Full Mouth Dental Implants Before and After: Todd’s Smile Journey

For Todd, problems with his teeth did not begin gradually. They started with a traumatic car accident when he was only 26 years old.

The head-on collision left him with extensive injuries and damaged nearly all of his teeth. What followed was years of repairs, dentures, and worsening dental problems that eventually made something as simple as eating difficult.

Decades later, Todd began looking for another option. After years of believing full mouth dental implants might not be possible for him, he found a path forward.

Today, his new smile has changed something very basic that many people take for granted: he can eat many of the foods he wants again.

A Car Accident Changed Everything

Todd was 26 when he was involved in a severe head-on car accident.

“When I was 26, what happened? I was in a car wreck, a head-on car wreck at 110 mile an hour impact, and cracked all my teeth.”

The damage to his teeth was only one part of his recovery. Todd spent two months in the hospital and another six months at home. It took roughly nine months for him to learn how to walk again.

Eventually, he returned to work and life moved forward.

But the damage to his teeth would continue to follow him.

About eight years later, Todd experienced a grand mal seizure and damaged his teeth again. They had to be repaired once more, and from that point forward, he described his dental health as something that was continually “falling apart.”

Twenty Years With Dentures That Never Really Fit

Todd eventually received an upper denture, but it never gave him the function he wanted.

“The first set of dentures I got for my top teeth I had for 20 years, and they never did fit.”

Over time, the dentures wore down and became increasingly loose. At the same time, his lower teeth continued to deteriorate.

Eventually, eating became one of his biggest problems.

The issue was not simply how his smile looked. Todd was losing the ability to comfortably chew normal foods.

He had spent years adapting around his teeth instead of being able to eat without thinking about them.

Being Told Dental Implants Weren’t an Option

Todd had considered dental implants, but he believed the condition of his jawbone ruled them out.

“My dentist said I’d never get implants because my jawbone was too far gone.”

For roughly 20 years, he continued dealing with dentures and failing lower teeth.

Then his lower teeth began falling out.

At that point, Todd started looking more seriously for another solution.

A friend had received implants in Denver and was extremely happy with the result. For two years, his friend encouraged Todd to make the trip.

Todd was not interested.

Denver was about twelve and a half hours away from home, and he did not want to travel that far whenever he needed dental care or follow-up treatment.

He wanted something closer.

Finding Full Mouth Dental Implants Close to Home

Todd eventually found his answer almost by accident.

One Sunday morning in January, he was watching television at his son's house when he saw a commercial for Des Moines Dentures and Implants.

He decided to call.

“I called, made an appointment, came and saw him. The end of the month, I had new teeth.”

After decades of dental problems and years of believing implants might not be possible, Todd finally received a new smile.

His experience is also an important reminder for patients who have previously been told they are not candidates for full mouth dental implants.

Dental implant treatment options can change over time, and different providers may have different levels of experience treating complex cases. A previous opinion does not necessarily mean a patient should never seek another evaluation.

Years of Changing the Way He Ate

One of the clearest ways Todd's dental problems affected his life was food.

He had learned to choose meals around what his teeth could handle.

“I've been living on hamburgers for years.”

Steak was especially difficult.

If Todd wanted one, he would ask the grocery store to run it through the tenderizer twice just so he had a chance of chewing it.

The employees would sometimes ask him why he wanted to ruin a good steak.

Todd's response was simple: without functional teeth, he did not have much of a choice.

For people with healthy teeth, these small decisions can be easy to overlook. But when chewing becomes difficult, food stops being something you simply enjoy. Every meal can require planning around what your teeth will tolerate.

That was Todd's reality for years.

Eating Foods He Had Given Up

After receiving his new teeth, those limitations began to change.

“So, I can eat what I want to, pretty much.”

Todd is still working his way through different foods, but he has already returned to things that were difficult or impossible before.

He eats peanuts.

He eats almonds.

He can eat different kinds of nuts.

And one of his favorites has made a comeback.

“I even eat potato chips again. I love potato chips.”

That may sound like a small thing, but it captures why restoring a smile can mean much more than changing someone's appearance.

Teeth are functional.

They affect what you eat, how comfortably you chew, how you interact with other people, and how much attention you have to give your mouth throughout the day.

For Todd, getting his new smile meant regaining some of that freedom.

From Decades of Dental Problems to a New Smile

Todd's story stretched across much of his adult life.

A traumatic accident damaged his teeth in his twenties. A seizure damaged them again years later. He lived with an upper denture for about two decades that he says never fit correctly, while his remaining teeth continued to deteriorate.

For years, he also believed dental implants were simply unavailable to him.

Eventually, the situation reached a point where he decided to look again.

That decision led him to Des Moines Dentures and Implants and, within weeks, to a completely different dental situation.

Today, Todd's smile journey is less about finally having perfect-looking teeth and more about getting back basic parts of everyday life.

He can chew.

He can enjoy foods he had avoided.

And after decades of adapting his life around failing teeth, he no longer has to think about every meal in the same way.

For patients who have been living with loose dentures, failing teeth, or who have previously been told implants are not possible, Todd's experience offers a simple lesson:

It may be worth asking again.