Dental implants vs. Dentures, which is right for you?
Implants and dentures are among the options you have when replacing one missing tooth or more. Your overall dental health, goals for your smile and function and the cost of the procedure will determine which of the two you choose.
You can also explore other options, such as dental bridges.
Implants and dentures
What they do
- Helps you chew food without feeling toothache pains
- Improved speech
- Gives you confidence to smile, thus boosting your self-esteem.
Differences Between Implants and Dentures
Implants and dentures have several differences.
Implants
Implants require enough quantity and quality of bone, after which they will be restored with crowns.
A crown is an artificial tooth fitted to match the other teeth surrounding. A dental implant is made by first extracting a damaged root. A hole is drilled into the jaw bone once the root is gone. A metal prosthetic post called an implant is strategically placed into the bone. The implant’s top part or abutment is fitted with a crown once the bone has grown around the post.
It can usually take about 8 weeks until the implant is ready to receive an abutment, the piece where the crown will be fitted. The final process is to fit the crown to the abutment.
Dentures
They are removable prosthetic teeth that can be fitted to your gums and soft tissue in your mouth to replace lost teeth regardless of how much bone is present.
You can get complete dentures to replace all the upper or lower jaw teeth.
It can also be made depending on the number of missing teeth. These are called partial dentures.
If dentures are needed to replace the entire dentition, the dentist will impression the upper and lower jaw. This helps allow optimal chewing, biting, and speech.
If many teeth are to be extracted at once, sometimes a preliminary or immediate set of dentures are made before the final dentures to allow time for healing and to help dentists make the required adjustments.
Cost of Implants and Dentures
Dental implants are more costly compared to traditional dentures. This is partly because bone and tissue grafts and other procedures may need to be carried out when getting fitted with dental implants. Also, the training, equipment involved and materials cost is much higher for dental implants. Furthermore, dental implants are considered a cosmetic procedure for replacing missing teeth.
Nonetheless, many patients prefer dental implants to replace missing teeth as they offer the functionality of natural teeth while preventing bone atrophy and promoting healthy gums. In essence, dental implants are esthetically and functionally similar to natural teeth.
Maintenance
Proper dental hygiene is critical for maintaining your dental implants. Dental hygiene includes brushing your teeth at least twice a day, flossing, and regular checkups from your dentist. Therefore, you simply care for your implants as you would natural teeth.
Dentures require regular maintenance, including brushing them daily with a liquid antibacterial soap and denture brush. Removing and soaking in water daily or a special cleaning solution. That way, they will remain viable for a very long time. They are often removed overnight when sleeping, an opportunity to soak them all night long.
Dentures are cleaned by brushing them as soon as they are removed. You should also remove any bit of adhesive that is left stuck on the gums as if they are not properly cleaned, it could lead to the development of gum disease or other pathology of the oral soft tissues.
Durability
Unlike dental implants, dentures can be used by most adults. However, dentures will need to be refitted from time to time as they will get looser over time and may be ill fitting. Dental implants, on the other hand, are permanent. Only the crowns may be replaced if the original crown is damaged (cracked or broken).