Dental implants options are not limited to patients who are missing only one or a few teeth; in fact, much of the success of treatment with dental implants has been with patients who are missing most or all of their teeth. Treatment options for these patients can range from an overdenture, where a traditional denture is secured with a number of dental implants, all the way to up where an entire set of teeth can be replaced with dental implants. While we will discuss these two options below – Implant Overdentures and All-On-Four, please note that there are other options in the middle, and we recommend that you meet with Dr. Markham for your complimentary implant consultation to see which of the options would be right for you and your particular needs.
Dental Implants for Loose Lower Dentures
When dental implants are used to secure loose or otherwise ill-fitting dentures, we refer to this type of prosthesis as an implant denture, or implant overdenture. The idea is that dental implants are placed where you are missing teeth (sometimes only as few as two implants are needed), and your denture is modified so that it snaps on to the implants. This procedure is a very common one, and overdenture patients are some of the happiest patients in our practice; the difference between a lower denture that moves (even the best lower dentures can move and have to deal with the tongue) and a lower denture that is stabilized with dental implants is tremendous, and the improvement is significant and life changing.
Full-Mouth Restoration with Dental Implants
There are times where implant overdentures are not an option. For example, when a patient wishes to have the majority of their missing teeth replaced, but also wants a solution that is fixed in place and is not removable. For these patients, “All-On-Four” may be a great option. You can read more about “All-on-Four” on this page.