What If I’m Missing All Of My Teeth?

It used to be that your only option would be dentures. We have all had family or friends that have had to wear dentures. Many people find it very difficult to chew or speak with them or even to keep them in their mouth. What’s worse is that as time marches on, the bone begins to disappear under the dentures leading to a worsening fit, more trouble eating and sunken in look to the face.

Thankfully, there are several implant supported solutions that are available to help retain dentures, replace teeth and maintain your facial bone.

Implant Retained Denture / Hybrid Denture (AKA: All-on-4)

 

This option is the closest to replacing your natural teeth. It involves placing four or more implants in your jaw and attaching a permanent denture to them. Your denture is held in place by screws. It doesn’t touch the gum tissue, which allows you to clean under the denture without removing it. This denture will replace all your missing teeth and will not be removed except at maintenance visits. Cleaning under your denture without removing takes some practice but is easily done with a Waterpik. This solution gives you the closest feeling to having your own teeth back and allows you to eat the greatest variety of foods.

Implant Supported Bridge

 

This option is to have all your teeth replaced by a series of bridges so that they will appear to be growing out of your gum tissue and will most closely resemble the appearance of your natural teeth. This option usually requires eight or more implants. It also requires healthy supporting bone. Overall, this is the most involved option, because it requires the most implants and detailed lab fabrication. This option is limited to patients with minimal bone loss. Your surgeon will be able to determine this at your consult.

Ball Attachment Denture (AKA: Snap-In Denture)

One option is to have two implants or four implants placed in your  jaw and a denture made that snaps onto these implants. This option allows your denture to be more stable while chewing than without implants. As well the implants help to maintain your jaw bone. There will still be movement of your lower denture. Because the lower jaw bone is so much denser there is the option of using two or four implants. The upper jaw bone is much thinner and therefore only 4 implants can be used. As with all removable replacement teeth, you still will need periodic appointments for denture adjustment.