Choosing Between Implants and Dentures
Dallas, TX
Your teeth are an important feature in your mouth, without them your entire life is negatively impacted. Simple everyday tasks, such as eating and speaking, become close to impossible and even your confidence may be shaken. At Dallas Prosthodontics, our goal is to provide you with replacement teeth, restoring your smile back to what it once was. Two of our most popular options are implants and dentures.
Dental Implants
Dental implants are small, titanium rods that we surgically place into your jawbone. The implants act as anchors, holding false crowns securely in place, just as the root of a tooth would do. They can be used to replace a single tooth or a whole arch of teeth. The number of implants required is determined on a complete exam and x-rays of your mouth. Because implants are a surgical procedure, they do take significantly more time to heal, however, you will be left with a beautiful, completely natural looking smile. There are many benefits of dental implants.
Pros and Cons of Implants
Benefits include:
| • |
Fixed
|
| • |
Comfortable
|
| • |
Stable. They will not slip out of place or fall out
|
| • |
You can care for them just as you would your natural teeth
|
| • |
Because they are implanted in your jawbone, they stimulate the bone just as a natural tooth root would do. The integrity of your jawbone is maintained, meaning your facial structure will not change shape
|
| • |
Because your jawbone does not change shape, you do not need to have your implants replaced |
Disadvantages include:
| • |
More expensive
|
| • |
Require surgery
|
| • |
You need to have sufficient bone mass in your jaw to be considered for dental implants. If the bone is too weak, you may need a bone graft surgery first before you can have implant surgery |
Dentures
Dentures are removable prosthetic teeth. The false teeth are set into a gum-colored acrylic base that rests directly on your gums which support the teeth. Dentures are meant to be removed at night for a thorough cleaning and left out to allow your gums to rest.
Pros and Cons of Dentures
Benefits include:
| • |
More modern dentures are made to look more natural. The teeth can be customized, as can the acrylic used for the base
|
| • |
Easy to adjust
|
| • |
Can accommodate further tooth loss
|
| • |
Getting dentures is a non-invasive procedure that does not require surgery. Even if you need to have teeth extracted, healing time is significantly less when compared to dental implants
|
| • |
Affordable, even more so if you need to have multiple teeth replaced |
Disadvantages include:
| • |
More maintenance is required
|
| • |
Can shift in your mouth or fall out
|
| • |
You need to train yourself how to eat and speak, as there are foreign objects in your mouth
|
| • |
Food can get trapped in your dentures between the base and your gums
|
| • |
The acrylic base, when viewed up close, does not appear completely natural
|
| • |
Partial dentures utilize metal clasps, which are visible
|
| • |
Because you have nothing in your jaw, the bone begins to resorb, which then alters the shape of your face
|
| • |
A changing jaw means that you will need to be refitted for new dentures every few years (7 on average) |
|
