Why Upgrade from Dentures to Dental Implants?
Even here in the 21stCentury, dentures have their advantages. They’re easy to get, and any recovery time is shorter than the recovery time associated with dental implants. They’re less expensive, too.
Still, with all that said, dentures are generally inferior to modern dental implants in a number of respects. Dentures can slip out of position when a person talks or eats, thus inconveniencing and embarrassing him or her. They exert far less pressure than dental implants or natural teeth are capable of exerting, and denture wearers may find themselves incapable of eating foods they once enjoyed. It can be a nuisance to use plentiful adhesive to hold them in and uncomfortable to take them out at night after the adhesive has hardened. Over time, dentures can even produce unwanted changes in the shape of the wearer’s face.
Tooth implants eliminate all those problems and inconveniences. Small wonder, then, that many people including many denture wearers decide to get them.
What Exactly Are Dental Implants?
The tooth implant screws into your jaw and sits there permanently just like a natural tooth. A titanium screw supports the visible crown, which is shaped and colored in such a way as to be indistinguishable from a natural tooth.
When only a single tooth is missing, a single dental implant will do the trick. When a patient is missing an entire row of teeth, modern dentistry offers the All-on-4 system. The All-on-4 system supports an entire permanent denture on just four titanium implants (as opposed to a separate one for every single missing tooth.) The dentist can put the implants where bone density is greatest, and this can eliminate the need for bone grafting (see below). The All-on-4 system provides shorter treatment and recovery times and reduced dental implant cost compared to individual tooth implants. The patient leaves that same day with teeth screwed into the implants since they are all connected.
The Benefits of Dental Implants
We’ve already mentioned the shortcomings of traditional dentures. In a nutshell, the virtue of modern dental implants is that they eliminate those shortcomings.
Patients have a firmer bite and can eat anything they want. Permanent tooth implants don’t slip and embarrass the person who has them, nor do they lead to unwanted dramatic changes in the shape of the face. Accordingly, when a person moves from traditional dentures to dental implants, the resulting gain in self-confidence and ease in social situations can be considerable.
Dental implants tend to be more comfortable and feel like your own teeth. You never have the inconvenience of taking them out, and you don’t have to resort to any special procedures to clean them. You simply brush and floss or proxabrush them as you do your natural teeth.
Getting Dental Implants: Special Considerations
We should acknowledge that the process of getting dental implants isn’t always as straightforward as the remarks above might imply. Occasionally a patient has experienced bone loss that would prevent the implants from sitting firmly in the places where they need to go. But when that’s the case, dental professionals can provide bone restoration through traditional bone-grafting methods or regenerative laser treatment as indicated.
If you’re contemplating a move from traditional dentures to dental implants, we invite you to visit us at Loop Perio to discuss treatment options, dental implant cost, and all related matters.