Nobel Retention Devices

by Rosie
(MN)

After a couple of failed implants I am now ready for the final denture. The prosthetic dentist keeps having me come back as he puts in different colored plastic attachments which are not keeping my new implant-supported denture in my mouth.

He is using the Nobel product. I thought/expected the retention pieces to be like a metal ball & socket for strong holding power. He is telling me that because my implants are not parallel I will have to have custom-made gold attachments made at a considerable additional cost.

I understood Nobel made angled attachments for this type of application. Now I think the dentist is trying to screw around with me for more money. What is my recourse? What should my expectation be? Is there a web site that shows what each piece of the Nobel full upper denture should look like when completed?

I need to go back again because I can pop my new denture off with just my cheek muscles, and that can't be right after over $20,000 for what I thought would be much more "permanent" than the temporary denture that I wore while waiting for everything to heal...

by the way, the two front teeth on the new/final denture don't even line up evenly with the frenum. Should I settle for this kind of craftsmanship? I have asked for phone numbers of his other satisfied customers but can't get anything from his office like that, either.

Every time I go in for tighter retention (he puts in little colored plastic caps inside what looks like a tin cup placed into the denture) they ask me if I want the bill...I had a contract with this fellow and although he is all paid up I still don't have teeth that will stay in my mouth and he expects more money?

What is with that? Does it sound like he knows what he's doing?

Comments for
Nobel Retention Devices

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Ball attachments or Locators
by: JP

What a tough situation!

How many implants are involved? Do you know if he is using ball attachments or Locators, or some other design? There are many types of products that perform similar functions with minor modifications in design.
To see a detailed explanation of how the locators work see: click

As the doctor has said there are problems when the implants are not aligned. One or more of the plastic pieces may not get good retention to the top of the implant. It is not unusual for dentures to require a few adjustments, called re-lines. If it is still not working, then perhaps a more intricate solution is required, like custom abutments to correct the angle and support the same denture.

It's tough to design an example that can help you visualize how the denture is retained. I'll invent one that's kind of silly.

Imagine a machine that puts football helmets on people's heads. It's advanced so it can put four helmets on four different people at once. The machine goes straight down and drops all the helmets at once. The system works as long as the people are standing right under the helmets, and their heads are straight. If one of them tilts their head to the side, then the helmet will not fit properly on the head, and the whole machine may not be able to go down far enough, risking the placement of the other players' helmets. IN that same manner, if one of your implants is at a steep angle, the path of entry of the denture is not straight down.

I have to abandon the image now, but the way to correct the path of entry for the denture if one or more of the implants is not straight, is to attach something to the implant to change the angle at the top, so that the whole denture will drop straight down.

Most likely that is what your doctor meant when he mentioned a gold item, or an angulated item. The technical term for this item is an abutment.

As for billing, no one knows but you what you agreed to pay.

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