Many people with conventional dentures often choose not to wear them. Why? Because they don’t stay in place, and slipping dentures can be a major embarrassment. Now, thanks to dental implants, denture wearers can finally have some stability with overdentures.
Overdentures are basically dentures that are anchored onto dental implants.
Problems with traditional dentures
If you’re missing a certain number of teeth, you have to wear dentures. Millions of people around the world are denture wearers. But keeping them in place, particularly in the lower jaw, is a struggle. Wearers are embarrassed by slippage, and they can’t eat certain foods because they don’t trust their denture adhesive.
Stabilize them with implants
The use of dental implants to stabilize dentures has been a great alternative to adhesives. Part of the reason is that implants have a very high (95%) success rate. With an implant, a titanium post (the implant) is inserted into the jaw, usually into the root hole of the missing tooth or teeth. The surrounding bone is given time to accept the implant, growing bone right around it.
Then, after the implants have healed, your denture is modified to snap onto the implant abutment (the post attached to the implant). The denture is now secure, but it can be easily removed for cleaning.
There are basically three choices for overdentures — fixed dental implant-supported overdentures, removable dental implant-supported overdentures, or dental implant-stabilized overdentures.
If you’ve been having trouble with denture slippage, come in and see us at Hampton Dental Associates, and let’s discuss overdentures. Call 414-377-5711 for an appointment.
