When you have missing teeth, it can have a significant negative impact on your quality of life. Aside from being embarrassed or self-conscious of your smile, your chewing function can also suffer. Additionally, missing teeth can result in problems with your bite, which can lead to a number of oral health issues, including shifting and further tooth loss. Dr. Luminita Markham offers both conventional dentures and implant-supported dentures. These treatment options can help improve health, function, and aesthetics for a healthier smile and a boost in confidence.
About Traditional Dentures
A full traditional denture replaces an entire arch of missing teeth. This prosthesis rests directly on the gums, and is supported by the underlying jawbone. Depending on a patient’s specific situation, they may require an upper denture, a lower denture, or both. Dentures can be crafted from an array of materials, including acrylic and porcelain. Today’s high-quality dental materials offer a lifelike, natural-looking smile.
Patients who are missing several teeth in sporadic locations may benefit from a partial denture. This type of prosthesis can complete your smile by filling in the gaps. Partial dentures often offer slightly more support than full dentures, because dental clasps can be used to anchor the prosthesis to adjacent teeth.
About Implant-Supported Dentures
Dental implant 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 up to where an entire set of teeth can be replaced with dental implants. While we will discuss two options below – implant overdentures and full-mouth restoration with dental implants – please note that there are other options available. We recommend that you meet with Dr. Markham for your complimentary implant consultation to see which option 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 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 very common, and overdenture patients are some of the happiest patients in our practice. The difference between a lower denture that moves around (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, the All-on-Four® treatment concept may be a great option. You can read more about All-On-4 here.
Schedule a Consultation at Our Practice
If you are missing several or all of your teeth, dentures could be an excellent teeth replacement option for you. Please contact our Auburn, CA office to schedule an appointment at (530) 823-8771.