What are implant-supported dentures and how are they different from regular dentures?
Dentures can be removable and non-removable. With implant-supported dentures, they are not removable, or they are partially removable, meaning they click into the implants. This way they stay better in the mouth. It's easier to eat with them and speak with them than with a regular denture. It is an improvement. It's kind of like an old-time telephone versus a cell phone. If you have your cell phone, you can do a lot of things with it. You can do video, you can watch video on it. And if you remember dentures from the last century, we used to have telephones also, but you would have to be plugged into a wall to speak with somebody, right, and you could only speak with someone. You could not do anything else. That is the difference.
The dentures that we're talking about, the implant-supported dentures, are either not completely removable from the mouth and they stay there all the time, or they are removable dentures, but they click into those implants that are non-removable, and this way it's easier to use them.
How does denture implant work and what is the process start to finish?
Well, the first thing you need is, of course, an examination, and the doctor will take time to examine you. You would get dental X-rays. Sometimes it would be three-dimensional X-rays to see exactly where the bone is so they can place implants strategically so they would retain your denture. Then they would plan it, and then there would be a day when you come in actually for the procedure to be done.
They would place implants, and then they would make a denture for you to use. If it is a fixed prosthetic device, then they would make it screwed into those implants the same day or in a couple of days, and then you would have teeth. Those are temporary teeth, and you would get them later on replaced with a more permanent solution, the permanent denture.
If the denture is going to be removable in the future, you can have a regular denture while you're waiting for the implants to heal, and then it would be converted, or you would get a brand new denture that would be screwed into those teeth or would get what's called locator attachments, something that would click, like you basically get clips that the denture would clip into on those implants.
What is the difference between snap-on dentures versus permanent dentures like non- removable dentures?
Well, it is basically in the question itself, right? The non-removable ones you cannot take out. They stay in your mouth permanently. You do not remove them, or you cannot remove them yourself. The doctor can still remove them, but you cannot. The clip-on is something that you can clip on and unclip and take out. You can brush and clean your denture outside of your mouth. If it's screwed into the implants, then you brush them inside. That is the big difference. One comes out of the mouth; the other one does not.
Who is the good candidate for implant-supported dentures?
Of course, if you have all your teeth, you're not a good candidate for that. You don't need this. However, if you're missing teeth, then depending on how many teeth you're missing, sometimes it's better to preserve the bone and place implants and then get the denture that will click to it, and that would make you a good candidate for it.
Somebody who wants to have teeth, somebody who's unhappy with the old denture that is ill-fitted, that doesn't hold on, and they have to glue the hell out of it in order for it to just stay there so they can go through the meal—those people are good candidates for dentures. If you're tired of your old denture, you're a good candidate to get this clip-on denture.
What are the benefits of the implant-supported denture that is a clip-on denture compared to a traditional denture?
Well, the difference is that it stays much better. A lot of times, if it's an upper denture, the palate can be removed so you can taste the food better because some of the taste buds are located on the palate.
It is a known fact that people with a full denture usually use a little bit more salt in their food because those taste buds are missing. They're not in action, and then they put a little more salt so they can feel that it's salty enough, but everybody else will suffer. It would be easier if it's a clip-on denture and the palate is open, then you've got all your taste buds open, and you can taste the food normally.
Of course, it's also much easier to speak with them because they don't fly out of your mouth. And you can chew pretty much anything you want with them compared to a regular denture. You have to be careful how you eat with them and so on. It is a little bit easier to live with the clip-on denture rather than a traditional or old-school denture.
What should patients expect with getting full mouth dental implants?
Well, it is slightly uncomfortable at the beginning, but it's not incapacitatingly uncomfortable. When you get your implant, it feels a little bit itchy in the gums, but it's not as painful as you would think. Basically, the extractions that you had are a lot more painful than placing implants.
And the denture, of course, as soon as you get it, you can use it. You don't abuse it, right? You don't start cracking bones and so on with that. Even though people say, "Oh, implants, are they made out of titanium, so they're very strong?" Yes, but you need to heal first so you can use them. So be careful when you first get them. But you can already use them, and you have the teeth, and you can eat the food. It is much more comfortable than being without teeth.
Are there any differences between upper denture implants and lower denture implants?
Well, there's virtually no difference. It's just that the bone support is a little bit different because the bone on the bottom is a little harder, and the bone on the top is a little more spongy. Because of that, the healing time might be a little different. It may heal a little bit faster on the bottom than it does on the top. But it is all the same. You still have to wait for it to heal and then load it up with the denture.
How much does the dental implant-supported denture cost and what factors affect it?
It varies from patient to patient. There is an approximate price that could be the same, but what makes a difference is the number of implants necessary to support that particular denture, the type of prosthetic device, and how we connect the implants.
The most important variable is still the amount of bone that you have for them to place the implants in and whether you have the teeth or they need to be removed first. So if the teeth are already removed and the bone is ready for implants, of course it's going to be less expensive than if they would have to remove the teeth first and then graft it. So it's also a difference in time.
Learn More About Implant-Supported Dentures at Steinway Family Dental Center
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