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Perth Dental Implant Centre makes every effort to help you keep your natural teeth throughout your lifetime. However, sometimes teeth require extraction due to gum disease, tooth decay, or trauma. Dentures and dental implants offer options to replace all or several missing teeth.
Replacing missing teeth with either choice enhances one’s quality of life by providing benefits, such as:

• Improved speech
• Improved chewing
• Improved appearance by supporting facial muscles
• A more aesthetically pleasing smile
• Better nutrition and digestion due to improved chewing (1)

In this article, we list the pros and cons to suction dentures, implant-retained dentures and All-On-4® dental implants. If you would like to speak with a member of the Perth Dental Implant Centre team about your dental implant needs, contact us today.

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The Pros and Cons of Dentures

Suction or full dentures offer a reliable way to replace either all or some missing teeth. Dentures have a stigma of being bulky and ill-fitting, however modern dentures of today can be a high-quality and natural-looking prosthetic solution to replacing missing teeth.

Advantages:

• Less costly than other options
• Allows for time to heal after recent extractions
• Non-invasive option with no surgery required
• Quicker healing times with no surgery
• Less appointments than with implants
• Less costly to maintain and repair
• Easy to keep clean
• Modern materials allow for a natural appearance
• No surgery usually required

Disadvantages:

• Rely on suction to stay in place
• Can come loose and impair speech and chewing
• Appear less natural than implants
• Require removal at night
• Require replacements every few years
• Can prevent eating certain foods
• Do not preserve jaw bone like dental implants do
• Require regular removal and thorough cleaning
• May need denture adhesives for stability
• Can cause pressure sores and irritation
• Less biting force than implants

The Pros and Cons of Implant-Retained Dentures

One of the great achievements of modern dentistry is the capability to replace the roots of missing teeth with dental implants. Dentures supported by implants (also known as overdentures) instead of resting directly on the gums offer many advantages for replacing missing teeth.

Advantages:

• Superior aesthetics from very natural appearance
• Maximum stability for a secure fit
• More comfortable than traditional dentures
• No impairment to the ability to taste food and drinks
• Superior speech
• Better nutrition due to an ability to chew food easier
• Less irritation and sores on gums
• Superior biting forces
• Preserves the jaw bone unlike suction dentures
• Maintains the shape and strength of the jaw unlike suction dentures
• May provide good lip support to existing denture wearers
• May prevent gum recession
• Longer lifespan due to sustained bone integrity
• No need for denture adhesives

Disadvantages:

• Higher treatment cost than dentures
• Requires surgery to place implants
• Requires more time and appointments
• A full denture needs to be worn while dental implants heal for 3 to 6 months
• Still need to be removed at night

Ready to start your journey towards a new smile? Schedule a consultation at Perth Dental Implant Centre today.

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Options for Implant-Retained Dentures

Implant-supported dentures clip on to implants placed in the bone to replace the roots of missing teeth. The benefits of implant-supported dentures include:

• Significant improvement in chewing due to increased biting force capability
• Feel and function closer to natural teeth
• Helps preserve gum tissue and jaw bone
• Easy to clean
• No loss of taste
• Improve oral health

Implant-supported dentures offer these two options:

Ball Attachments

This denture fastens to implants placed in the lower jaw. Typically, two implants hold the denture in place. Some movement occurs, but stability and retention are superior to traditional dentures. Ball attachment dentures have proven high implant and denture survival and success rates, few complications, and high patient satisfaction (2).

Bar Attachments

A milled titanium bar unites all the implants on either the upper or lower jaw. The denture attaches to the bar, which provides superior retention and support for prosthetic teeth. This option is more expensive to manufacture than ball attachment dentures, however it can offer superior strength and stability.

 

The Pros and Cons of All-On-4® Dental Implants

A popular choice of many people to regain their smile and ability to chew and speak normally after losing all upper or lower teeth is with All-On-4® dental implants. Four to six precisely placed dental implants on either the upper or lower jaws support a bridge of teeth.

