Dental Implants Vs. Dentures, Bridges
If you have ever experienced the loss of one or more of your teeth due to a number of reasons like an accident, dental cavities, or any other reason for that matter, the fact is it’s going affect your dental health in many ways and of course your smile.
If it happens to be one of your front teeth this may affect areas of your speech, in many everyday situations you may feel rather self-conscious and want to hide what would normally be a warm confident smile, that portrays that you are happy and relaxed with your appearance.
After all, a truly genuine smile makes everyone feel good and shows the world we are happy within ourselves…
If you have lost your back teeth (molars), this may affect your ability to chew your food properly, we all love good food and of we can’t sit down to enjoy our favorite foods it can take away one of our basic everyday pleasures in life.
In addition, if one or more teeth are missing this may cause the other existing teeth migrate and drift in other directions leading to even more additional dental health problems and or the worsening of existing conditions. This can occur even in the absence of single tooth.
However, the good news is modern dentistry can offer many options to replace your lost teeth and restore your dental health and confidence. Out of the many procedures, you may be aware of some of the following treatments:
- Removable dentures (complete or partial)
- Fixed replacements,
- Porcelain bridges
- Dental implants to suit your varied needs
Let’s take a look a number of these procedures in greater detail as it may help you to discover the advantages and disadvantages of each treatment and act as a guide to what course of treatment could be right for you.
Removable Partial Dentures
Removable partial dentures can get support from the existing bones and gums. One advantage is the cost of the treatment as in some cases it can be quite affordable. The downside side is they can be bulky and sometimes rather heavy.
Due to this fact they can therefore interfere or directly affect your speech in general. Also, you may find your ability to chew and enjoy your food properly may be hindered.
A Complete Set Of Dentures (removable)
A complete set of removable dentures can replace a number or all your teeth both upper and lower. However please bear in mind in many cases they may need to be replaced after a few years due to bones and gum recession and resorption. The reason for this is gums tend to shrink as they heal and this can make the complete denture as a whole loose fitting. When a set of dentures are loose it can again cause problems with chewing and speech and eventually, this can cause bone loss, the bones which in turn can later become completely flat. The reason for this is because naturally the bones and gums reabsorb the loss of a tooth almost immediately.
That’s why after you lose a tooth it’s necessary to have a bone graft on the bone socket should be performed immediately in order to grow some additional bone structure. So it’s important to highlight that If you have lost one tooth on the upper arch, and it is not restored immediately, the opposing tooth it in the lower arch will have a tendency to grow elongated as there’s no opposing upper tooth to stop it from doing so.
We have to understand that teeth are continuously moving in the dental arches and for this reason, the best course of action is to restore the lost tooth or teeth as soon as possible, in order to prevent further complications in the future.
Fixed Bridge
A fixed bridge is cemented to your natural teeth (post or abutment) and has to be carved out to create space for artificial teeth to be cemented in place. The number of posts or abutments will depend on the number of missing teeth that need to be replaced.
Once the fixed bridge is in place it is important to note that proper dental hygiene and cleanliness habits have to be performed in order so the abutments don’t fit some in cavities from the consumption of food and drink.
Also in some cases, the abutments would need in addition root canal treatment if they develop cavities and becomes painful.
Eventually, over time the bridges will need to be replaced because as already discussed the bones and gums will still continue to recede and reabsorb immediately after the tooth or teeth have been lost. As the replacement teeth and also the bridge (along with the other types of dentures) just lie on top of your gums and bones that have already receded will continue to shrink more.
Dental Implants
In modern times with the advancements in dental technology, it is widely thought that dental implants really are the best possible option available for teeth that have been lost, as they not only replace the teeth that have been lost but also the bones.
The dental implant industry has continued to evolve over recent years and continues to do so, to the point where it now provides patients with the best and most permanent solution to missing teeth and dental issues.
The reasons for this are very clear and that’s why nowadays it’s the most logical choice for those who wish to lead normal lives with excellent dental health.
Why are dental implants the best possible cause of treatment? Well, the list is endless, however, let’s cover a number of the advantages and health benefits.
In the first instance, dental implants are incredibly strong and durable, while alleviating the vast number of dental issues due to missing teeth or dental problems we have covered so far. Also, they can replace one tooth, several teeth and even full teeth of teeth in upper and lower arch.
In the first instance the treatment consists of placing a titanium implant root into the jawbone and in general, the initial healing period for this part of the procedure tends to be about 2 to 6 months. From there the artificial tooth (or teeth) is placed into the titanium implant root
Naturally, the costs involved with dental implant treatment can vary considerably as one has to take into consideration the current state of a patients dental health and potentially what course of treatment (if any) may be required before the implants procedure can take place.
Also, a number of other factors need to be taken into consideration related to the overall costs of dental implants, as there is an ever-growing number of materials and technologies that can be used for your new teeth.
The great news is you can choose from a wealth of options in order to weigh up each of their advantages and costs involved with the completed procedure.
One thing we can say with confidence is that after specializing for many years in the field of dental implants you like all our patients will find your dental health is restored along with a new sense of self-confidence, and of course let’s not forget that winning smile!
Also let’s not forget with modern day budget travel it has become possible have the option to have your surgery done in countries like the Philippines by an experienced dentist, trained in the USA.
The real advantage of this is the whole procedure and treatment could well be performed for a fraction of how much you will spend than in your own country. Plus of course you have the chance for a wonderful vacation in beautiful tourist spots, and enjoy the luxurious shopping malls and vistas around the city.
With Over 3 decades of experience and thousands of successful dental implant procedures performed Dr. Erlinda M Dyson is highly regarded as leading expert in the field of dental implants and cosmetic dentistry. She is also known for her compassionate care and expertise.
If you would like a free consultation with Dr. Dyson and inquire about Eximus Dental latest promotions and dental tourism packages please just click the button below.