accompany age. While this may be true in many cases, there are always exceptions. My patient is one of those exceptions and should be treated as such.

The only thing in the way of better chewing ability was his birthdate. His family and I concluded that was an incorrect way of thinking in his case. Removing teeth and adding implants to improve chewing is not traumatic or taxing on the patient. So I will ask you, why shouldn’t I treat him as if he was 30-40 years younger? If you would like to improve the quality of your life no matter your age, please call us so we can help you. You can call us at 440-892-1810 for a consultation, and I look forward to seeing you.

Jeffrey Gross, DDS, FAGD is an Ohio licensed general dentist and is on the staff of Case Western Reserve School of Dental Medicine.

The Healthy Smile • 27239 Wolf Road, Bay Village, OH 44140 • 440-892-1810 • www.jeffreygrossdds.com