Dental implants vs. dentures: how do you choose?
When you are missing all or several teeth, Pearl Dental Care talks through dentures and partial dentures first, and also through dental implants for a more natural feeling result. There is a middle ground too, where implants hold a denture steady. The right pick depends on your bone, your chewing, your face and your budget.
What is a denture or a partial denture?
A denture is an acrylic base in a tissue color with porcelain or plastic teeth on it to replace missing teeth. A partial denture is either acrylic or a metal framework with acrylic on it, and it replaces a section of missing teeth. Pearl Dental Care does both.
The advantage is that they can be made fairly quickly, and they help with chewing, with how your smile looks and with speech. Of the ways to replace a tooth, this is the easiest option and possibly the least expensive.
Can a denture help the shape of my face?
It can. When several teeth are removed, the bone under them often dissolves away, because it is no longer being used. As the bone shrinks, the face can start to cave in around that area and look gaunt.
A denture or a partial denture gives cheek and lip support in a way that a crown or a bridge may not. If someone needs to open up the height of their bite because of severe bone loss, a denture can do that fairly easily.
How are dental implants different?
An implant is a post placed in the jawbone that takes the place of a tooth root. Because implants support the bone and keep it from dissolving away over the years, and because they are considered permanent, many patients like having something that looks and feels closer to their natural teeth.
If you are missing more than one tooth, or a whole arch, and you are not interested in wearing a denture, multiple tooth implants are an option. There are several ways to do it, and your dentist will go over the pros and cons of each one.
What is an implant-supported denture?
Sometimes there is not enough bone to hold a denture or a partial steady, or a patient simply wants something more permanent. In that case we can place implants and add a connector called a locator. The locator snaps the denture or partial into place. It is still easy to clean, but it is far more stable. That is an implant-supported denture.
The next step up is often called a hybrid denture. It has a metal substructure with a denture, or even just porcelain teeth, on top. The whole thing is screwed into dental implants spread along the jaw to support and steady the bite. That is a fixed implant-supported hybrid denture.
My denture already moves. Can implants fix that?
Often yes. A denture sits on gum tissue, which is somewhat flexible. If there was a lot of bone loss and a lot of extra gum tissue, the denture can wobble when you chew. A partial denture often has one end held by a tooth while the other end lifts up and down.
Placing one to four implants, and sometimes more, gives the denture anchors to hold onto. The anchors can be placed before, after or during the making of the denture. When the denture is planned at the same time, the anchors can be positioned for the most support.
How do I decide?
Talk it through with a dentist who can look at your bone and your bite. Your dentist will review the options for your oral health and for your budget, and help you pick the one that fits your life.
To ask a question or book a visit, call Pearl Dental Care at (630) 810-9940 or visit us at 331 W 63rd St, Westmont, IL 60559.
This guide is educational only. Your dentist will tailor any plan at your visit.
Talk it through with us.
Call us or send a request, and we will find you a time.