Dentures are essentially removable replacements for missing teeth. Two types of dentures are available: complete, or full, dentures and partial dentures. Patients who need to replace an entire row of teeth use full dentures. On the other hand, partial dentures, or partials, are used when only a few of the teeth need to be replaced and some of the natural teeth are still intact. At the Family Dental Group, full and partial dentures are fabricated to resemble natural teeth as closely as possible while also taking into consideration the patient’s comfort when wearing them.
For most cases, this office is well equipped and able to be of great benefit. If you have a difficult case, you may need someone with a greater level of ability. I am unfortunately unable to rate this practice very high, while mine is a delicate and difficult case, I was left to find another professional to help me complete my implant process that was started with this office.
Affordable Partial Dentures in Houston, TX
I had a really great experience with Affordable Dentures and Implants. My mom has always been afraid of dentists and didn't take care of her teeth. She also had a stroke a few years back which has created a few more barriers to treatment. It's difficult to explain to anyone who doesn't personally know a stroke survivor, but she gets antsy pretty quickly and can be a bit difficult to work with at times. She's also physically handicapped and can't use her left side, plus is having trouble transferring from her wheelchair to other seats, getting into a helpful position, and following directions, so it's a bit of a unique situation. She underwent major oral surgery in this office- multiple extractions and bone augmentation- in order to get dentures. This is something we've seen a couple different dentists for, but she has always refused treatment because she didn't like something about the office or wanted to be put to sleep in a hospital, which was out of our budget. Given her limitations and dental anxiety, I wasn't sure what to expect this time around, but I couldn't have been happier with how this office behaved. The front office has been great in terms of explaining processes, scheduling, and billing. I've also had to coordinate paratransit to get my mom to the office, and they've worked with me on times to make sure everything lines up right. Something you can probably only appreciate if you've been in a similar situation. They've also worked with us on fixing issues and missed appointments due to unforeseeable circumstances. Not only did they not scold us for missing an appointment, but they worked with me to resolve the problem that caused it- my mom's assisted living facility biffed it and didn't give her pain medicine after her surgery. :/ But, like I said, this office came through and helped- always making her care the top priority. As far as back office goes, Carlos the assistant has the patience of a saint. Seriously. We had to do a full series of x-rays because my mom couldn't stand up for the pano. My mom had trouble holding still and repeatedly failed to follow instructions. Carlos never stopped smiling and encouraging her. He had a lot of positive energy and kept joking with her throughout, which I know went a long way to making her feel good about the office. He did the same during the other visits, but the x-rays I'm sure were the biggest challenge. Jennifer assisted with the surgery. She was incredibly kind, gentle, and thoughtful. She was always doing what she could to keep my mom comfortable and looking out for her. She even went and grabbed my mom a pillow to make sure she was comfortable. Dr. Athari has an amazing sense of calm about him. He walked us through everything and talked to us throughout the procedure. My mom needed frequent breaks during the surgery and he always gave her the time she needed to regroup. He was very gentle and mindful with her throughout the procedure, and I'm certain that's what got my mom through it without issue. I cannot stress how difficult this process could have been considering the amount of care needed and the limitations of the patient. However, these folks rolled with everything we threw at them and never missed a beat. Always helpful, knowledgeable, kind, and gentle. If I had to find one negative about the office, it would be the wait times. On our first visit, one woman in the waiting room said she'd been waiting 30+ minutes. It took a day to get a call back to schedule. We waited a little while in the office too. However, when you consider that they're working with people like the person I brought in, and that it's totally impossible to predict the needs and behaviors of some of the patients who go in there, it's totally understandable. I have no doubt they took a little longer because they were treating someone else exactly as they treated us- with patience and understanding. That's worth waiting for. So, if you do go, be prepared for some short delays, but also know why those delays happen. Overall, they work like a well-oiled machine. We got to meet the whole team, including their on-site lab techs. Every single person met us with a smile and kind words. I cannot thank Dr. Athari enough for creating an environment like this. Before I close, I'd like to add a word on fees as well. I almost hesitate to call this an affordable dental office, simply because they obviously put care first. All dental offices should do what this office does and provide options, but few do. It's that commitment to patient care and letting you choose what's right for you that makes them more affordable, versus the offices that cut corners to save you a buck. That's a major difference worth noting. They also have an on-site lab, which saves costs as well. Anyway, again, sending a huge thank-you to Dr. Athari and his staff. You guys are beyond awesome.
I wasted 4 hours of my time today to be denied service I requested. Apparently the dentist is too worried about being sued (a statement she made to me about her not wanting to be sued if I changed my mind after the fact - you'd think they'd have some kind of legal waiver for patients like me) to consider the fact that I'm in extreme pain, have limited resources, have spent 30 years and tens of thousands of dollars to fix the teeth that she wants kept in my mouth and I want removed. The impact of my current condition is both physical and emotional. However, to her credit she said it was in my best interest not to get dentures and was not charged for the visit. I'm irritated that my opinion didn't count at all and was flat out denied service I wanted.
Generally speaking partial dentures tend to be held in place by the presence of the remaining natural teeth and complete dentures tend to rely on muscular co-ordination and limited suction to stay in place. The maxilla very commonly has more favorable denture bearing anatomy as the ridge tends to be well formed and there is a larger area on the palate for suction to retain the denture. Conversely, the mandible tends to make lower dentures much less retentive due to the displacing presence of the tongue and the higher rate of resorption, frequently leading to significantly resorbed lower ridges. Disto-lingual regions tend to offer retention even in highly resorbed mandibles, and extension of the flange into these regions tends to produce a more retentive lower denture. An implant supported lower denture is another option for improving retention.
Cold cured or cold pour dentures, also known as temporary dentures, do not look very natural, are not very durable, tend to be highly porous and are only used as a temporary expedient until a more permanent solution is found. These types of dentures are inferior and tend to cost much less due to their quick production time (usually minutes) and low cost materials. It is not suggested that a patient wear a cold cured denture for a long period of time, for they are prone to cracks and can break rather easily.
I can't began to explain in a few words how wonderful my experience has been; Dr. Dear Searby is truly a God sent dentist for people he is not there just for the money he truly care about the patient. His work is excellent and it didn't take several trips to get what I needed done. This is the first time I have found a dentist that does not try to take advantage of the patient or the patient insurance. Exceptional. The staff here are just as caring and informative this is a great dentist office and I would recommend all people to go here and put some of these money grabbing dentist office out of practice because they don't care about the patient. I have gone to one who claim has all of this fancy technology and the only thing he wanted to do was charged my insurance and for me to take out a loan and the service was horrible I felt like they we're chocking me to death literally. Again I highly recommend Dr. Searby. Thank you
