1. “I need a new partial upper and implant supported lower denture, why do I need to go to a dentist or oral surgeon before we start? I am getting really fed up going from office to office in this awful traffic and don’t want to waste any more of my available time. Can’t you just take my impressions now, and get the ball rolling?”
– By law, in British Columbia a dentist / oral surgeon must examine your natural teeth and / or implants, and approve the denturist’s design prior to us proceeding with the treatment. If your dentist does not want to sign the proposed design and / or participate in the joint treatment effort, but you as the patient would like us to treat you we can refer you to a dentist or oral surgeon that we are working with in a collaborative team environment. We work with several dentists, specialists, and oral surgeons in Greater Vancouver who refer patients to us on the regular basis and are very familiar with the required procedures. Your chances of a successful, long term treatment are much higher when you are placed in the care of a collaborative team consisting of well trained, experienced, and professional specialists.
2. “I just had a set of dentures made outside of Canada and they don’t work for me. I cannot eat or talk, I have too much saliva now which is dripping from the corners of my lips, a constantly burning palate, and I am biting my cheeks. Can you fix them for me right now?”
– Unfortunately we cannot touch your dentures due to a liability issue, you must return to your original provider for all repairs or adjustments. Dentists and denturists in Canada had undergone extensive training and are only using materials which are CSA approved. All our dentures come with a full warranty and money back guarantee.
3. “I need to know how much you charge for a set of complete dentures?”
– We have premium, standard, and economy dentures available directly to the public, costs will vary depending on the number of appointments required, difficulty of your particular case, the clinical / laboratory time required for a successful treatment, and the materials you choose. Please schedule a complimentary consultation appointment where everything will be explained to you and you will receive an exact estimate which will be valid for 12 months.
4. “I am in town for 10 days and need my upper denture done very fast, can you have it inserted in a week so that I have 2 to 3 days for a follow up in case there are some sore spots and denture adjustments?”
– Yes, we can often provide you with an expedited service if your 5 to 6 appointments are booked in advance (not last minute), sometimes we can even provide you with 2 same day appointments. We will have to work overtime in our laboratory to have it finished for you on time, there is a 25% surcharge fee to cover our additional working time as we have to accommodate our regular patients during this period.
5. “I am not very happy with my new dentures and would like to go to another provider!”
– Sure, we have 3 months money back guarantee policy. Please bring your dentures back along with receipts and we will issue you a full refund minus material costs. We do not rest until we get successful results with all our patients and they are 100% satisfied.
6. “I had a partial made by you 10 months ago. Yesterday I bit a piece of bone and a corner of the tooth chipped, is it covered by my warranty?”
– Yes, please schedule a repair appointment and we will fix it free of charge. Even the best quality denture teeth can chip of fracture depending on circumstances. Often simple repairs can be done within an hour while you wait, we can provide you with a complimentary coffee during this time.
7. “I have a ministry coverage which covers 100% of my denture work, can I have them made as soon as possible with premium materials?”
– Unfortunately ministry services only cover 40% of our standard fee guide, let alone premium dentures. However, to help those in a challenging financial situation we had created a “Giving Back to the Community Program”. Under such program we take on between 2 to 4 ministry patients per month. You must place your name on a waiting list and provide us with a valid contact number to reach you when a space becomes available. Two attempts to contact you will be made, without response the next person in line will take your spot and you must place yourself at the bottom of a wait list all over again. Furthermore, 3 missed appointments without 48 hour cancellation will result in future appointment refusal and referral to another provider.
8. “I am very interested in observing how my dentures are made and what materials are being used in a fabrication process. Will it be possible for me to see once or twice how your are working on my partials in the laboratory?”
– Sure, we can accommodate up to 2 people at a time for procedure observation. You must book an appointment with our dental technician, read and sign a safety procedure protocol, and wear: safety goggles, mask, and a laboratory coat provided by us. Please note that you cannot participate in any laboratory tasks, but can only observe the procedures from 1 to 1.5 meter distance.
9. “How do we determine which size, shape, color front teeth are best for my face?”
– We work together with you on this task, and take into consideration your age, skin color, facial shape / size, photos or images of when your were younger with your natural teeth, and photos / images of your desired smile. Often the desired looks can be achieved with your personal participation and our professional expertise. However, in some cases the smile can look wonderful but the function is sacrificed due to desired esthetics. Our goal is to find that thin, fine line to achieve excellent smile and the quality of performance.
10. “I would like to refer my spouse to your clinic for an upper plate. Does she need to see a dentist first?”
– No, she can book an appointment for a complimentary (free of charge) consultation directly with us. We will organize a proper referral to the dentist if the treatment plan will require it.
11. “I have all my upper teeth that the dentist took out in one appointment during which I was put asleep. Can you just insert those original teeth into the new denture as I really liked the size and the color? They looked really great and natural.”
– Sorry, unfortunately we do not place extracted natural teeth into dentures. Nevertheless, todays technology and products offer a wide variety of artificial tooth selection, some come stained and chipped for a specific natural look. It is very likely that we can find you the teeth and provide you with the smile that you so strongly desire.
12. “I am very handy and have many tools at home, if I get a sore spot with my new dentures which does not resolve, do I really need to see you? I mean, one does not have to be a genius to adjust it, I have some sandpaper and it shouldn’t be very complicated?”
– If the sore spot does not resolve in a couple of days, we urge you to come back for a professional adjustment. All our dentures come with a standard one year warranty and the adjustments are free of charge.
