Some decades ago, if you lost a tooth (or teeth), that would be much about it. You would have an empty space; a glorious reminder of a once healthy and bright smile. Not too aesthetically pleasing, indeed, but people did not have much choice than accept it. Luckily, with today’s technology, dentistry has made leaps and people can enjoy their wide smiles for as long as they wish. However, those having dentures, sometimes, feel them loose, especially their lower ones.
At the clinic, we see many patients who have lower dentures which are poorly constructed. Their chief complaint is that their dentures always move around and that they get sore points when they are trying to chew.
At SameDay Teeth Suite, we have varied solutions to this. The patients that have poorly constructed dentures need to understand there are a number of dentures available.
Firstly, of course, you have your standard dentures which are economical. But then we have more advanced types of dentures, such as BPS dentures and Swiss dentures. These are engineered and constructed by high-quality material to allow a better set and also a balanced bite, which helps the stability of these dentures.
Solutions for Remarkably Stable Dentures
As for the patients that want to have very stable dentures, one solution is to have, for example, implants with locators. They are like bolt studs which allow the denture to clip on to the implants, making the dentures remarkably stable. This, in turns, frees the patient from the worries as per what to eat so their denture won’t move around.
In these cases, the first thing we want to check is whether the patient has enough bone. To determine that, we assess the case by a CT scan. Then we plan by using guides to allow us to place the implants in strategic positions, to get the best stability of the denture. In some cases, we may place two implants or we may place four implants.
What If You Don’t Have Enough Bone?
What happens if the CT shows you do not have enough bone because you’ve had your teeth missing for many years? One option which we’re using more nowadays for certain cases is the use of mini implants. Mini implants have a diameter of anywhere between 2 millimetres and 2.4 millimetres to allow us to utilize these in cases where patients want stable dentures, but has very thin ridges.
It’s paramount patients understand that as they continue to be wearing their normal, removable dentures (those dentures which are not supported by implants) puts a constant pressure on the bone as time goes along, causing the bone to shrink over time.
By utilizing implants, we can maintain the bone in the areas where the implants are placed for as long as patients have good oral hygiene and see a hygienist regularly.
Do you want to know if dental implants are the best solution for you? please feel free to get your Missing Teeth Guide, completely for free and book your first consultation! Or, you could always Contact Us and let us do all the work for you!