Now that most or all of your teeth have failed, what kind of replacement teeth will you have? Will be dentures, those tried, trusted and comparatively inexpensive replacement teeth? Or will it be a way of replacing teeth that may be completely new to you – dental implants?
In Guildford, at Farnham Road Dental Practice, we know that our patients need a bit of time to think about the right way to replace their teeth. You need time to weigh up the pros and cons of the 2 methods. You may need to talk them over with us more than once, and that’s understandable too. This is a decision that will affect the rest of your life.
We are always happy to talk about the benefits our various treatments, and we won’t pressure you to decide on one method over the other. Let’s kick off that conversation now, with a look at what dental implants are and their benefits as replacement teeth.
Get your roots back
There is one important difference with dental implants and that is that they replace your tooth roots, not just the crowns of your teeth. Dentures, on the other hand, use suction to the gums and jawbone for their stability, so they need to fit really well.
Fusing with your jawbone
When you get dental implants put into your jawbone, they then fuse with it over the following 2-6 months. They can then withstand chewing pressures of 97kg or 200lbs, which is more pressure than the average male adult exerts when chewing. You can once again eat whatever takes your fancy, from toffee apples at the fair, to nuts and roast potatoes. Nothing is out of bounds due to lack of stability or fear of breakage.
Disappearing jawbone
Without tooth roots to stimulate cell renewal, the jawbone rapidly starts to disappear. The chin looks pointier, the face starts to collapse in on itself, and all of a sudden, you look older. Dental implants stop this happening.
Price
Although they have a high initial outlay compared to dentures, dental implants can last for decades and so end up costing about the same as dentures, which must be replaced every few years.