Dental Implants vs. Dentures: Finding The Best Fit
If the idea of having to wear dentures for the rest of your life makes you uncomfortable, you’ll be glad to hear that you have other options. Today, more and more people are choosing dental implants over dentures as a solution for smile restoration. With benefits like improved comfort, enhanced chewing ability, and better overall dental health, dental implant advantages run much more profound than their cosmetic appeal.
Here is a quick comparison chart and overview of dental implants and dentures.
Implants
Preserve remaining jawbone and maintain facial structure (keeps you looking young)
Decreasing jawbone quality can lead to further deterioration of the facial structure
Strong, stable, and severely attached to the jaw; fit
comfortably
Often slip and move around; causing discomfort
Help restore normal chewing capacity
Restriction chewing capacity (often have to avoid certain foods)
Easy care and cleaning
Need to be removed regularly for cleaning
Dentures
Feel and function like natural teeth
It scan feel fake and unnatural
No need for creams or adhesives
Likely require creams and adhesives
Long-lasting solution
Eventually need to be remade or realigned
Investment can last a lifetime
Less expensive, but often less effective
Comparing Dental Implants And Dentures
If you have lost all your teeth, replacing them is a challenge. There are several choices, each with its own set of pros and cons.
Complete dentures are artificial teeth that replace all the top teeth or all the bottom teeth. They are made from one piece of gum-colored acrylic that holds from 12–14 false teeth. Dentures are removable, and you must take them out of the mouth to clean them each day.
Dentures are shaped to fit over the ridge of bone left in your mouth after removing all the teeth once the bone heals. Dentures replacing the upper teeth cover the bony ridges and the palate (top of the mouth).
On the other hand, All-On-Four implants are made of four dental implants that are permanently embedded into the jawbone, with two near the front and two on either side in the back. These are usually made of titanium, a substance that the body readily accepts; however, there is a holistic alternative made with Zirconia. These dental implants are made with synthetic ceramic material which contains no metal. Your dentist then attaches the false teeth to the tops of the four implants using special screws. These screws provide a stable attachment so that the denture does not move around when you eat or speak.
To answer the question, “Are dentures better or worse than implants?” consider the following factors:
- Implants help keep the jawbone strong and support the muscles in the face; wearing dentures makes the jawbone deteriorate, and the facial muscles sag.
- Implants hold the false teeth firmly in place, so they do not move around when you eat and speak; dentures sometimes float and move around in the mouth, making eating and talking difficult.
- Implants require no adhesives or creams to hold them in place; dentures need creams and adhesives to stick to the gums and keep them from moving around.
- Implants are hard to keep clean and sometimes require visits to the dentist for cleaning and tightening; dentures are easily removed for at-home care.