31 May 2018What is the difference between Dental Implant Dentures and Removable Dentures?
Removable dentures are simple to make and generally inexpensive compared to other alternatives like dental bridges and dental implants. However dentures are problematic for anyone who is having to live with them. The problem with dentures is that they are removable and have no retention or support in the mouth. The only way a normal removable denture can be stabilized in the mouth is by means of a suction seal for the upper denture. This ‘suction’ is created on the roof of the mouth when the upper denture is closely adapted to the mouth. The problem with this is that the denture becomes bulky and difficult to accommodate in the mouth. In addition to this covering the roof of the mouth affects speech, function and reduces the ability to taste food properly.
For lower dentures there is even less likelihood of the denture remaining stable. The lower denture has no suction and hence only depends on the denture being extended on the ridge and some help from gravity. There is really nothing else that keeps removable dentures in place. If you ask anyone who wears dentures they will tell you that the lower denture is a real problem to cope with. Patients continuously complain about movement, accidental movements out of the mouth, sores on the gums etc.
The ideal solution to replace multiple teeth is to consider a fixed dental bridge or dental implant dentures. A fixed dental bridge is supported on a minimum of 4 implants and is secured by means of small screws onto the implants. There is no movement with a fixed dental bridge as it is completely fixed and solid.
Dental implant dentures are much better than ordinary removable dentures. The difference with dental implant dentures is that they click securely onto the dental implants and make functioning with the denture much easier. In the upper jaw the denture does not cover as much of the roof of the mouth as an ordinary full upper denture. Dental implant dentures can also help maintain the proper facial profiles for those patients who have lost a lot of bone and tissue support. A fixed dental bridge on dental implants can sometimes not replace the missing bone and tissues hence may look less ideal than a dental implant denture.