A dental implant is a titanium metal rod that a dentist places into your jaw to hold a replacement tooth or bridge. They act as an artificial tooth root and provide anchorage for a replacement tooth. Dental implants are an ideal option for people in good general oral health who have lost a tooth or teeth due to periodontal disease, an injury or some other reason. While high-tech in nature, dental implants are actually more tooth-saving than traditional bridgework, since implants do not rely on neighboring teeth for support. Implant patients are of all ages and implants may be the right choice for anyone missing one or more teeth due to injury, disease or decay. However it is important for a patient to have enough bone to support the implant. If you do not have enough bone, you will need to correct the bone deficiency before proceeding for an implant.
When it comes to dentures the most common source of agony is a bad fit. It’s something that’s hard to avoid and most denture wearers feel some discomfort while chewing foods. Reasons for discomfort and denture misfit are related to the ever-changing conditions in the mouth. As you age, gum tissue shrinks along with the jawbone. Hard dentures don’t adjust to new shapes and hence most long- time denture wearers end up using some form of adhesive to increase stability while wearing their dentures.
There’s now a new wave of soft dentures, or flexible dentures, that promise to eliminate the problems associated with hard acrylic liners. They require no adhesives, will adjust to irregularities in your mouth and stay in place even under harsh chewing conditions. A flexible denture is really just a traditional denture with a flexible resin coating as the last inner coating. It’s the flexible resin that locks into your undercuts and acts as a buffer between your gums and the hard base. More flexibility can be added by constructing the entire denture out of this flexible material. These flexible resins are more expensive but also longer- lasting than your traditional soft liner. Though it is not for every patient, it’s worth looking into because the results can often make a world of a difference.
