Dentures vs. Implants: Which Should You Get?
An increasing number of people today are opting for dental implants to replace a missing tooth. For those with just one or two missing teeth, dental implants are a great alternative to other dental procedures like tooth-supported dental bridges or crowns. But the question remains for people who need an entire row of teeth, or all your teeth replaced, is it better to get dentures or implants?
Benefits of Dentures
Dentures are a removable set of teeth that come in either full or partial sets that you secure in your mouth with an adhesive. A partial set replaces either your top teeth or bottom teeth, while a full set includes both the top and bottom teeth. They have long been the treatment of choice for older people who have lost most of their teeth, and who don’t have enough healthy teeth to support crowns or bridges. With advancements in denture technology, they look more natural than ever before. Dentures are also less expensive than implants, which may be an important consideration if you don’t have dental insurance or your insurance won’t cover the cost of implants.
Benefits of Dental Implants
Dental implants have surged in popularity in recent years as a great option to replace missing teeth, primarily because they are designed to function just like your natural teeth. The procedure begins with the dentist installing a titanium anchor drilled into your jawbone through your gums that acts just like the root of a natural tooth. Next an abutment and crown are placed on top to look just like a natural tooth. The end result is a healthy, strong tooth replacement anchored permanently in place.
Dental implants help avoid some of the potentially embarrassing side effects of dentures, primarily that they can slip while you’re wearing them, and could even fall out of your mouth. Dental implants allow you to eat virtually any food, which isn’t the case for someone who has dentures. Chewing with teeth connected to your jawbone also strengthens the bone, so you won’t suffer bone loss or deterioration, which can cause your mouth to look “sunken in” over time and lead to discomfort when dentures no longer fit your mouth well.
The biggest challenge with dental implants is the cost and the procedure required to put them in. To replace all of your teeth with implants would require multiple surgeries and be costly, plus your jaw may not be healthy enough to support all those implants.
Implant-Supported Dentures: A Happy Medium
There is another option for someone who needs dentures but wants the benefits of implants: an implant-supported denture. This procedure places a full or partial denture permanently in your mouth with multiple anchors just like an implant. The dentures stay in place just like your regular teeth (they are not removable), but the process to place them is much easier and only requires about four implant anchors.
Talk to Young Family Dental today to learn more about dentures and implants, and which one is right for you.