Generally, All-On-4® dental implants are the gold standard solution to replacing missing teeth. They share the same advantages of implant-retained dentures as well as some additional ones.

Advantages:

• Replace all missing teeth within 5 days
• Look and function like natural teeth
• Superior stability and strength
• Retains the most chewing efficiency (90%)
• Cannot come loose, no movement at all
• Don’t need to be removed at night
• Offers a more permanent solution to teeth replacement
• May help prevent gum recession
• Cleaned just like natural teeth, easy to maintain
• Less appointments than implant-retained dentures

Disadvantages:

• Higher treatment cost
• Higher cost to maintain and repair
• Requires surgery to place implants (surgical risks apply)

Options for All-On-4® Dental Implants

Perth Dental Implant Centre is an accredited All-On-4® Centre of Excellence and uses genuine Nobel Biocare dental implants for All-On-4 surgery. Small implant bridges may be supported by either Nobel Biocare or MIS dental implants, depending on the patient’s needs.

The All-On-4 system uses high grade titanium dental implants attached to teeth, made of one of the following materials:

• High impact acrylic
• Monolithic zirconia (milled from a single block of zirconia)
• Layered zirconia (Layered with porcelain)
• Titanium frame (both first and subsequent sets of teeth have titanium frames for strength, durability and longevity)

A titanium-reinforced acrylic bridge is placed immediately after surgery and aids the healing of dental implants. Teeth may last between 2 to 5 years (and sometimes longer) before being replaced with a new bridge.

Titanium dental implants can last a lifetime with good care and oral hygiene, while titanium-acrylic bridges need replacing every 2 to 5 years on average and zirconia bridges need replacing every 10 to 15 years on average.

Implant prices

Book a Dental Implant Consultation

Dr. David Norcross has been restoring smiles with dental implants since 2009. He can discuss all the options to give you the most natural-looking and best functioning smile.

To book a consultation at your dedicated dental implant clinic, call 1300 108 133 to book at our Kelmscott or East Vic Park clinic. You can also book online.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. How much do dentures cost?

The price for dentures can vary according to your individual needs and desires. Full dentures are made of high impact acrylic and typically need replacing every 4 to 8 years. Suction dentures range from $1,800 – $4,000.

2. How much do implant-retained dentures cost?

Dr. Norcross wants you to receive a high quality, affordable, natural-appearing, and functional replacement for your missing teeth. The price for dentures can vary according to your individual needs and desires.

For some patients, they can achieve greater comfort and function by combining a full suction denture with dental implants on the lower jaw only. After a comprehensive examination, you will receive a treatment plan and quote for all suitable options.

• A full upper denture and lower implant-retained denture on two dental implants is priced from $10,400.
• An upper implant-retained denture using Nobel Biocare dental implants is priced from $20,800.

3. How long do dentures last?

Suction dentures may need replacing every few years depending on how much bone you lose under the denture. Bone loss is inevitable with full suction dentures, which causes dentures to loosen.

4. How long do implant-retained dentures last?

Implant-supported dentures help to preserve your jaw bone and can last much longer than suction dentures. How long they last, depends on how well they are cared for. While the dental implants themselves can last a lifetime, the actual denture may last between 5 to 15 years before needing to be replaced, depending on whether they include a titanium bar.

5. How long does it take to get used to wearing dentures?

Wearing dentures will feel strange in the beginning. Most people need a few months before feeling accustomed to wearing them (3). It would be best if you had Dr. Norcross evaluate the fit of your denture yearly.

6. What are the benefits of implant-supported dentures?

• Very natural appearance
• Capable of more biting forces
• Preserves supporting jaw bone
• Retention
• Stability
• Longer lasting
• Prevents a hollow cheek and prematurely-aged appearance

References

1. http://www.quintpub.com/userhome/ijp/ijp_32_3_Medeiros_p272.pdf

2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6784476/

3. https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/dentures

Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.