Should I get both the top and bottom denture at the same time?

Question: I am 47 yrs old and ready to get dentures. I have had bad teeth since I was young due to poor dental hygene. I have 3 teeth in the top which 2 are porclein and have on ten left in the bottom. I also have peradontal gum disease in the middle of my bottom teeth.

My question is; Would it be better to go ahead and get both the top and bottom dentures instead of just the top? In the past I have had my teeth fixed 3 different times, but due to my past drug abuse (5 yrs clean) even my gums are in bad shape. I am a smoker. And could I get implants even with my gums in bad shape? Dr Hair:

Keep in mind that I am answering your question without ever looking into your mouth...  Since you state that you have periodontal disease, and you are missing several teeth, I would have to assume that your bite is not level due to the other teeth drifting and shifting.  If you are going to have both upper and lower dentures, it is always better to do them at the same time.  Otherwise, you make one denture fit against the shifted and drifted teeth of the other arch.

When you have the second denture fabricated, it is made to fit against the first denture.  Then you have dentures that are as irregular as the teeth were.  I have yet to have a denture patient who did not want me to make their new teeth prettier than the ones we were removing.

Dr. Hair: Implants are always a possibility as long as you have enough jaw bone or if new bone can be grafted.  Of course, the number of implants and the design of your restorations would have to be determined on an individual basis.