Denture Stabilization
As we age our teeth age with us. This can often result in a need for tooth replacement. Whether from decay, disease, or trauma, tooth loss is a serious health issue that can result in major consequences for your mouth and overall health. Dentures have been an affordable, viable option for people with missing teeth for a very long time. Despite their functionality, dentures often come with many challenges and downsides. If you have dentures or are considering getting dentures, you may be understandably worried about these downsides and what it will mean for your overall quality of life. Fortunately, denture stabilization may be a solution for you.
What are the downsides of dentures?
Dentures can solve a serious problem, the loss of teeth. When someone has a missing tooth or teeth it can cause numerous issues, some more severe than others, but all concerning. Some issues include difficulty chewing leading to improper nutrition and eating habits, gum disease and decay of additional teeth, shifting teeth and an uneven bite, increased stress and wear on existing teeth, speech issues, and many more. The loss of teeth should therefore never be ignored. All these issues over time can lead to more serious issues that require more invasive treatments to solve. Dentures can solve these problems by filling the gaps, ensuring you bite and chew properly and preventing gums from being exposed and more susceptible to infection.
Dentures are not without their challenges, however. Traditional dentures can shift in the mouth causing chewing, biting, and speaking issues. They can also cause irritation and inflammation in the mouth due to the shifting around. Additionally, dentures typically require adhesives and frequent replacement. Therefore, despite their benefits, dentures often have an uneasy price tag. Despite their downsides, dentures do solve many of the problems associated with tooth loss including stabilizing your bite and filling in the gap to prevent bone loss.
What is Denture Stabilization?
Denture stabilization seeks to solve the problems that typically from dentures. For denture stabilization, implants are added to the mouth with the goal of keeping the dentures securely in place. By anchoring the dentures in place in the mouth, the prosthetics do not shift around nearly as much.
What are the benefits of denture stabilization?
Denture stabilization has many benefits that all stem from the stability of the denture in the mouth. This stability solves the number one complaint people have about traditional dentures; that they shift when chewing or speaking. This offers the benefit of chewing food appropriately, which aids in digestion and eating an overall balanced diet. Many whole foods require chewing and when a denture is uncomfortable or shifting, this is challenging. By anchoring the denture in the mouth, you will be able to chew more efficiently thus helping you chew foods that are good for you. Denture stabilization also helps to lower the risk of irritation and inflammation from shifting teeth. This leads to less risk of gum infection and pain in the mouth which also promotes healthy eating and chewing.
From a medical standpoint, it also solves numerous other problems associated with missing teeth. Having a denture firmly in place helps to prevent shifting teeth and bone loss. It also promotes a more even bite, which lessens the uneven wear on other teeth. Additionally, denture stabilization allows dentures to be more easily cleaned. With denture stabilization, you’ll be able to treat your dentures just like normal teeth by brushing and flossing. Denture stabilization, therefore, ensures the benefits of dentures without the issues that come from them.
How does Denture Stabilization work?
Denture stabilization involves a process of having implants inserted into the jawbone. These implants then attach to the denture(s) and it is in this attachment that the denture is stabilized. Because regular dentures only sit on top of the gum they have no “root” structure that is anchoring them to the jaw. While denture stabilization does not replace the root of a tooth in its connection to the jaw like a dental implant does, it does provide enough jawbone support to anchor the denture in place in the mouth. Attaching the implant to the jawbone also helps prevent bone loss around the missing tooth, much like a dental implant does. Once the dentures are anchored in the mouth, they will no longer move, which provides a much more natural feel when eating and speaking.
What are the types of stabilized dentures?
There are two types of denture stabilization. They are bar-retained dentures and ball-retained dentures. Bar-retained dentures require at least two implants in your jawbone and sometimes even as many as five. Once the implants are in place, a metal bar is attached to the implants and the denture fits over the bar and is clipped all together. Ball-retained implants on the other hand are single implants installed into the jawbone. These attachments, known as “studs”, are individually installed in the jawbone and then the denture is attached to the implant. They are called ball-retained because the implant attachments are usually in the shape of a ball and the denture attaches like a socket. Both types of dental stabilization offer significant improvements on the traditional dentures by anchoring the denture into the mouth. Your dentist will be able to advise you on which type is right for you.
Missing teeth pose serious problems to the overall health of your mouth and ultimately your general health. It is very important that when you have missing teeth you speak with your dentist about how to restore the wholeness of your mouth. Dentures have long provided an affordable option for replacing teeth. Unfortunately, some of the known downsides of dentures have kept people from investing the money in them. Denture stabilization offers a solution to many of the problems associated with dentures. When you get your dentures stabilized, you are anchoring them into your mouth and preventing shifting, which in turn prevents irritation. Dentures and denture stabilization is an investment in your health. With proper care, dentures that are stabilized can be a permanent solution to your tooth loss needs. Talk to you dentist today about whether denture stabilization is good option for your needs.
