Dentures & Dental Implants Make A Great Team

By the time you read this, the 2017 NCAA basketball champions will have been crowned. The tournament is exciting for many reasons, but the winner is always a team that has learned to work well together.

In restorative dentistry, dentures and dental implants make a great team, too. Like any team, dentures and implants are at their best when everything works together. That means letting the stars be the stars with supporting players do all they can for the winning effort.

Dr. Nasrin Sadeghi and our team at First Dental Associates have seen what implants have done for so many of our patients. We would be happy to answer any questions you may have about whether implants could help you or someone you love.

Call us at [phone] or contact us online to make an appointment at our dentist office in Reading, MA.

The Star Player — Dentures

More than 35 million Americans are missing all their teeth in one or both arches of their mouth. Many, if not most, of them will get dentures.

Dentures do two things that are important to most people. First, dentures restore the appearance of your smile. Second, dentures do help you eat more than you can without teeth.

Now, there are some pretty big caveats that go with those statements.

With regard to your smile, modern dentures look more like natural teeth than ever because of the materials used to design dentures. When they stay in place, they can look very much like real teeth.

But “when they stay in place” is a pretty big qualifier. Traditional dentures rest outside of your gums. This can leave them prone to falling out or coming loose when you are speaking to someone or when you cough, laugh, or sneeze.

Depending on when and where this happens, it may be amusing, frustrating, or embarrassing.

Loose-fitting dentures also have a big effect on what you can — and can’t — eat.

Anyone who has traditional dentures can tell you they had to learn to eat differently.

Can you eat steak or chicken with dentures? Maybe, but you should expect to chew longer to do so.

Can you bite into corn on the cob or a fresh, crisp apple? We would advise you to be cautious. You’re just as likely to pull your teeth out as to take a satisfying bite.

We can’t and won’t run through every possible eating issue you could deal with when you have traditional dentures. Instead, we want to talk about how getting dental implants from First Dental Associates could make your dentures stronger and more secure.

The Supporting Players — Dental Implants

In this team effort, dental implants are easy to overlook. In fact, you could argue that implants are doing their job best when you don’t notice them.

Dental implants replace the roots of your teeth. Like roots, implants are embedded directly into your jawbone. This adds stability to your dentures. It also helps to keep your jaw healthy, when allows you to be put more power behind each bite you take.

In a way, implants are like fence posts. The posts are anchored below the surface. You may not see it, this is what helps to keep everything where it is supposed to be.

When you have a series of dental implants in your jaw, we can attach your dentures to them. As a result, your dentures can function more like real teeth.

And this isn’t just talk. Research backs this up.

An average person has a bite force between 200 and 250 pounds of pressure. That’s more than enough to bite into and apple and chew up a piece of steak.

A person with traditional dentures can learn to bite with up 50 pounds of pressure, according to multiple studies. By comparison, patients who receive implant-supported dentures can regain close to 100 percent of the biting force.

In other words, if you had dentures with dental implants, you could feel confident about that your “teeth” will stay in place with you are speaking to someone in a sales meeting, during a job interview, or as a presenter at a meeting.

Let Our Team Work For You

You may never see your dental implants after they are placed, but you can still enjoy the benefits they can add to your dentures.

Contact First Dental Associates to learn more. Then, make an appointment online or by calling [phone].