Options For Denture Sufferers

Sometimes when you are having a difficult time functioning with your dentures, the simplest thing to do is to make a new set of dentures.  If you have a palate that gives you good suction for the upper denture, in most cases a new denture will be a welcome improvement. 

In fewer cases, with lower dentures, we find that making a new lower denture gives you any improvement. If you are already having a hard time chewing and speaking because your denture always moves around, usually, making a new denture under these circumstances just gives you a new denture that moves around.

So what do you do when you’re faced with dentures that you can’t function with, that look and/or feel horrible, and that cause you embarrassment eating out and in other social settings?  There are several approaches using dental implants.  Dental implants are manmade replacements for missing tooth roots and they serve as anchors for attaching dental crowns, dental bridges, and dentures. 

If you prefer having teeth that don’t come out and function most like your natural teeth, you will want to place enough implants to support fixed dental bridges made with crowns.  If you are used to having something removable for replacing your missing teeth, you can put in fewer dental implants to serve as anchors for removable dentures.  These dentures will be totally secure and serve as a stable platform to chew with ease, comfort, and efficiency.  Replacing missing teeth with implants and dental crowns is more of an investment than placing fewer dental implants and functioning with a removable denture that snaps onto the implants.

Depending on your bone structure and the strength of your bite, you may be a candidate for mini dental implants.  The advantage to mini dental implants, if you should be a candidate for them, is that the time of treatment from beginning to end result is much faster than regular dental implants, and the investment is less than for other options available.  For long term success, dental mini implants are not for everyone.  They were originally designed to serve as temporaries for patients having dental implant procedures who wanted teeth that didn’t move while they were waiting for their dental implants to become part of the jaw.  More about dental implants in the future.