Losing all of your upper or lower teeth is scary –
we are here to help
If you are missing most or all of your teeth, you know how it affects your day-to-day life. Sometimes it’s hard to speak properly, eating is a challenge and you may not feel like smiling. There are now multiple ways to deal with this problem including removable and fixed replacement teeth.
Removable Denture
This option has been around for a long time – these “false teeth” fit over your gums and are an relatively inexpensive way to replace teeth. They aren’t a perfect solution though as they take time to get used to, they often slip, they must be taken out and cleaned every night, and over time, the bone loss associated with your missing teeth will accelerate causing the denture to lose its proper fit.
Implant Overdenture
Now there are better options – you’ve probably heard about dental implants – small titanium posts that mimic natural tooth roots by anchoring replacement teeth below the gums. They are inserted into the bone in a minor surgical procedure in office. Over time the implant becomes solidly fused to the bone making them very reliable. They can be used to support both removable dentures and non-removable replacement teeth.
As few as two implants, but typically three or four, can be placed to secure a removable denture so it doesn’t slip. Often called an OverDenture. This system is a big improvement over standard dentures because your teeth won’t come loose unexpectedly while eating or talking. You do however; have to take them out every night to clean them, which makes them a less desirable than a fixed, full arch implant denture.
Teeth in a Day: Implant Retained Prosthesis / All-on-4®
It’s now possible to replace an entire set of teeth with natural looking prosthetic teeth supported by dental implants that never need to be removed. With this solution, you don’t need an implant for every tooth; typically an upper or lower set of teeth can be supported by four to six dental implants. With this option a custom set of non-removable replacement teeth is fabricated especially for you and held in place with dental implants. The implants also help to stop the natural erosion of bone that follows tooth loss, making them a long-term, highly reliable solution. And the best part is that you don’t have to take your teeth out at night or ever!