13. “How do I really know that you have used the best quality teeth for my denture? They told me the same thing when I had my upper denture made in South America, and the teeth are now completely worn out. It has been less than a year!”
– All the denture teeth used in our laboratory for your denture manufacturing process have a valid lot number and it can be used for tracing and verification purposes of your materials with the particular manufacturer in: Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, USA, UK, and Japan. This will provide you with an absolute peace of mind in terms of your product authenticity!
14. “I had a complete all on 4, removable denture bridge just done in Mexico, it was an amazing deal and included a great vacation which I really enjoyed! Now two of my implants on one side of my upper jaw may have a problem: the implants are very loose and the denture bridge is not staying in the mouth as that side is wiggling in the air. I had finally got in touch with the surgeon’s office in Puerto Vallarta, they recommended to find a new provider here in Canada to address my issues. What can you do for me right now and how much will it cost?”
– Unfortunately this is the responsibility of the oral surgeon who placed the implants in Mexico. Therefore, you must make arrangements with them to fix the immediate problems you are faced with. All dentists, implantologists, prosthodontists, and oral surgeons who place implants in Canada have undergone extensive education and training in the field of implant placements, and therefore take responsibility for their surgical procedures.
15. “I just want my full upper plate for now! I need a nicer smile and a tighter fit, I don’t need a new lower partial even though it is over ten years old and the teeth are worn out, it still fits fine for now!”
– If the remaining lower natural teeth have not been examined by a dentist in the last 10 years, we strongly recommend you to do that. This will ensure that the remaining teeth are still healthy and will exclude any chance of a future failure of a supportive tooth! Furthermore, please be aware that when we make you a new upper denture we must match the occlusal set up of the opposing dentition or prosthetic device. Therefore, if the denture teeth of the opposing partial are worn out flat we must grind the new denture teeth of your new upper plate to match such flat surface, otherwise the teeth may not occlude perfectly in many cases. This in turn may lead to complications with the plane of occlusion, esthetics, and your ability to chew food in an efficient manner!
16. “I need my denture made before I go in for surgery and take out my remaining teeth, can you do it as soon as possible so that I can function, smile, talk, and eat steak the following day without any issues?”
– Unfortunately getting fitted with immediate dentures is not an easy task. Immediate dentures are fabricated prior to the extractions of your natural teeth and will be inserted in your mouth immediately following the surgery. It is impossible to predict esthetics, bite, speech, and position of the teeth with 100% accuracy due to inability of the dentist or denturist to try in waxed up models in the mouth prior to extractions, resulting in a room for an error. If such dentures were made with a mid-line which is off, incorrect bite, incorrect vertical dimension resulting in trouble with speech or performance, patient will be financially liable for a denture remake, thus often doubling the cost of denture care to the patient. Furthermore, immediate dentures will always require at least two temporary relines in the first six months following extractions, and a permanent reline in 10 to 14 months after fitting. This will require extra chair time, laboratory time, and materials resulting in an increased cost to the patient. To avoid such unpleasant experience one must consider one of the following two options:
a. Provision of a transitional immediate denture prior to extractions, and a permanent denture after initial healing had taken place (this option may still warrant a denture remake if the transitional immediate denture was done not up to patient’s expectations).
b. To allow several weeks of healing time after full arch extractions prior to the denture fabrication process. This is a most financially affordable option to the patient which will present a predictable and accurate result.
17. “In a not too distant past, my mother received a mobile denture service provided by you in her care home. Is it possible to receive such a service right now? It seems that her lower partial denture had been recently lost and cannot be recovered.”
– Yes, we had provided mobile denture services in the past to numerous patients located throughout the Lower Mainland. Such patients have mobility issues, and are usually located in long term care homes and hospitals. In light of COVID – 19 situation and many concerns associated with mobile denture services, we had created a Patient Transportation Program. This program requires extensive coordinative efforts to minimize your visits to the clinic, to maximize your clinical chair time, and to provide you with an optimal treatment on our premises while keeping you and your family members safe. We have a very controlled environment, with the protocol, accuracy, and efficiency to sanitize our premises, in comparison to sanitizing a section of the care home while performing a mobile denture service.
18. “Is an implant lower denture better than a standard conventional denture? My friend is having all her lower teeth extracted next week and is considering various options before coming to an informed decision”
– Many people are aware of the fact that a complete lower denture is not going to be like your natural teeth or a previous partial denture which was supported by the retentive clasps. It is easily destabilized, may come out during certain functions of the tongue, and frequently requires denture adhesives. There is a lower denture suction technique currently available to the public, however the patient’s oral structures must go through a qualification process to determine if there is a significant anatomical risk factor, which may disqualify the patient for such lower denture. Furthermore, patient will face a significant cost increase for a lower suction denture in comparison to its standard alternative. By simply choosing to go for an implant supported lower denture with either 4 or at least 2 implants, patient can drastically improve his or her quality of life. Such denture is secured in the mouth with special attachments inserted inside the denture base, and is fully removable by the patient for cleaning purposes. Patient can rest assured that the denture will not slip out of the mouth during meal or a conversation. This is where a peace of mind comes into play. It is important to know that the patient will have to undergo surgery, face a significant cost increase, will have to split his / her visits between the surgeon’s and a denturist’s clinic, and will have several more visits in total in comparison to being fitted with a standard complete denture.