What are implant-supported dentures and how are they different from conventional dentures?
As the name describes, an implant-supported denture is a denture that is held by the support of the dental implants. An implant, or dental implant, is a little bit like a screw. It's a small metal piece, usually made of titanium, which takes the place of the root of the tooth. Typically, when we are doing implant-supported dentures, or as we call the denture which is supported by the implants, we put that implant or that titanium screw, which takes the place of the root of a tooth, in the jawbone, typically four to six of them, and then the implant denture either gets screwed on or it can just clip on.
A conventional denture is a regular denture that sits on your jawbone, and it gets its support just from your bone only, and we can rely on it to stay in your mouth based on how much bone one has. Also, some of your saliva plays a role in kind of holding your denture in place. So the big difference between them is that the implant-supported denture is held by the implants that are placed in the jawbone that take the place of the natural tooth roots, and it's either screwed in or it kind of clips on, compared to a conventional denture, which is just resting or sitting on our jawbone.
How do implant-supported dentures work?
Basically, they work as your own teeth because the implant gets implanted in the bone and is static there. It's steady, it's stable, it does not move. When we place the denture, as we talked about, there are different kinds. It could be screwed on, or it could be a clip-on denture. So basically, it's just steady in that place, and once the implants are fully in your mouth and the denture goes on top, it's just going to be in the mouth, steady and very stable, and you're able to eat pretty much normal food. Your dentist will give you recommendations depending on what kind of denture you have and how to take care of it. But that's basically how they work. Once the denture goes in the mouth, it's in place, it's stable, and you're able to function pretty much normally.
What is the process from beginning to end to get implant-supported dentures?
There are a couple of different scenarios. The first scenario is that if somebody has teeth that are not restorable, we cannot save those teeth anymore because of various reasons. One could be that there are lots of cavities on many of the teeth in the mouth, and the best decision that gets made, the best treatment choice, is getting all those teeth taken out and getting implant-supported dentures.
Or it could be, in some cases, patients might have very advanced gum disease. We call it periodontal disease, where the jawbone has been eaten away by the bacteria. There's an infection in the mouth, and the best treatment option at that point in time is extracting all the teeth and getting the dentures. There are a few different scenarios, or there are some patients who have worn conventional dentures before and they just don't like the fact that those conventional dentures do move around, and there are compromises on eating with them, and they make the decision that they want something which is more stable in their mouth, which is more aesthetic as well, and which functions better, and then they kind of upgrade, per se, to an implant-supported denture.
Depending on each scenario, the first process would be, if you have teeth, all the teeth will be extracted. And if you're going on the one kind of denture, which we call a hybrid denture, where the denture gets screwed in on the implants, the surgeon or your dentist will extract all the teeth and then fill in the bone where it's needed, place the implants, and then they will do all the pre-planning before. And you will walk out that day after your surgery, after extracting the teeth, having a temporary denture in your mouth, which you will wear for a few months, and then you will move on to a permanent denture.
And the same scenario will kind of play a role if somebody is getting a clip-on denture. You will get your teeth extracted, or if you already had the teeth extracted, the implants will be placed, and you will be getting out of that appointment with a temporary denture, and the healing will occur. Then, typically after 3 to 4 months, once we find out that all the implants are really good and solid in the bone, we can change over to a permanent denture, which is a bit more aesthetic. It functions better. It's made of different, stronger materials. You're able to eat pretty much all the foods. So that's how the typical process works.
Who is a candidate for implant-supported dentures?
There are a couple of prerequisites, or what we want to have in patients who are good candidates for implant-supported dentures, is that we want to make sure that you do have good bone quality, a fair amount of bone, and also, from a medical point of view, that you don't have any bone disease. One of the main ones is osteoporosis, and any other medical conditions, like diabetes, which are controlled diabetics are totally fine to get dentures. Anything that is uncontrolled can lead to implant failure. So that's how, when you talk to your dentist or you talk to the specialist, they will make sure that if you have any of those conditions, they are well controlled, and they also will communicate to your specialist, whether it's a cardiologist or any other specialist, and make sure that those boxes check off, like you have a good quality of bone that you have in your mouth and there's still a decent amount of bone. We can generate some bone, but we still do need some amount of basic bone in your mouth for the implants to stay in.
And then also making sure, from a medical standpoint, that you don't have any bone disease, your bone density is good, and also if you are diabetic, that your diabetes is pretty well controlled, and hypertension is very well controlled. So patients who are controlled, are healthy, have decent bone, and have good bone quality are generally good candidates for getting implant-supported dentures.
Are there any differences between upper jaw implants versus the lower jaw implants?
Typically, from the implant standpoint, there's not a difference. Certain things, or certain criteria, or certain aspects are that depending on the bone volume or the thickness and the width of the bone, the difference could be how wide of an implant can be placed in one area compared to the other. And it can hold true even for your upper jaw, depending on where the location is. We might place a thinner implant in one area, a wider implant in another, and a longer implant in another. So it can actually vary in both jaws pretty much the same. But in general, there's no difference between upper or lower jaw implants.
How much do implant-supported dentures cost and what factors affect the pricing of the dentures?
Implant-supported dentures are not cheap. It is something that gives you back function, aesthetics, and quality of life, almost like when somebody has a full, healthy dentition. So they are on the pricier side, but again, it's an investment in yourself because, as I said, you're getting your whole dentition back. You're getting your aesthetics back. You're getting the full functionality back. You're getting the stability back, being able to eat the foods that you love to eat. So it comes with a price. It's an investment in yourself, but it's a worthy investment for any patient who goes through that treatment.
And on the other hand, the pricing can vary based on how many treatments you need, like extras, as you're going through the process. For example, if you have a few teeth that need to be taken out, or you have more teeth that need to be taken out, if we need to rebuild your bone back and in how many areas it needs rebuilding, or anything else that's more clinical when we go in there and we see this, you might need some added procedure for these implants to be successful. So those few factors can affect the pricing, or additionals or add-ons, based on everybody's situation and based on everybody's condition.
But as we talked about, it's an investment in yourself. Right now, we have so many different financing options available to make it affordable for patients. As I said, there are many companies that can help out, can lend money, and you can do various combinations, some of your own, some of borrowing the money through financing. Those companies are very understanding because they know that you're financing for your health, you're investing that money in your own health. So there's a wide variety of financing options available, making it very, very affordable for patients these days. So if you have any questions, we are happy to help you answer those questions.
What should patients look for when they're searching for implant-supported denture professionals near them?
A few things to keep in mind. The first thing would be, when you're searching in your area, typically everybody nowadays uses Google search. When you're going to search for that, you're going to see some dentists' or specialists' names, and office names will show up. Do your research. Go to the website, look at what kind of services they provide. Do they offer that service? Then find out whether there are any reviews regarding that service. Are there any testimonials regarding that service? And call them, ask some questions.
The best person to answer those questions would be the dentist. So you will want to just go ahead and make an appointment and talk to the dentist. Go there and explain to them, let them know that this is the reason why you're looking for that particular implant, implants, or implants for dentures, and have them let you know and give you their opinion, their expert opinion, whether you are going to be a good candidate for that or not.
So go ahead, do the research, look up their social media, look up their website, make a consultation appointment, talk to the dentist, and those are the best ways to find out when you're looking for implants for dentures and the dentist who provides them.
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