We often get patients at the office with missing teeth and want to know their options. There are several options for replacing teeth including removable dentures to snap-in dentures supported by dental implants to permanent fixed teeth in place.
Most often, the lower jaw if someone is missing all their teeth or some of their are missing will be the problem area. This is because the strong muscles in place tend to push the denture out of place and there is no suction effect like a top denture would have. It is possible to have a combination of support meaning a full upper denture and a denture supported by dental implants on the lower jaw for better retention.
Conventional Dentures
Conventional or full dentures are made for patients that already missing all of their teeth in one or both of the jaws. Suction is used to hold the top denture in place on the roof of the mouth. For some patients, they may require dental adhesives to keep the dentures from moving especially in the lower jaw. Some patients have a very strong gag reflex and find dentures very difficult to wear. The disadvantages of complete dentures include the size of the denture which needs to extend into the gums for support. Over time the movement of the denture ‘rubs’ on the gum which accelerates bone loss in the jawbone.
Immediate Dentures
Some patients choose to have a denture as a transitional or temporary prosthesis while the dental implants heal in place. Immediate dentures also known as temporary dentures are placed on the same day that teeth are removed. They are made prior to your surgery. We always advise patients that they may need a new set of dentures or have their dentures relined(reshaped) after the gums heal in several months. This happens due to jaw bone shrinkage. Immediate dentures again cause advanced bone loss with time due to movement of the denture on the gums.
Implant Overdenture (Snap in denture)
The final form of dentures is one retained by dental implants. These kind of dentures are stable and do not need to cover the entire roof of the mouth. This is a great advantage for people with a strong gag reflex and also our tastebuds and ability to taste food is on the roof of the mouth which is typically covered by a full denture .
For some patients that do not want any form of denture, permanent teeth (fixed in place) are also an option !
For your free dental implant consultation in Bowmanville contact our team members today at 905-697-1118
