Anon. asks:
I am trying to gather information that I can use to educate my patients about the costs for the long-term upkeep and maintenance of their mandibular overdentures. I have inherited a number of patients who expected that there would be no maintenance costs for replacing ERA, Locator or ball-gasket attachment components. Most were never informed that they would need periodic relining of their distal extension bases. Are there any well-researched guidelines for this that I can refer to in the literature in determining the long-term costs associated with mandibular overdentures? What have been your experiences in real-life dentistry? How do you present this treatment option to patients?
Mandibular Overdentures: What are the Long-Term Costs?
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I have done hundreds and hundreds of Implant overdentures in the course of the past 24 years. The maintenance issues that you site do exist but by and large, the maintenance cost of a well made overdenture is pretty modest compared to other situations. Attachement changes are easy and cheap. Abutment changes are more expensive. Relines are fairly rare here and should not be very expensive either especially if they are done in the office with Triad.
Bob Davidoff
Check out Joycyline Feine work. She has done all the quality of life studies at McGill University as well as cost analysis