People who have lost teeth due to gum disease, trauma or other reasons may want to improve the cosmetic look of their mouth and replace the missing teeth. When it comes to this replacement procedure, people generally have two options, dental implants or dentures. People need to be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of dental implants and dentures and both should be considered when weighing the options.
Dentures can improve the quality of life by improving the way people eat, speak and feel about themselves. For people that have been missing teeth and are unable to chew food, dentures can make a dramatic difference on someone's diet. Dentures can provide help for people that are missing all of their teeth and have found it difficult to speak as well.
Dentures generally come in two forms, conventional dentures and partial dentures. Conventional dentures are fitted to the gums and are generally used with an adhesive to keep them in place. Partial dentures are used when someone is missing some but not all of their teeth. Partial dentures use clips and a tongue plate to stay in place.
As dentures assist in chewing food and giving the appearance of teeth, there are also some disadvantages to dentures. Dentures do not provide the same chewing power as normal teeth do. They only produce about 50 pounds per square inch of crushing power compared to that of the 500 pounds per square inch that normal teeth can produce. People that wear dentures may also notice that their jaw bone tends to recede over time as the dentures are not permanently fixed to the jaw.
Although dental implants are much more expensive than dentures they can be a far better solution to tooth loss.
Dental implants are permanently affixed to the mouth and if they are properly cared for, will last a lifetime. Dental implants look just like normal teeth, they function like normal teeth and they feel like them too. Dental implants provide the same amount of crushing power as normal teeth do and don't decay and should not break.
Dental implants will not cause the jaw line to recede nor will they produce an antibody-antigen reaction in the body. Dental implants are made of materials that integrate well with the body.
Not everyone who wants dental implant may be a candidate for them however. Dental implants require that a patient has had a good history or oral health and has a strong and healthy jaw bone to work with.
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