Dentists have used dentures of some form or another for centuries to replace missing teeth. Modern dentures are more comfortable, realistic-looking and natural-acting than ever before, but a lot of people still experience problems.

That’s where dental implants come in. At our Guildford dental practice we recommend using implants to stabilise your dentures, thus avoiding many of the common issues denture wearers report.

What are the common issues with dentures, and how do dental implants solve them?

If you have been wearing traditional dentures for any length of time, you are likely to have experienced problems as your false teeth that once fitted so well become increasingly loose and uncomfortable. This can affect your diet, potentially limiting you to only soft foods or liquid meals, and can also have an impact to speech. You may well have seen “comedy” videos in which an unfortunate person’s dentures fall out in public – if you are experiencing loose dentures this is unlikely to make you laugh and could leave you miserable.

The main reason behind these problems is that standard dentures only replace the crowns of the teeth. Without anything to replace the roots, your jaw bone is likely to start shrinking back, which can make previously well-fitting dentures become loose, unwieldy, and uncomfortable.

Dental implants help to prevent this problem because they replace the tooth roots. They are in direct contact with your jaw bone and they are osteoconductive, which means they support bone growth and help to prevent bone loss. They will hold your dentures firmly in place so that they only come out when you want them to, and you can eat, speak, and laugh with confidence once more.

Denture stabilisation involves placing the required number of implants in your jaw (usually between four and eight to support a full arch of dentures) and attaching your dentures to them. You will still be able to take them out to clean, but otherwise they will stay where they should be.