The prevalence of complete tooth loss in adults 65 and over is almost 13%. Unfortunately, this prevalence only increases with age. While aging itself doesn’t cause tooth loss, older adults experience higher rates of gum recession and enamel thinning, leaving their teeth more exposed to disease and infection! Most often, the solution patients gravitate towards after total tooth loss is full dentures, or prosthetics that replace all of your teeth.
In contrast to traditional bridges or partial dentures that utilize your remaining teeth to support artificial ones, these dentures replace the entire arch of your smile, top or bottom. However, traditional full dentures often lose their stability over time, resulting in difficulties with chewing and proper function. Fortunately, East Longmeadow Family Dental Center has a solution! With mini implant-supported dentures, you can enjoy a stable and beautiful smile.
The Limitations of Traditional Full Dentures
Traditional dentures are crafted to fit perfectly in the contours of your mouth, resting on your gums for support. While initially a great fit, these prosthetics tend to become loose over time, resulting in a variety of issues. Breaking down food becomes a challenge, and speaking or laughing can cause your dentures to slip out of your mouth!
Unfortunately, the consequences of loose dentures often cause patients to avoid social interactions and alter their diets, negatively impacting their quality of life. But what causes traditional full dentures to loosen?
Natural teeth have two parts to their structure. The crown of your tooth is the part visible in your smile, while the root of your tooth lies below your gum line, embedded in your jaw. Tooth roots are crucial for maintaining the stability of your smile and preserving the health of your jawbone. When you bite or chew, tooth roots stimulate the bone to keep it healthy and full! Without that stimulation, your jaw will begin to lose mass and volume over time.
Unsurprisingly, a shrinking jawbone makes for a poor foundation for your dentures, causing the prosthetic to slide around in your mouth and irritate your gums. Because traditional dentures don’t replace these roots, your jaw will continue to deteriorate, affecting your entire facial structure.
Fortunately, dental implants replace these lost tooth roots, securing your smile while also preventing jawbone loss!
Full Dentures With Mini Implants
At East Longmeadow Family Dental Center, we offer both conventional and mini dental implants. However, we prefer to use mini implants whenever possible, as they provide incredible advantages to patients.
These implants are less than 3 mm in diameter, which is almost half the size of a conventional implant. Due to their slim diameter, mini implants require significantly less jawbone structure, allowing patients with minimal jawbone to restore their smiles. Additionally, we use a minimally invasive procedure that facilitates faster healing!
With only a small pilot hole in your gums and jaw, we secure mini implants in a single appointment. That same day, mini implants stabilize in your jawbone, allowing us to secure a temporary but functional restoration. Rather than waiting months for your final restoration, mini implants can support it in just a few weeks!
Because these implants require fewer appointments and fewer components, they are significantly less expensive than their conventional counterparts. At East Longmeadow Family Dental Center, we make restoring your smile affordable and accessible for patients like you.
Full Implant Denture Restorations
We offer three distinct full denture options secured with mini dental implants.
- Snap-on dentures: This prosthetic looks and functions like a traditional full denture, but with much more stability. Because mini dental implants secure your prosthetic, we can remove the bulky upper plate common in traditional dentures, allowing you to enjoy the full taste of your favorite foods again. While snap-on dentures remain secure on your implants, you can remove them at any time for easy maintenance.
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A roundhouse bridge features a sleek horseshoe-like design that secures directly on your implants, providing a natural-looking solution to tooth loss. Semi-removable roundhouse bridge: A roundhouse bridge is similar to a full denture as it replaces all of your missing teeth. However, these prosthetics don’t require a bulky gum base, providing an incredibly natural appearance. These sleek roundhouse bridges secure directly on your implants, resulting in great function and stability. As a semi-removable prosthetic, only a dentist at East Longmeadow Family Dental Center will remove this roundhouse bridge.
- Non-removable roundhouse bridge: Though it has the same sleek design, a non-removable roundhouse bridge differs from a semi-removable one, as it is cemented in place. Once secure on your implants, this restoration never comes out, providing function that resembles the strength of your natural teeth! With incredible stability and a sleek design, you can enjoy a natural-looking smile that will last for years to come.
However, it’s essential to maintain a good oral hygiene routine for all of these restorations. With quality care, your implant dentures can last a lifetime.
Enjoy a More Stable Solution With Mini Implants!
Traditional full dentures have some limitations; however, dental implants offer a stable and reliable solution. With mini dental implants keeping your smile secure, you can eat the foods you love with little hesitation and enjoy incredible stability and strength.
Book a free consultation at East Longmeadow Family Dental Center today to learn if you’re eligible for mini dental implant-supported full dentures.
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