Any thoughts on what a dentist might suggest for my mom?

My mom has been drinking coca cola on and off since I can remember (I'm now 27). Over the time, she hasn't taken care of her teeth and has a lot of bad teeth with black cavities/rot on them. She said today that for a while, her front bottom teeth have been kind of loose. Today she was eating a sandwich and one fell out. She's finally going to go to a dentist, but I'm not sure what they can really do for her. I know they can help improve some tooth decay conditions under the gum and such. She said the tooth that came out had a lot of plaque behind it. She's scared at the same time that the dentist is going to want to pull all of her teeth and want her to get false teeth. I've tried and tried and told her and told her over and over and over again...take enough calcium each day, drink more water and leave the cokes alone. Her and my grandmother area addicted to them. My grandmother drinks so many that she literally doesn't drink any water at all some days. However, my grandmother has partial fase teeth anyway...so her cop-out answer (like everything in life that she said the same thing for) was "oh well, it will fix itself." I know there are some periodontal diseases that can cause tooth loosening and such. I myself am worried about two of my own very front bottom teeth, which have indications of tooth decay. I do not drink many sodas, but do tend to drink a lot of juice. I myself will have to go to the dentist when I get some insurance, and get braces on top and bottom, have a couple of wisdom teeth completely removed due to cavities, etc. My mom currently has some type of insurance. Should she just go to a regular dentist, or some other kind of specialist in the dental field?
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Your mom should be seen by a general dentist first. It sounds like she has some severe periodontal disease. He will determine if her teeth are still savable based on many factors, including what your mother's feelings and desires are. Then he will be able to refer her to the proper specialists, if she needs to see one. I wish you both good luck.
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