Denture Stabilization
For individuals interested in tooth replacement treatment there are many available solutions. Of the many tooth replacement options, denture stabilization offers an affordable and reliable solution to replacing missing teeth. Denture stabilization makes it possible for patients to take advantage of the affordability of dentures while also minimizing the biggest disadvantages associated with dentures. While single dental implants are the most effective way to replace individual missing teeth, replacing several missing teeth with dental implants can get very expensive quickly. Below is more information on denture stabilization treatment, including details on the procedure and the benefits of the treatment.
What is Denture Stabilization?
Denture stabilization is a treatment that involves installing dental implants in the jawbone to help stabilize a partial or full set of dentures. Individual dental implants are common, but when a person has more than a few missing teeth, dentures are a more affordable replacement solution. Unfortunately, despite how affordable dentures are, they can become uncomfortable and cause issues with slipping and constantly shifting in the mouth. Denture stabilization can help to reduce many of the downfalls of traditional dentures.
Benefits of Denture Stabilization
Denture stabilization treatment offers many benefits to patients, including:
- Improve eating and chewing function
- Restoring the patient’s ability to chew nutritious foods, leading to better digestion and overall health
- Improved comfort over traditional dentures
- Reducing the occurrence of mouth sores and gum infection
- Improved speaking function
- Provide a more permanent solution to missing teeth
- Easier to clean and maintain, including brushing twice a day and flossing daily
How Does Denture Stabilization Work?
Traditional dentures sit on top of the gums and are not rooted securely in the mouth. This allows dentures to be easily removable to be cleaned or cared for, but also makes proper fit and security a challenge. The first step of the denture stabilization treatment is when dental implants are securely installed in the jawbone during a surgical procedure. While many patients don’t have teeth in the jaw, they do have enough healthy bone in the jaw to support dental implants. After the implants are placed and healed dentures can be made that securely attach to the implants. Dentures that are clipped onto attachments on the implants are no longer able to shift in the mouth, reducing many of the issues and concerns about dentures.
Types of Stabilized Dentures
There are two common types of implant-supported dentures: ball-retained and bar-retained dentures. Ball-retained dentures are a design where the dental implants have a metal attachment on them, in the shape of a ball, that fits into a socket attachment in the dentures. With this design the dentures are able to easily clip into place. The other design, bar-retained dentures, have a metal bar that curves around the jawbone on top of several dental implants. Usually, bar-retained dentures require at least two to five implants in the jawbone. The denture is placed by sliding over the bar and then clipping onto the bar to secure the dentures.
Why Are Dentures Important?
For individuals with many missing teeth, the number of tooth replacement treatment options available can be overwhelming. For some patients, missing teeth may not bother them, but there are many other reasons why getting tooth replacement treatment is important. Without teeth in the mouth the facial structures including the jaw and mouth, will begin to shrink, decreasing the size of the face and reducing the ability to eat and chew normally. Dentures are a great immediate option because they are affordable and a relatively easy treatment. However, many people opt out of getting dentures because they can’t afford them, they want more time to think about what treatment is right for them, or they don’t want to schedule and take time for the procedure. However, opting out of tooth replacement treatment all together should never be an option, since living with missing teeth can lead to many other oral health issues, including:
- Disintegrating facial structures, resulting in changing shape of the face and bone loss
- Difficulty speaking and eating: The shrinking of the jaw will change the way a person speaks and eats and will impact their bite
- A smaller face has an impact on appearance, making patients look older
- Overall, a shrinking face, missing teeth, and changes to speaking and eating function all will results in lower self-esteem
If you are researching tooth replacement options, you should know that dentures are a great option to replace a large number of missing teeth at an affordable cost. In fact, an entire set of dentures may cost less than getting just a few dental implants. However, once patients get dentures, they often complain about not being able to eat as they would like or constantly dealing with the dentures slipping and moving around in their mouth. Fortunately, denture stabilization offers a superior alternative for those who want a better solution than dentures but cannot afford to have all of their missing teeth replaced with implants.
Understanding Denture Stabilization
For the patients who are not interested in dentures due to the drawbacks, but not able to invest in dental implants, denture stabilization is now possible. The treatment involves installing a few dental implants in the mouth to attach the dentures to, helping them stay firmly in place. Implant-supported dentures are becoming increasingly popular due to the many benefits the treatment offers. Not only do the patients benefit from having improved speech, eating function, and comfort due to the stability of the dentures, but the patient’s jawbone will also benefit from the fact that the dental implants encourage healthy bone growth. Unlike traditional dentures, implant-supported dentures are a more permanent solution.
Caring for Implant-Supported Dentures
Another added benefit is the simplicity of caring for implant-supported dentures. Patients no longer have to deal with the tiring cleaning routines that come with traditional dentures. The implant-supported denture device only needs to be taken out at night. The patient should brush their mouth and the dental implants, and then soak the dentures in denture solution overnight to disinfect and re-moisturize them.