Dental Implants for Existing Partial Dentures
Fortunately for individuals looking to replace their missing teeth, there are many affordable and quick tooth replacement options available. If you are interested in immediately replacing one or several missing teeth, a partial denture may be the perfect solution for you in the short term. A partial denture is a removable prosthetic that can be used to replace one or several missing teeth. An alternative option is to combine a partial denture with dental implants. Below is more information about dental implants for existing partial dentures to help you decide if this treatment option will help you to meet your oral health needs.
What are Partial Dentures?
Partial dentures are an artificial prosthetic usually made from a combination of metal and acrylic materials. These dentures are durable enough for everyday tasks like chewing and speaking and can help maintain the function of the mouth. A partial denture is one of the more affordable and immediate tooth replacement options that can help maintain the shape of the gums, jawbone, and teeth and restore the function of your mouth. If you aren’t sure which tooth replacement option is right for you, partial dentures can be a temporary option until you decide.
What are Dental Implants?
A dental implant is a titanium or ceramic screw that is inserted into the jawbone during a surgery and designed to act like an artificial tooth root. Over a several month healing period, the surrounding tissue and bone will heal around and fuse to the implant, which makes the dental implant a permanent part of the bone. Implants with a crown attached on top can replace a single tooth, several teeth or all the teeth. Additionally, dental implants can be used to support bridges, dentures, or partial dentures.
Dental Implants for Existing Partial Dentures
When a denture or partial denture snaps onto a dental implant it will become immediately more stable. In addition to the enhanced stability they offer, this treatment also gets the benefit of the dental implants helping to generate healthy bone growth. While traditional dentures will need to continuous readjustment to fit the constantly changing mouth, dental implants will ensure that few adjustments are needed.
Implant-supported dentures offer fit, stability, and comfort that you can rely on.
The Procedure for Adding Dental Implants to Existing Partial Dentures
If you have existing partial dentures and want to add dental implants to increase the stability of your denture, the good news is the procedure to do so is entirely customizable. For example, some partial dentures can be modified to snap onto the new dental implant. If modifying your existing denture is not possible, you may need to have a new denture made with the proper attachments. The best way to determine what will be needed for your procedure is to have a conversation with your dentist about what it would take to add dental implants. Your provider can evaluate your existing denture and your medical history to ensure that you are a good candidate for dental implants.
Benefits of Implant-retained Partial Dentures
Dentures attached to implants, commonly called implant-retained dentures, offer many advantages over conventional dentures, including:
Stability and Simplicity. Combining partial dentures with implants involves installing two or more implants into the jawbone to secure your dentures in place. This results in a solution that offers the stability of permanent dental implants with the simplicity of a conventional denture appliance.
- Minimizing Problems with Regular Dentures. Traditional dentures often involve problems with trying to keep them in place. Patients with dentures are constantly dealing with them slipping during speaking or eating. Combining dental implants with a partial denture ensures the dentures are held firmly in place but able to be removed for easy cleaning.
- Improved functionality and appearance. Not only will implants help partial dentures with stability and fit, but this secure attachment will result in a better appearance. When natural teeth are lost, the mouth will start to change shape, as there is nothing to hold the natural spacing of the teeth and mouth. Traditional dentures can’t stop the face from changing shape, but implants can, by helping to preserve the structure of the jaw.
Permanent solution. Implant-retained dentures offer a permanent solution to replacing missing teeth because the implants become part of the jawbone. - Clearer speech. Partial dentures can slip in the mouth, causing issues with speech including mumbling or slurring of the words. Partial dentures that are held in place by implants will have a positive impact on speech.
- Affordability. Implant-retained dentures are often more cost effective because they can replace several missing teeth with one denture prosthetic and a few implants as compared to getting individual implants for each missing tooth.
Reversing Bone Loss
One of the biggest issues with dentures, both partial and full, is that they cannot address or reverse the shrinking of the mouth and jaw that will occur when teeth are missing. This shrinking happens because bone loss is occurring. Dentures will have to be realigned or replaced to maintain a good fit in the mouth. Implants are unique in that they encourage bone growth as the jawbone sees them as natural teeth. The implant post fuses with the bone in a process called osseointegration, which leads to a permanent secure placement in the bone. The process also stimulates the new growth of healthy bone. Implant-retained dentures offer the benefits of ease and affordability of dentures and the healthy bone growth of dental implants.
Enhanced Self-Confidence and Functionality
Combining a partial denture with dental implants improves both functionality and appearance of the smile which can go a long way to enhancing your self-confidence. Implant-retained dentures can restore your smile and self-esteem while giving you a more powerful and functional bite. Dental implants have a success rate greater than 95 percent, and when paired with partial dentures, they can last a lifetime. This lifespan will depend on taking good care of your partial dentures and implants. You will need to make sure to clean your partial dentures, gums and the implant attachments daily.