Keeping all of your teeth might sound like an easy task, but you never know what life might throw your way. Tooth decay, trauma, and gum disease are all possible ailments that can affect the way your smile looks in the long run.
But the good news is that even if you start losing teeth, you don’t need to lose that smile. Dental implants and dentures are great resources for you to be able to renew the structure and function of your mouth. Though, is one better than the other?
Let’s take a look at the differences between dentures and dental implants, as well as which one might make more sense for you.
What Are Dentures?
Dentures are removable fixtures that can replace missing teeth to restore your smile. If tooth decay, injury, or disease has caused you to lose all of your teeth, dentures can replace them to benefit your appearance and health.
Dentures make it easier for you to eat and speak, and they’re removable, so you can take them out at night or other times of day when you feel like you don’t need them in. Dentures can be partial, meaning they replace a few teeth, or full, meaning they replace all of your teeth.
Pros
One of the major benefits of dentures is that they offer great aesthetics. They are pearly white and look entirely cohesive — in many cases, they may even look better than your natural teeth once did.
Dentures also help protect the muscles in your face. When you lose your teeth, your facial muscles may begin to sag, which can lead to wrinkles and other premature signs of aging. But dentures help to fill out the appearance of your face by closely resembling your natural teeth, thus working to maintain your facial shape.
Conventional dentures are also generally low maintenance. You can clean your dentures in or out of your mouth, and all you need to do is give them a quick rinse after eating. Overnight, you can also soak them in a glass of water to clean them and give your gums a break.
Finally, dentures are an option for pretty much anyone. A drawback of traditional implants and bridges is that you need healthy gums and a strong jaw since they are implanted into the bone. But with dentures, you don’t need these, making it a more cost-effective option.
Cons
Like all good things in life, conventional dentures are temporary. And this means that you’ll need to replace them every few years. Additionally, it takes multiple procedures before you can make your set of dentures. While this is to ensure a proper fit, it can still be frustrating when you need to wait so long.
Being able to remove dentures is great, but this can also create problems because they can feel loose in your mouth. This can cause tenderness, soreness, and general discomfort if they fit poorly. Also, traditional dentures rely on adhesives and suction to keep them stable which has been a drawback from some.
With that said, Renew is the only provider of the innovative SureSNAP Stabilization System, a unique system that keeps dentures stable and secure. With this system, you can have confidence in your new smile and bite strength without worrying about slipping and sliding. With Renew, the dentures are kept stable by attaching to dental implants. They are fixed when you want them in and removable when you don’t.
What Are Dental Implants?
Dental implants are also replacements for missing teeth, but the major difference from dentures is that implants are permanent fixtures in the mouth. Implants are small, usually titanium, posts that replace the root of a tooth. This post is attached to the jawbone where an abutment (replacement) tooth is laid on top.
Pros
A massive pro of dental implants is that with proper care, they have the potential to last forever. There is an extremely low failure rate, making these very effective methods for enhancing your smile and replacing missing teeth.
They also allow you to replace as many teeth as you need to, with the ability to replace just one tooth all the way up to every single tooth. You can’t usually get dentures if you’re only missing one tooth.
Dentures are also very easy to take care of. You still need to brush and have regular cleanings, but they are more stain resistant and are more likely to remain pearly white from the day you get them implanted
Cons
A drawback of implants is that you need a strong enough jaw bone to support the titanium posts. This makes them a bit more inaccessible for certain individuals with underlying health conditions.
Additionally, the restoration on top of the teeth can wear out, meaning that the abutment tooth may need to be replaced. Keep in mind that the titanium post is likely to last forever – but needing to get the replacement fixed can be a nuisance for some.
Fixed implants also tend to be a lot more expensive and involved compared to dentures, too. You can expect to pay thousands of dollars for just a single dental implant, and the process can take months from start to finish because you need to wait for the jawbone to heal around the titanium post.
In Conclusion
Dentures are a removable fixture in your mouth that replaces missing teeth. These can be fully removed and replaced at your own leisure, and they work to restore the structure and function of your teeth. The major benefit of dentures is that they are low maintenance and easily replaced, however, they can also feel loose in the mouth.
Implants are permanent features that are fixed to the bone in your jaw. They can replace one tooth or every single tooth in the mouth. The major benefits here are that they have the potential to last forever, but the drawback is that they can take a long time to implant since you need to wait for the bone around your jaw to heal. They are also not removable. They require cleanings with your dentist who have to remove the teeth in order to clean them thoroughly.
Why not combine the best of both worlds? Anchored dentures are a great way to restore the structure and function of missing teeth, and with Renew’s unique SureSNAP system, you don’t need to worry about them slipping and sliding. Pair that with a lifetime guarantee, and you can feel confident in your smile. Book your appointment today.
Sources:
What are dental implants? | American Academy of Implant Dentistry