Implant Dentures — Denton, TX
Achieve the Strong, Stable Smile You Deserve
Thanks to modern dental technology and high-quality materials, dentures are more comfortable and lifelike than ever before! However, they’re still a far cry from a full set of natural pearly whites. Without roots to keep them in place, dentures tend to slip out of place at embarrassing times, cause soreness in the gums, and become quite frustrating. Fortunately, at Aguilar Family Dentistry, we can help you achieve the strong, stable smile you deserve with implant dentures in Denton! This type of denture takes advantage of state-of-the-art dental implants for results that are virtually indistinguishable from real teeth. Read on to learn more and give us a call today to schedule your appointment!
What Are Implant Dentures?
Like traditional dentures, implant dentures consist of a set of custom-made teeth that are set into a gum-colored base. However, while traditional dentures rely on natural suction and store-bought adhesives to stay in place, implant dentures are anchored in place with small titanium posts called dental implants. These are inserted into the jawbone to replace the roots of missing teeth and provide a strong foundation for the denture that is attached to the top of it with small metal connectors called abutments. Depending on your unique needs, there are two main types of implant dentures:
Fixed/Permanent Implant Dentures
Once a fixed implant denture is secured onto your dental implants, it will stay there until it’s removed by a dentist. You’ll wear your denture while eating, talking, sleeping, and cleaning. Then, when you visit us for your routine checkups, we’ll remove your denture for a thorough cleaning and inspection. These dentures are practically just like natural teeth!
Removable Implant Dentures
Alternatively, some patients may prefer removable implant dentures, or snap-on dentures. For this option, patients can snap on and off their dentures as needed, such as for daily oral hygiene. This may be a good choice for patients who want to enjoy dental implants and retain some of the familiarity of their traditional dentures. Removable dentures also tend to require less jawbone density as well.
The Implant Denture Procedure
- Step 1: Initial Consultation. First, you’ll visit us for a consultation to ensure implant dentures are right for you and if you need any preliminary procedures.
- Step 2: Dental Implant Surgery. Next, four to eight dental implants are surgically placed into your jawbone in precise locations.
- Step 3: Osseointegration & Abutment Placement. Over the next three to six months, your dental implants will fuse with your jawbone tissue in a process called osseointegration. Once completed, you’ll have the abutments placed.
- Step 4: Delivery of Your Custom Denture. Finally, you’ll return to our office to have your beautiful, custom-made dentures secured to your dental implants.
Am I a Candidate for Implant Dentures?
Most patients are good candidates for implant dentures. You’ll need to be well enough to undergo minor surgery and your mouth will need to be free of issues like cavities, decayed teeth, and gum disease. Additionally, your jawbone will need to have adequate density to support your dental implants. If needed, we can help you schedule preliminary treatments like tooth extractions, gum disease treatment, or a bone graft to help you become a good candidate for implant dentures. Of course, the only way to tell for sure if implant dentures are right for you is to come visit us for a one-on-one consultation!
Benefits of Combining Dentures & Dental Implants
- Your denture will never slip or pop out of place at embarrassing times
- Implant dentures stimulate the jawbone to prevent an aged facial appearance
- You’ll regain 80% or more of your biting force and chewing power
- Implant dentures are extremely easy to take care of
- Implant dentures have the potential to last a lifetime, which can save you thousands of dollars in replacements alone
Maintaining & Caring for Your Implant Dentures
While implant dentures are excellent tooth replacements, you can’t just leave them to their own devices. These restorations need regular care and maintenance to work as they should. Thankfully, Aguilar Family Dentistry is here to help you look after your implant dentures in Denton. Our team has listed several great care tips below, which should protect your prosthetics from harm. Just keep reading to learn about them in detail, or call us to hear more over the phone.
Make Oral Hygiene a Priority
If you haven’t already, make oral hygiene a big priority when you get implant dentures. Good smile care at home will preserve your restored grin.
A healthy mouth is crucial to a successful implant denture. If you develop cavities, gum disease, or similar oral issues, the gum and bone tissues supporting your device will erode. This process will then put your implant denture at ever-increasing odds of failure. To avoid such an outcome, you should remember to brush twice daily, floss once daily, and rinse your mouth often.
Eat a Healthy Diet
You can also maintain implant dentures with a healthy diet. By eating nutritious meals, you’ll make your treatment’s success more likely.
It comes down to how implant dentures don’t handle junk food well. Should you chew and eat sugary snacks, such foods could wedge between your implant posts and natural teeth. The wedged sugar could then decay your remaining natural teeth, destabilizing your denture.
Break Bad Habits
You should quit your bad oral habits after getting an implant denture. By doing so, you’ll keep your full smile out of danger.
Certain mouth-related habits harm implant posts, you see. An example would be smoking tobacco; it disrupts recovery from implant surgery, keeps new bone tissue from growing, etc. Another one is biting hard objects, as this habit can break implant posts that keep your denture in place.
Protect Your Dental Implants
As it turns out, implant dentures can break from intense force. You should thus take steps to protect them from accidents and injuries.
The best protection method is to use a custom mouthguard. With a good one tailored for athletes (i.e., a sportsguard), your new teeth would be defended from collisions, tackles, and falls. Alternatively, a mouthguard for sleep (i.e., a nightguard) would stop you from nighttime grinding that could chip or crack your denture.
Schedule Regular Dental Checkups
You’d do well to attend regular dental checkups as well. After all, these visits can improve the lifespan of implant posts.
Don’t forget: dental checkups are the best kind of preventive oral care. To that extent, they can diagnose and treat issues that’d potentially harm your implant denture. You’d just need to attend visits every six months to reap the benefits.
Remove Dentures for Cleaning [if Removable]
Some implant dentures are inherently removable, being made to uncouple from implant posts. If yours is the same, remove your device often for cleaning purposes.
Removable implant dentures can’t be thoroughly cleaned in your mouth. If you always keep them in, your toothbrush will miss hard-to-reach spots that’d let plaque form and gather. These latter effects would threaten your treatment results, potentially leading to a much emptier smile.